Worth the breast pump upgrade?

Question

I'm a FTM and my insurance covers the medela pump in style "starter kit" which is basically just the bare pump. I can upgrade to the pump in style tote/backpack version for $119 or to the medela freestyle for $195. Are either of the upgrades worth the extra money or should I just get the starter kit and find a tote it fits in?

Answer

Personally I would get just the actual pump in style that's what I did. You can find the bags sold separately at baby stores for cheaper sometimes, I found one on clearance. Or just any cheap tote you have will work just fine. You can buy the little cooler bag and ice packs and stuff separately too. I would look around near retailers by you and then decide. It's a great pump though.... the freestyle isn't worth the upgrade to me. The two main differences are the size its much smaller and more portable and it has a memory feature to remember you pumping pattern for let down and stuff. I love my in style just my opinion though.

Answer

You can get the tote and cooler etc (add on items) on Amazon for 69 dollars.

Answer

It depends what comes with the starter kit? You must not be in Ontario because I just paid $377 for the pump in style. No help from insurance!

Answer

If you plan on pumping at home, I would say the basic kit is fine. That's what I have. If you want to pump anywhere else, the basic does not have the battery pack or the bag. So it makes it more difficult to be mobile.

Answer

Check other retailers. I called around and by driving half hour away I got the tote bag set covered in full, didn't pay anything for it! Other places were offering just the starter kit as covered by insurance.

Answer

Thank you all for the input this is what comes with the starter kit. I think I will look into other retailers too to see if an upgrade would be cheaper but I definitely am going to just do the pump in style not freestyle

Answer

You can check other providers and they may have different prices. I paid $99 for a messenger bag upgrade which was basically the metro bag minus 2 bottles. I prefer this bag over the others, there is more room. But the backpack would have been $95 at the same provider. I checked out a few and got different prices from all the providers. Look up reviews for any before making the decision. I've heard some bad about the freestyle so I stuck with the pump in style advanced because I've heard good from people I personally know.

Worth the breast pump upgrade?

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