LO will be arriving in less than 3 weeks (eek!) and I'm pretty committed to the idea of breastfeeding. Many have said it's best to rent a hospital pump first and then purchase your own pump, but I'm wondering if this is cost effective or makes sense for someone who knows they will be breastfeeding?
How much did you pay to rent a pump, and if you could do it over again, would you have rented or just bought a pump in the beginning? Thanks!
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
Most of the people I know (including myself) got their breast pumps for free from a friend or family member and then just bought new tubing. Do you know any one who recently stopped breastfeeding who you could get a pump from??
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I rented a pump for $95, including the attachments you have to buy. I wasn't planning on pumping, but when I had issues breastfeeding because my milk didn't come in on time, I had to. If I could do it over again, I would have just bought a pump.
bananas / 9118 posts
I paid $50 for a one month rental of an Ameda hospital grade pump, same one they had me using in the hospital- so I already had been given the attachments from there.
The rental place even delivered the pump to our house about 2 hours after we were discharged. I had to pump from day 2 due to latching difficulties and jaundice- this certainly doesn't happen to everyone.
Things were working out great, so we decided to buy our own pump at the end of the first month (the rental company did give discounts for multiple month rentals). After a lot of research, we got a Hygeia pump, and that sucker works better than the hospital pump did!
I would definitely do it over again the same way, being that I had no experience with any of this before the baby. I felt like the rental fee was well worth it just in case something didn't work out- instead of dropping $319 on a pump that would turn into an expensive paperweight.
pomegranate / 3008 posts
I rented a Medela Symphony for $75 per month plus around $40 for the kit (flanges, bottles, tubes, etc) that you use each time. I started by using a Medeal PISA and when I found that it wasn't effective enough at removing the milk I had to upgrade to a hospital grade pump. Depending on the circumstances, I'd rent again.
nectarine / 2886 posts
Thanks ladies! I think I'll just see how it goes and decide whether to rent or buy when I'm at the hospital.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I bought a Medea hands free. I like having my own stuff and plan on using it for the rest of my kids So it was worth the investment
honeydew / 7589 posts
We plan on having several kids, so I think we'll buy. Plus, we aren't using a hospital, so I don't even know if it would be an option for us.
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
I rented one from the hospital for 10 days. I can't remember how much it was but I remember thinking that it wasn't too expensive. Afterwards, I bought the same one - Purely Yours.
persimmon / 1295 posts
If you live near the rental place and/or a store that sells pumps I'd recommend waiting and seeing what kind of breast feeder you are - problem-free or problematic. 
I am mostly problem-free and recommend the Medela swing.
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
I rented a Medela Symphony from the hospital. I think it was $15 a week, though they had price breaks if you rented it weekly vs monthly vs 6 months vs a year.
I had trouble with my milk coming in (it completely dried by 8 weeks, despite my best efforts), so renting was in my best interest. Buying a pump would have been a total waste.
I suggest renting, and seeing if it works for you. If it does, consider purchasing or borrowing a pump from someone else.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
I borrowed a medela pump in style from a friend and it worked fine for me. But I pumped once at the hospital when I was there for a whole day due to complications 2 weeks after delivery, and I was AMAZED at how quickly it worked and how much milk it got out of me...!!! I continued with the pump in style and it was fine.
A friend of mine never had more than 1 oz milk pumping, so she rented a hospital grade pump and had no more luck than with her pump in style.
I would say just borrow a pump (if you can) and only go to renting a hospital one if you have problems!
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Well, we won't have any luck with insurance covering the pump but, I'm planning on renting until I'm sure it's working for me, then buying one. It's worth the extra money if I do end up buying a pump because what if I hate it and can't do it after a while? Expensive paperweight.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
We just bought one so we didn't waste money renting. We left it in the box until it wa needed (about day 4) just in case I didn't need it and we could return it
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite1
14 comments