I just finally ordered my insurance-provided breast pump and was surprised to find out that the Medela Pump In Style that is provided is only the "starter kit".
For those of you girls who got the same starter kit, what accessories did you end up purchasing to go with it? Did you purchase the medela tote bag? (It has such bad reviews). Anything else?
nectarine / 2047 posts
I have the tote and I ordered a battery pack and a car charger. Everything works well.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I didn't get the bag; I just put it in my own bag with bottles and what not. I also ordered a battery pack and car charger and have used both quite a few times! Also ordered extra white replacement "flaps". And I had to get a small size flange.
clementine / 935 posts
I didn't get the tote bag. All I bought were some extra bottles to pump into and a PackIt freezable cooler bag to transport back and forth.
nectarine / 2210 posts
I did order the medela tote bag, but the strap broke after about 8 months of use. I bought a battery adapter, but that was basically it. Unless you count replacement flanges or storage bags.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@peaches1038: @snowjewelz: Good thought on the car charger. Do you actually pump while in the car?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
If you do use a separate bag, make sure its something that is washable.
pear / 1622 posts
@Dahlia: How do you like the PackIt cooler? I have been thinking of ordering one. Do you stick in the refrigerator at work or does it really keep everything cold for 10 hours?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@agold: No because I have the Freestyle that came with a bag. I just know I always am wiping it down because somehow the black bag shows tons of little dots/splatters of milk and its being set down in weird places. So its nice to be able to either spot wipe/wash or throw in the washer.
pear / 1622 posts
I ordered the car adaptor only at 7 months with LO1 and wish I had ordered it sooner - it can come in handy on road trips and even if you are visiting family/friends/places across town. I've only pumped while driving once or twice.
I also ordered a cooler to take bottles to work every day and a handful of 8 ounce bottles to pump into.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@agold: I have a few times! I've also pumped at a conference in a hallway with my battery pack, on a packed train, etc... 
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@snowjewelz: You are awesome! Does the start set come with a battery, or is it something that needs to be plugged in? Oddly, I do not have a good accessible wall plug in my office.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@agold: Nope, plug in only! and FYI the battery pack needs a LOT of batteries but gets me through quite a few pumps (can't remember).
clementine / 935 posts
@autumnleaves: I like it a lot. I usually only need it for 8 hours, but it definitely keeps things cold. I don't put it in the fridge at all at work.
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
@agold: yep! neither things were that expensive if I remember correctly... when I bought them I wasn't sure how much I'd use them, but I just felt better having those things around just in case!
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@snowjewelz: You are right. I just looked now and see that they are not very expensive. So thank you for that suggestion!
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
I had/have this. I just used an old tote bag I had to carry to and from work. The only thing I bought was the adapters to pump directly into the Tommee bottles.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
Not a Medela accessory, but you are also going to want a hands-free pumping bra. Highly highly recommend the Simple Wishes one. Be sure you have a battery pack for the pump. You're going to need lots of extra bottles, an extra set of flanges/valves/connectors to leave at work, the microwave sterilizer bags, and some kind of cooler bag you can use to carry milk to/from work (can just be an insulated lunch bag, doesn't have to be the Medela pack).
grapefruit / 4717 posts
@agold: I think the other ladies have pretty much covered it, but I'll throw my $.02 in the ring. I pumped at least once a week in the car, so the battery pack was essential for me. You will also need to get some sort of cooler bag for pumped milk bottles -- doesn't have to be the specific Medela one. You'll also need more bottles. I second the Simple Wishes Hands-Free Pumping Bra recommendation -- saved my life. Be prepared to possibly needing to buy and try other size flanges, too. Often the default size isn't the right size.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@pregnantbee: @PawPrints: @Smurfette: Thanks girls! I suppose I need to figure out the bottle situation.
I'm thinking very optimistically and an hoping I will be able to pump out a nice supply of milk to freeze. So I assume that pumping into bottles would be for using the bottles later that day or the next day? And then pumping into bags would be for freezing. Is that right?
grapefruit / 4418 posts
Car charger, freezer bags and extra parts so I didn't have to wash every day! I didn't buy the tote - I just used an old Vera Bradley bag.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
@agold: I would pump into bottles for the next day. Friday's milk (pumped in bottles) would be poured into bags at home to freeze. Then Sunday took out of the freezer Monday's bottle supply.
coconut / 8472 posts
@agold: pumping into bags is much less accurate than bottles. I would bring 4 bottles with me and at the end of each pump I'd combine into one of the two bottles is just used. Later at home I'd divide into 2-4oz bags and freeze.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@agold: Yup, always pump into a bottle to measure and then transfer to a bag for freezing. I would use one pair of bottles for the entire day at work and bring bags.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@ShootingStar: @Smurfette: @T.H.O.U.: Thanks for the tips! I'm hoping so much that breast feeding works out for me and I'm able to pull this all off!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@agold: For the PIS you'll want an extra set of membranes (little round white things) because they tend to get torn or go bad and it impacts the suction power. You may also want an extra set of Flanges just to have as a back up or if you dont get around to washing one evening.
pomegranate / 3658 posts
@agold: Good luck! I bet you'll be awesome at breastfeeding. Yeah, I also wound up collecting a bunch of freezer bags for my freezer supply. Also, don't jump the gun on this, but if you do wind up with a big freezer stash, it's wonderful to have a deep freezer. You can only store milk for 3-6 months in a regular freezer, versus 12 months in deep freeze.
Also, FWIW, I did not stress out much at all about measuring milk portions. I sent LO into daycare with whatever combination of bottles I had pumped in recent days and just tried to get an eyeball/ballpark sense of the quantity per bottle. It made sense to me since it's not like we were counting ounces when she was nursing. We would give her one dethawed freezer bag per day (to rotate through the stash) and the rest fresh.
This is optional but I found the little tray thing in this kit really handy for keeping track of which bottles were most recent vs older ones in the fridge: https://www.amazon.com/Medela-67348-Breastmilk-Storage-Solution/dp/B006R3KBYO
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@PawPrints: Good to know about a regular freezer vs a deep freeze!!! Yikes. I had no clue.
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
@agold: freeze the bags flat(laying down) then once frozen must easier to stack standing up in the freezer if you don't have a deep freezer.
nectarine / 2134 posts
I bought a power adapter that I could use to pump in the car during commuting (from Amazon, not a Medela one) and an extra set of membranes. That's it. Used an old tote bag.
Same as @T.H.O.U.: Pump into one set of bottles to have an accurate measurement, then pour into bags. Store parts and bottles in the fridge so you only wash once. Or I'd use the Kiinde system but the bags were getting sort of expensive.
I could also pump directly into my Dr. Brown's glass bottles using the PISA advance so I'd do that for a bottle or two that I know would be used in the next couple of days.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@NorCalWayfarer: I was looking at the Kiinde system thing. The bottles looked funny. But it seems like you can do the freezing part separate and not have to use the bottles.
nectarine / 2134 posts
@agold: My guy was fine with the bottles and actually could hold them super early compared to the glass Dr. Brown's bottles because of the way it was designed (and it was super light). I think the best part of the Kiinde system is that you pump directly into the bag, thaw in the bag, then just pop a nipple on the bag so there's no washing, pouring, etc. Although my guy started with the medium nipple bc the slow was way too slow for him (he was BF too so the Dr Brown's slow was fine).
nectarine / 2134 posts
@agold: I'm pretty sure you can also use different nipples with the Kiinde, I just never did.
persimmon / 1129 posts
@agold: I got a Sarah Wells pump bag and I LOVE it. I had a boring Medela bag for my first and this one is so much nicer and prettier.
grapefruit / 4045 posts
@My Only Sunshine: Thanks for telling me that. I see them on the buybuybaby website and didn't know if I wanted to spend $100+ on a bag for a breast pump. But maybe, just maybe!!
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