Medela Freestyle Breast Pump Review – Breastfeeding Guide

Updated: This post about the Medela freestyle breast pump has been updated on October 2020 with new and relevant information.

Is it Medela Freestyle Double Electric Breast Pump Worth The Price Tag?

Should I Breastfeed My Baby?

Hey Momma, You’ve had a baby or a having a baby which is most probably why you’ve landed on my page. Well firstly, Congratulations on your little bundle of joy.

You’ve been carrying your bundle of joy inside of you for the atleast 9-10 months, ensuring you eat all the right foods so your baby gets the right nutrients to grow inside you right?

I hear ya!

Well guess what, It all changes when there born.

No more chicken and chip cravings, no more sweet cravings, it’s all just plain milk from here on, (for baby ofcourse).

Breastmilk VS Formula Milk

Giving your baby the best healthy start in this new world is by feeding your baby your breast milk.

Now don’t get me wrong, Yes i agree with the term “fed is best”, whether that’s your breast milk or formula milk.

But in all natural circumstances, there is a reason mothers produce breast milk, our body produces the natural and best nutrients that are formed into milk for our baby. No machine or milk formula factory can imitate it.

So if you’re not sure what type of milk you should offer your baby, i would highly encourage giving breastfeeding a try.

If it fails, by all means you would have to revert to formula milk, and that’s fine!

To ensure you make the most of your breastfeeding journey, it’s best to invest in a breast pump too.

A breastpump allows more flexibility with who can feed your child and allows you to breast pump your milk in advance.

It’s great for mums who need to work or run errands around their busy life.

Breast Pumping is encouraged 100%.

My Baby Didn’t Latch On

After failing badly with my first born when trying to breast feed him I easily gave up and switched to formula.

Second time round I wasn’t going to give up so easily.

So I invested in one of the worlds best and one of the smallest breast milk pumps out there.

The Medela Freestyle Double Electric!

Is Breastfeeding Hard?

When it comes to breast feeding, it’s all about trying and not giving up.

It’s probably one of the hardest things a mother endures once the baby is out.

You know! Getting the baby to latch on, making sure your producing enough milk, and eating the right foods so you produce healthy quality milk for your baby.

It’s a whole adventure of emotions.

For some women it’s a breeze.

They go into labour, have the baby and BOOM! The baby is sucking milk out of mummy like a PRO!

Aah, I wish my babies were like that.

I’m not one of those, and most women aren’t.

I struggled getting my baby to latch on. Struggled to produce enough milk for my baby to keep them full, literally struggled with the whole process.

I didn’t want to give up though so eventually learnt that you can express the milk (yes abit like a cow in a diary farm) and bottle feed your breast milk to the baby instead! Bingo!

Medela Freestyle Breast Pump Allowed Me To Go My Baby My Breastmilk

My baby didn’t latch on, I was constantly expressing milk using the Medela pump and bottle feeding her my breast milk.

The Medela Freestyle breast pump allowed me to give my baby breast milk for the first 6 months of my baby’s life.

The first 6 month’s are what is recommended by the world health organization too.

Medela freestyle breast pump review. (Please note this post is NOT sponsored)

Medela’s range of breast pumps cover all the potential needs of breastfeeding mums.

There pumps feature a 2-Phase Expression technology, which mimics babies’ natural sucking rhythms, allowing you to express more breast milk in less time.

Sounds pretty fantastic right? YES it is!

They have a wide range of pumps to suit your needs. Single breast pumps, double breast pumps, manual and even electric.

Here’s a list of what they have:

New Freestyle Flex

Swing Maxi Flex

Medela Swing Flex

Swing Maxi double electric pump

Freestyle double electric pump

Swing single electric pump

Mini Electric Breast Pump

Harmony manual breast pump

Harmony manual breast pump – Pump & Feed Set

Symphony electric pump

I purchased the Freestyle electric double pump.

It’s the best for on the go mums who work or just want to express regularly.

How Much Is The Medela Freestyle Double Breast Pump?

It originally costs £330 but I got it on sale for £250.

It was the best £250 ever spent and now that my baby isn’t drinking breast milk, I’ve stored it away for the next one.

The pump itself is great. It does the job exactly like it says on the box. Very comfortable to work with, and very quick to install.

It’s not even noisy. That’s a real added bonus right there.

I would express up to 4 times a day with this and my breasts didn’t hurt at all.

In fact it was so gentle on my breasts hence I was able to pump so often.

Do I Really Need A Breast Pump?

Now the reason you would purchase a breast pump is if you wish to express breast milk.

This is where you breast feed your baby but in between feeds you express the remaining milk out into a bottle using a pump to empty the breasts.

This way your breasts can produce more milk in time for the next feed.

That’s how it should be done!

I however didn’t do that and that’s why my supply unfortunately ended up running out after 6 months of breastfeeding.

My Medela freestyle pump was in fact my baby. It was the only thing I would use to trick my breasts into thinking that it’s my baby latching on hence my breasts would pump out enough milk for my baby each time.

Unfortunately breasts need a little more care rather than just a sucking device.

Breasts have a hormone inside which releases more milk when the baby is felt close by.

Cool! I know.

I noticed every time I would give my baby 1-2-1 closure with my breasts, I would get more of a supply out.

This I didn’t do often hence my breasts didn’t get to release the hormone as it should have.

Tip no.1 – Try to get as many 1-2-1 body contacts with your baby daily.

The hormone related to the production of breast milk is called Prolactin, which also goes hand in hand with the hormone called Oxytocin.

It’s responsible for the let-down reflex and the release of breast milk from your body.

Medela Breast Pump Shields To Enable Pumping

When purchasing the Medela pump ensure to get the right breast shield.

Not every women has the same breast size.

The shield included in the box was the perfect size for my breasts.

It fit perfectly around my breast allowing the sucking motion to gently tug on my nipple to extract the milk out. It’s not painful, just a little tickly at first, but after a few sessions you get used to it.

Medela Freestyle Features: At a glance with more detail:

It’s HANDSFREE!  – So Small, lightweight and fixed with a clip. Hook it on your blouse, slot it into your pocket and enjoy pumping on the go. It’s Highly efficient.  

It’s PORTABLE! – Weighing just 370g, it is one of the smallest double pump on the market. The Freestyle is conveniently sized and has a rechargeable battery so you can pump almost anywhere.

It has EASY INTERACTION! – The digital screen displays information such as pumping and letdown suction level (select your comfort level from one to nine) and has a timer so you do not need to watch the clock while pumping. It is also back lit so you can pump in the dark if you are in a room where your little one is asleep. One great feature of the Medela Freestyle is the memory function: it enables you to set a suction level you are comfortable with that will automatically be triggered when you use the pump.

It has 2 – PHASE EXPRESSION TECHNOLOGY  – The breast pump simulates your baby’s natural sucking behavior at the breast and feels very comfortable to use. The 2-Phase Expression starts off with a short, quick sucking rhythm until your milk starts to flow. It then changes to a slow rhythm to express the milk. The simple up/down buttons allow you to control the vacuum to suit your comfort level as this is when your milk will flow best. I loved this feature, it allowed me to take control of how fast or slow I wanted my milk to flow ensuring my breasts didn’t get tired during the process.

Tip no 2: Gently massage your breasts before pumping, you don’t have too as the pump does also have a 2 minute stage which does the massaging for you but hand massaging speeds up the process. Especially if you have a baby waiting for all that delicious milk.

Medela Breast Pump Pumping Timings

It would take me 10-15 minutes to express one of my breasts.

Breasts can never get empty via a pump unless you have a baby sucking too.

This is because a baby’s sucking motion is still far more advanced than any pump out there.

The Medela is pretty close though.

I’d say it emptied around 80% of my breast milk.

I would double pump both breasts taking me 30 minutes which would give me enough feed to last my baby till the next.

My routine consisted of pumping every 3-4 hours.

Starting off with 2 ounces, then 3 ounces, then 4 ounces.

When my baby was 6 months I’d be expressing 5-6 ounces until it started to reduce again back to 3 then 2 then I stopped.

When you breast feed you never really know how many ounces your baby has drank.

They stop when they feel full.

However breast feeding expressed milk is different.

Is The Nipple And Teat Sucking Motion The Same?

A teat has much faster flow than your breast nipple allowing the milk to flow faster and the baby to use less sucking power.

During breastfeeds they get tired due to the sucking so drink less but in more frequencies. Bottle feeds they tend to drink more in less frequencies.

I noticed feeding on demand with me was not the case.

I had to express then set a time slot for when she was next allowed to drink.

It takes around 3-4 hours for breasts to refill up again to the max.

So it was difficult for me to start pumping just 1 or 2 hours after expressing.

My baby did however get into a 3 hour routine which made my life easier.

She was basically on formula timings but having breast milk instead.

Tip no 3: Drink plenty of fluids to keep that supply of breast milk flowing smoothly. Lack of nutrition can slow down the milk flow ESPECIALLY If your expressing breast milk.  

Does Breast Milk Release Soon After Delivery?

When your baby is born the breasts can take a while too fully open up.

There is milk inside there, don’t be disheartened if your not producing enough.

The first week is difficult. The body only produces what your baby needs.

THAT’S A FACT!

The first week you will produce a lot of colostrum. This is breast milk x1000.

It basically fills your baby up faster with less amounts and contains the most nutrients.

When colostrum finishes is when the real white milk starts coming out.

You’ll notice at first, your breast milk is yellowish then it begins turning white.

Tip no 4: Don’t give up breastfeeding if your not producing enough milk in the first 3-4 days. It will start flowing eventually. I promise!

The more your baby sucks, the more breast milk your body will produce.

Get the midwifes to help your baby latch on as soon as your bundle of joy arrives.

It’s hard when you see your baby isn’t drinking so you revert to bottle feeds straight away.

This way your breasts won’t get a chance to fully open up and milk will start drying up the less they are sucked on.

Tip no 5: Feed on demand! Whether that’s every 10 minutes, every half hour or even after every 1 hour. Your body will do the right thing for your baby and the more in contact your baby is with your breasts the more they will learn to suck on and latch. You know! BECOME A PRO!

Medela Breast Pump Reviews – What Others Say

“Medela Freestyle is a great breast pump which offers ultra-portability with its light-weight and compact design plus rechargeable built-in battery. These features make it a perfect choice for working moms.” – Check out Rina’s indepth review on the Medela freestyle pump.

“This is finally the breast pump that will set you free and let you have a life even while you’re pumping.” – Jenny Silverstone 

Hope this little read was helpful. Xx Any questions leave me a comment below.

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