I’ve spoken on Instagram before about my breastfeeding journey and raved about how much of a huge part the Elvie Breast Pump played in this so I thought it was about time that I actually sat down and gave a full review of the pump.
The reason why I was drawn to the Elvie Breast pump when I was pregnant was because it looked so discrete and compact compared to all the other pumps on the market. I loved that there were no wires to make you feel like a cow being milked and that it was almost silent when on. In the early days when visitors came round to see Matilda, I sat pumping with the Elvie pump in my bra, under my top and people had no idea what I was doing. My sister in law was sat right next to me once whilst I pumped and said she had no clue I was sat there pumping.
Just after Matilda was born the Elvie pump really saved my breastfeeding journey as she was born with jaundice which meant that from the very start she was often too sleepy to feed off me. I therefore started pumping using the Elvie pump as soon as my milk came in so that I was able to feed her from the bottle. I truly believe that this saved our breastfeeding journey as without being able to pump I wouldn’t have been able to feed Matilda and it’s likely that my milk would have dried up. Pumping also helped enormously with the day 3 engorgement which for me was absolute agony as Matilda was barely feeding off me. I remember ringing my mum in tears because I was in so much pain and she said I should have a hot shower and then try to pump. I did this and it immediately helped so much.
I’ve since used the Elvie pump everywhere: in the hairdressers, in the car (as a passenger) and whilst I potter around the house or play on the floor with Matilda. I love that it’s hands free so I literally can pump everywhere and anywhere.
Now that we’ve spoken about why I chose and love the Elvie breast pump lets talk about specifics. Along with being super compact it’s also so easy to use. There’s a simple ‘On’ button in the middle and a ‘Start/Pause’ button at the top, which I use if I’m in the middle of doing something or if I need to reposition it because I placed it on my boob at an odd angle. Either side of the ‘Start/Pause’ button are the ‘L’ and ‘R’ buttons which allow you to switch between boobs when you’re pumping. The reason for these is if you move from one boob to another the pump then changes the rhythm of pumping to mimic how a baby sucks at the start of a feeding session. Then finally there is a button which allows you to change up the intensity of the pumping, which is great if you want to do a quick pump.
When you order the Elvie Breast Pump you are sent two breast guards which hopefully means that the pump should fit perfectly to your breast. If the two sizes included in the box don’t fit you then there is also a third size which is available on the Elvie website, which I didn’t need but it’s great there are multiple options to give you a custom fit. There are excellent instructions on how to check if the guard fits to you breast in the information booklet to help ensure that it’s fitted correctly to your boob.
Also included in the box are two reusable 150ml BPA free bottles, which come with lids so once you’re done pumping you can pop the milk straight into the fridge.
In terms of battery life, I would say that it lasts for around 3 long pumping sessions before it needs recharging but it takes no time at all to charge, which is one of the features I love the most about it. Another feature I love is that it comes with an app which you can link up your pump to. This tells you how much milk is in the bottle during a pumping session, battery level and a bunch of other features.
I get asked online and in person all the time if I would recommend the Elvie pump and I whole heartedly say yes every single time. It’s really saved me on a number of occasions like at the very start of my breast feeding journey and on the odd occasion when I’m away from Matilda for more than 3 hours and need to pump. It’s small enough to fit into my handbag, which I just think is so incredible, and you really can use it without anyone knowing what you’re doing.
I appreciate that the price tag is quite expensive but for something that has been so vital to my breastfeeding journey I think it’s totally worth it. I had a friend who recently gave birth and had a standard pump with all the wires and loud suction noises and she found that it effected her mental health too much to use it and so stopped. I have never had that experience with the Elvie, if anything, every time I use it I just think about how easy it is.
Even 6 months into breastfeeding I still use the pump and imagine I will continue to use it until we stop feeding.
So there we have it, my honest and long overdue thoughts for my Elvie breast pump review. As you can tell it’s been a big hit for me and my feeding journey. I’ve linked to the Elvie website here, which gives lots more information that I may have missed off and some really helpful videos.
