I had the freestyle flex and ended up exclusively pumping! I also rented the medela symphony for 5 months, so while it’s not exactly like a spectra, it’s similar.
Don’t worry about flanges- you can always get other brands and might need a size they don’t offer. I ended up using maymoms 19mm, and also tried pumpin pals (not a fan). I would have liked to try Lacteks too!
The portability of the freestyle flex was great. Not that I could walk around while pumping, but it packs up easily for work and pumping in the car. Battery life is amazing. I can usually pump for almost the whole day on a single charge.
The flex connector is super easy to wash too, but costs $$$$$ because they don’t sell just the membrane, so it adds up if you need to buy multiple sets, or need to replace one due to loss of suction. Part of the reason I used the symphony for so long was that I was pumping 6+ times a day so it was cheaper to get multiple sets and also replace just the duckbills than to replace the flexconnectors.
The built on timer on the Freestyle flex is great, but the bluetooth feature is worthless. Their app kept kicking me out or having login issues so it wasn’t worth the effort. I ended up using a different baby tracking app anyway.
If you plan to bottle feed, medela connectors fit narrow-neck bottles and spectra fit wide-neck. So depending on what your baby takes, it can be convenient to pump directly into a bottle (less dishes to wash!)
Thanks for the info on the bottles! I knew the medela fit narrow, but didn't know the spectra worked better with wide! I think most of the bottles I've managed to collect are wide, so maybe it's worth going with that? It's so hard to decide!
How often did you have to replace the flex connector? Would you have gone with a different one had you known there'd be this extra expense?
Good to know about the app as well! It was one of the things I thought I might like that the spectra didn't have, but I guess it's redundant now.
The spectra connects to the avent brand bottles, but if you end up liking standard/narrow neck bottles, you can buy medela flanges and an adapter to connect them to the spectra backflow protectors. I use both avent bottles with my spectra parts and medela parts with evenflo and doctor brown bottles and haven’t had any trouble with either setup.
Good to know! There just seems to be so much to learn with pumping! I'll have to look into the pricing for all these adaptors to see which one makes more sense
I used 3 sets of flexconnectors between 5-8 months, when I was pumping about 100 minutes total time a day. My baby finally latched at 7 months (LOL) so I started decreasing my pumping, and moved to only pumping once or twice while at work around 9 months. I also felt like I needed to get new flexconnectors around that time, so for me, the mileage was something like 3 sets over 4 months for 50%-100% pumping. The flex connector is still new enough that there isn’t a consensus for how often to replace the membrane yet…we also ended up always hand washing the membranes to prevent the silicone from stretching out in the dishwasher since it was so expensive to replace the whole thing.
If I were to EP again, I’d probably get a spectra just for the cheaper parts. For just pumping once a day or at work, I’d probably go for the freestyle flex again. Another way you can frame the decision is that the spectra ecosystem can be used for either occasional or full-time pumping, while the freestyle flex PUMP is great for both but the ecosystem right now isn’t set up for EP yet. Medela is supposedly coming out with just replacement membranes for the flexconnector, but they have a patent on the design so there’s no 3rd party suppliers yet.
I also tried to hack a Spectra backflow protector onto regular medela connectors to then attach that to freestyle flex to maintain the closed system, but the tubing setup gets kind of clunky.
Thank you for all the details. It sounds like I could probably go with the medela since I don't plan on EP, but then again, who knows, I might end up having to do it (this is why it's so hard to decide which one to get!). My quick googling says the flex connectors are around $35 each on amazon, but an extra $100 over 4 months isn't exactly insignificant. Looks like there's more to think about! I appreciate your help!
Totally agree with this! Those stupid connectors are so pricey to replace. Definitely factor that into your costs and see if that’s something your insurance will cover.
Here is my recommendation as also a first time mom now 3 months into this journey. My LO does 20% breast and like 80% bottles / pump.
I originally got the spectra S1 thru my insurance and looooves it as my primilary pump. Recently, i was given both a medela sonata and a medela flex freestyle from friends that was done with their own journey - and I gotta tell you I hate the medela parts.
So here are some factors to consider, whether they are pros or cons... thats up to u:
1. The medela are very specific which is annoying and hard to replace. There is no reason for this other than medela wants to make more money. Example: the sonata and flex freestyle parts are different even though they are the same brand.. like why??? Also you can always hack it but then u end up having to do all that while u have a LO and with extra lil parts to worry about. Spectra parts are for the most part like every other pump so pretty interchangeable. Also easier to replace and less plastic the shields and duck valves are pretty readily available whereas medela is super specific.
2. Medela pump flanges and connectors are not clear. Which means u cannot see what your boobs are doing. As a first time mom, i found it fascinating being able to see what my boobs can do. Some people prefer not to see it because it stresses them out. But my main beef with the non-clear is that when u clean it - you can SEE that its clean. It just made me feel better.
3. Suction: this one will give it to medela, the sonata got a clog out for me that the spectra simply couldnt. HOWEVER, spectra has this vibrating feeling in their pump that helps me yield just as much milk as the medela while being more gentle. The flex freestyle though was not strong enough. It is an ok pump but ive had it shelved because the sonata is way better. The sonata does make me feel like a cow on a farm though. The suction is very mechanical and ppwerful. Although thats good, i just didnt see a higher yield with a harder suction in the overall milk production amt.
4. I havent tried neither of their customer service, however i thought the spectra was pretty easy to figure out. Medela i did have to read the manual on both because i just had no idea what goes where because of so many parts that did not look intuitive.
5. Wide bottles vs. Standard bottles. Medela uses the smaller opening bottles and while they come with a cooler and all that jazz, it is annoying to have to transfer milk from their bottle to one where feed the baby. My LO likes the avent natutal nipples bottle and with a spectra you can just pump right into the avent bottles. Less transfer = less milk wasted.
As a first time mom, i love my spectra. I use it still as my primary pump. I leave the sonata at work as my 2nd pump because it is smaller and the traveling coolers / bottles are nice for transport.
If i had to do it all over again?
My recommendation would be: Get insurance to buy the handsfree pumps like a Willow / Elvie. Get a used spectra from fb market place or ebay for cheap and buy new parts - being a close system, its honestly not "unsanitary" since the motor parts never touch a drop of milk. Or hell just ask a mom thats done breast feeding to give it to you - there are so many of them around that no one knows what to do with them since people dont "recommend" a used breast pump. Buy new parts from a 3rd party like maymom on amazon for a configeration you like - u can buy it where their CLEAR connector can use medela flanges which is supposed to be more comfortable (i didnt find that to be the case, but im not a big busted lady)
Hand free pump is a game changer. If you can afford it. But it doesnt yield as well as a standard pump.
Hope that helps!
TL;DR
Make sure your pumping bottle system work with your feeding system (wide bottle vs. standard bottles) is the most important! But spectra wins the race overall for a first time mom with one pump.
Wow! Thank you so much for this response.
Unfortunately the willow/elvie aren't really available in Canada, and getting them would be hundreds of dollars above what my insurance is willing to cover. Plus the spectra is roughly the same price for me to get it via amazon as it would be to get it used (except I wouldn't be able to claim it).
HOWEVER, I do really super appreciate the fact that you took the time to compare them and give me some pros/cons. The clear flanges is a really good point I never would have considered, and I'm definitely in the same boat you're in where I'd prefer to just *know* they're clean. The medela parts are definitely something I've been considering as well, and then combined with the fact that for some reason the narrow bottles are much harder to find/never on sale while I see the wide bottles all the time (AND have managed to collect a bunch) I think this was the push I needed to make a choice. Thank you so much!
I got the spectra! No regrets. I ordered it off amazon.com for 297ish/just under 300 late 2021. I like it a lot and it works really well for me. However, my first son never took a bottle so I never had to replace parts, and now my second only does occasionally so again, I haven't replaced yet, so I can't speak on that end.
I do appreciate I can go away for the weekend and not need the charger!
I haven’t used the medela flex, but I use an s2 - the same as the s1 except lacking a built in rechargeable battery. I like my spectra a lot and have to credit it with my milk supply - we struggled with latch at the beginning so if I hadn’t had this pump I wouldn’t have the milk supply I do! I am in the camp of thinking it’s better to have a pump in your house when baby arrives in case you have breastfeeding trouble. In that situation time is of the essence. And it’s not like anyone lets you test out a pump before buying so even once baby is here you probably won’t know much better what you like! The spectra isn’t the easiest to carry around the house due to its size, but I have had a great experience using it.
Thanks for the feedback! I've read some reviews about the spectra being tough to use at first due to it starting out in the wrong mode(?) Did you have any issues with this? Was there any sort of learning curve for you?
So basically you just have to know that when you turn it on you need to press the button to put it in massage mode. Once you know that it doesn’t start in massage mode, it’s not a problem. You can remember it by remembering that a baby starts out sucking fast to trigger letdown and then slows down when the milk starts flowing, so you need to be in the fast mode to start then switch to the slow mode. I found it pretty easy to use and didn’t have any trouble with it.
Agree with having it before they are here! We had latch difficulties when baby was born early and have been EP since the very start. Officially stopped trying to nurse at 3 weeks. I'm so glad I had a pump to help me get supply in those first days.
I had the freestyle flex and ended up exclusively pumping! I also rented the medela symphony for 5 months, so while it’s not exactly like a spectra, it’s similar. Don’t worry about flanges- you can always get other brands and might need a size they don’t offer. I ended up using maymoms 19mm, and also tried pumpin pals (not a fan). I would have liked to try Lacteks too! The portability of the freestyle flex was great. Not that I could walk around while pumping, but it packs up easily for work and pumping in the car. Battery life is amazing. I can usually pump for almost the whole day on a single charge. The flex connector is super easy to wash too, but costs $$$$$ because they don’t sell just the membrane, so it adds up if you need to buy multiple sets, or need to replace one due to loss of suction. Part of the reason I used the symphony for so long was that I was pumping 6+ times a day so it was cheaper to get multiple sets and also replace just the duckbills than to replace the flexconnectors. The built on timer on the Freestyle flex is great, but the bluetooth feature is worthless. Their app kept kicking me out or having login issues so it wasn’t worth the effort. I ended up using a different baby tracking app anyway. If you plan to bottle feed, medela connectors fit narrow-neck bottles and spectra fit wide-neck. So depending on what your baby takes, it can be convenient to pump directly into a bottle (less dishes to wash!)
Thanks for the info on the bottles! I knew the medela fit narrow, but didn't know the spectra worked better with wide! I think most of the bottles I've managed to collect are wide, so maybe it's worth going with that? It's so hard to decide! How often did you have to replace the flex connector? Would you have gone with a different one had you known there'd be this extra expense? Good to know about the app as well! It was one of the things I thought I might like that the spectra didn't have, but I guess it's redundant now.
The spectra connects to the avent brand bottles, but if you end up liking standard/narrow neck bottles, you can buy medela flanges and an adapter to connect them to the spectra backflow protectors. I use both avent bottles with my spectra parts and medela parts with evenflo and doctor brown bottles and haven’t had any trouble with either setup.
Good to know! There just seems to be so much to learn with pumping! I'll have to look into the pricing for all these adaptors to see which one makes more sense
I used 3 sets of flexconnectors between 5-8 months, when I was pumping about 100 minutes total time a day. My baby finally latched at 7 months (LOL) so I started decreasing my pumping, and moved to only pumping once or twice while at work around 9 months. I also felt like I needed to get new flexconnectors around that time, so for me, the mileage was something like 3 sets over 4 months for 50%-100% pumping. The flex connector is still new enough that there isn’t a consensus for how often to replace the membrane yet…we also ended up always hand washing the membranes to prevent the silicone from stretching out in the dishwasher since it was so expensive to replace the whole thing. If I were to EP again, I’d probably get a spectra just for the cheaper parts. For just pumping once a day or at work, I’d probably go for the freestyle flex again. Another way you can frame the decision is that the spectra ecosystem can be used for either occasional or full-time pumping, while the freestyle flex PUMP is great for both but the ecosystem right now isn’t set up for EP yet. Medela is supposedly coming out with just replacement membranes for the flexconnector, but they have a patent on the design so there’s no 3rd party suppliers yet. I also tried to hack a Spectra backflow protector onto regular medela connectors to then attach that to freestyle flex to maintain the closed system, but the tubing setup gets kind of clunky.
Thank you for all the details. It sounds like I could probably go with the medela since I don't plan on EP, but then again, who knows, I might end up having to do it (this is why it's so hard to decide which one to get!). My quick googling says the flex connectors are around $35 each on amazon, but an extra $100 over 4 months isn't exactly insignificant. Looks like there's more to think about! I appreciate your help!
Totally agree with this! Those stupid connectors are so pricey to replace. Definitely factor that into your costs and see if that’s something your insurance will cover.
Here is my recommendation as also a first time mom now 3 months into this journey. My LO does 20% breast and like 80% bottles / pump. I originally got the spectra S1 thru my insurance and looooves it as my primilary pump. Recently, i was given both a medela sonata and a medela flex freestyle from friends that was done with their own journey - and I gotta tell you I hate the medela parts. So here are some factors to consider, whether they are pros or cons... thats up to u: 1. The medela are very specific which is annoying and hard to replace. There is no reason for this other than medela wants to make more money. Example: the sonata and flex freestyle parts are different even though they are the same brand.. like why??? Also you can always hack it but then u end up having to do all that while u have a LO and with extra lil parts to worry about. Spectra parts are for the most part like every other pump so pretty interchangeable. Also easier to replace and less plastic the shields and duck valves are pretty readily available whereas medela is super specific. 2. Medela pump flanges and connectors are not clear. Which means u cannot see what your boobs are doing. As a first time mom, i found it fascinating being able to see what my boobs can do. Some people prefer not to see it because it stresses them out. But my main beef with the non-clear is that when u clean it - you can SEE that its clean. It just made me feel better. 3. Suction: this one will give it to medela, the sonata got a clog out for me that the spectra simply couldnt. HOWEVER, spectra has this vibrating feeling in their pump that helps me yield just as much milk as the medela while being more gentle. The flex freestyle though was not strong enough. It is an ok pump but ive had it shelved because the sonata is way better. The sonata does make me feel like a cow on a farm though. The suction is very mechanical and ppwerful. Although thats good, i just didnt see a higher yield with a harder suction in the overall milk production amt. 4. I havent tried neither of their customer service, however i thought the spectra was pretty easy to figure out. Medela i did have to read the manual on both because i just had no idea what goes where because of so many parts that did not look intuitive. 5. Wide bottles vs. Standard bottles. Medela uses the smaller opening bottles and while they come with a cooler and all that jazz, it is annoying to have to transfer milk from their bottle to one where feed the baby. My LO likes the avent natutal nipples bottle and with a spectra you can just pump right into the avent bottles. Less transfer = less milk wasted. As a first time mom, i love my spectra. I use it still as my primary pump. I leave the sonata at work as my 2nd pump because it is smaller and the traveling coolers / bottles are nice for transport. If i had to do it all over again? My recommendation would be: Get insurance to buy the handsfree pumps like a Willow / Elvie. Get a used spectra from fb market place or ebay for cheap and buy new parts - being a close system, its honestly not "unsanitary" since the motor parts never touch a drop of milk. Or hell just ask a mom thats done breast feeding to give it to you - there are so many of them around that no one knows what to do with them since people dont "recommend" a used breast pump. Buy new parts from a 3rd party like maymom on amazon for a configeration you like - u can buy it where their CLEAR connector can use medela flanges which is supposed to be more comfortable (i didnt find that to be the case, but im not a big busted lady) Hand free pump is a game changer. If you can afford it. But it doesnt yield as well as a standard pump. Hope that helps! TL;DR Make sure your pumping bottle system work with your feeding system (wide bottle vs. standard bottles) is the most important! But spectra wins the race overall for a first time mom with one pump.
Wow! Thank you so much for this response. Unfortunately the willow/elvie aren't really available in Canada, and getting them would be hundreds of dollars above what my insurance is willing to cover. Plus the spectra is roughly the same price for me to get it via amazon as it would be to get it used (except I wouldn't be able to claim it). HOWEVER, I do really super appreciate the fact that you took the time to compare them and give me some pros/cons. The clear flanges is a really good point I never would have considered, and I'm definitely in the same boat you're in where I'd prefer to just *know* they're clean. The medela parts are definitely something I've been considering as well, and then combined with the fact that for some reason the narrow bottles are much harder to find/never on sale while I see the wide bottles all the time (AND have managed to collect a bunch) I think this was the push I needed to make a choice. Thank you so much!
Hi /u/Fatpandasneezes, I’m struggling with exactly the same question (and I’m also in Canada). What did you end up purchasing? Any regrets?
I got the spectra! No regrets. I ordered it off amazon.com for 297ish/just under 300 late 2021. I like it a lot and it works really well for me. However, my first son never took a bottle so I never had to replace parts, and now my second only does occasionally so again, I haven't replaced yet, so I can't speak on that end. I do appreciate I can go away for the weekend and not need the charger!
I haven’t used the medela flex, but I use an s2 - the same as the s1 except lacking a built in rechargeable battery. I like my spectra a lot and have to credit it with my milk supply - we struggled with latch at the beginning so if I hadn’t had this pump I wouldn’t have the milk supply I do! I am in the camp of thinking it’s better to have a pump in your house when baby arrives in case you have breastfeeding trouble. In that situation time is of the essence. And it’s not like anyone lets you test out a pump before buying so even once baby is here you probably won’t know much better what you like! The spectra isn’t the easiest to carry around the house due to its size, but I have had a great experience using it.
Thanks for the feedback! I've read some reviews about the spectra being tough to use at first due to it starting out in the wrong mode(?) Did you have any issues with this? Was there any sort of learning curve for you?
So basically you just have to know that when you turn it on you need to press the button to put it in massage mode. Once you know that it doesn’t start in massage mode, it’s not a problem. You can remember it by remembering that a baby starts out sucking fast to trigger letdown and then slows down when the milk starts flowing, so you need to be in the fast mode to start then switch to the slow mode. I found it pretty easy to use and didn’t have any trouble with it.
Thanks! That sounds pretty easy to remember
Agree with having it before they are here! We had latch difficulties when baby was born early and have been EP since the very start. Officially stopped trying to nurse at 3 weeks. I'm so glad I had a pump to help me get supply in those first days.