Customer Reviews

Lansinoh Manual Breast Pump, 1-Count

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read many reviews before purchasing this product. It was easy to find other brands in local stores, but I knew the brand Lansinoh as supplying top notch nursing products and was intrigued. Years ago I had tried other brands, like Evenflo, and they were ok. In the hospital I used a top-notch double electric pump. I prefer, however, the Lansinoh Manual Breast Pump to them all. I am not attached to a big contraption, like the big electric pumps--like a cow in a dairy. :-P It is not as noisy, and I got milk just as fast and as comfortably if not moreso. Yes, you have to pump one side at a time, but I hated pumping both sides at once anyway because it just felt so unnatural to me.

You can adjust the suction level simply by how far and hard you squeeze the lever. I was worried the lever would tire my hand, but they have it attached to a neat little contraption which makes it a breeze. NO HAND DISCOMFORT whatsoever. It EXTRACTED milk QUICKLY. It was QUIET. (I have read some reviews saying theirs squeaks from time to time; mine does not.) The funnel at the breast has a COMFORTABLE SOFT SHIELD. I found that I could adjust the suction level to suit my own comfort just by adjusting how hard and quickly I pulled the lever. Slow and part way was sufficient to produce a fast milk flow for me, and it was not difficult to do so.

Out of all the breast pumps I've used--two hospital ones, and two single pumps (one battery and one manual)--this is by far the best. I couldn't imagine a better pump. If you've got to pump, this is the way to go. Thank you, Lansinoh!

(By the way, I also highly recommend their nursing pads.)

After exclusively pumping and bottle-feeding for 8 weeks with a hospital pump, I returned to nursing my daughter and needed a simple pump to take care of engorgement issues. I ordered the Lansinoh double electric pump along with this manual with the plans of trying the manual to see if it works before opening and using the electric pump. Well, this pump worked just as good as the hospital grade pump. I was able to pump 5 oz. in 10-15 minutes. I have, however, always been really successful at pumping. I was really reluctant to try a manual pump because the lactation specialist at the hospital referred to them as "Torture Devices", so I figured they were really painful. Not true with this one. I found the $1000 Medela hospital pump more painful at times than this pump. Furthermore, having a manual pump was so liberating after sitting in the same place in the house for 2 months 7 times a day 15 minutes a pop. With a manual, you can pump while doing chores around the house, in the car on long trips, in the ladies' room at the mall, etc. It's quiet - mine occasionally squeaks but it's NOTHING compared to the loud drone of electric pumps, it's light-weight, and the pump handle resistance is easy. I recommended this pump to a friend who loves hers just as much as I do. You won't be disappointed.

I absolutely love this pump! It is easy and fast to use. It is comfortable; does not hurt the breast. I've been able to express 3oz. in about 5 minutes or less. It is easy to assemble and clean. Once you sterilize it before the first use, everything can just go on the top rack of the dishwasher. I would recommend this product to anyone.

I was skeptical about all the rave reviews on here, but I've been using this pump for five months now and the reviewers were right--this is the best pump out there. About two weeks after I bought the first one, I bought another. So, now I pump BOTH breasts at once w/this pump. I work full-time, sometimes far away from a plug or in my car...I'm usually on the go at meetings or events, so these have been indispensable. I pump a lot in my car...a few times I've pumped in a bathroom stall. I use them at night too when the little one has gotten his fill...I just pump out the remainder and save in the fridge. I switched out the plastic bottles that came with this pump for small, 4 oz. glass ones (evenflo) and pump directly into them (I can get about 5 oz in them if I fill them to the brims).

I pump w/these 1-5 times a day depending on my schedule, so they're getting a lot of use. Both of the pumps still work great. They are practically SILENT (which is nice when you are pumping at work), though I did hear the "squeak" about two months in that a couple of reviewers mentioned--to fix, I put petroleum jelly (just a little bit) on the middle underside of the purple handle where it attaches to the pump and viola, no more squeak. I don't know why it happens, but I'm betting that after you wash the thing about a hundred times w/soapy water, the soap probably leaves behind a residue that just needs to be removed w/the petro jelly. I've only had to apply the petro jelly twice in five months and of course, the jelly comes off during the next washing but it didn't start re-squeaking.

My breasts are quite large (J cups) and I worried that the suction wouldn't be enough to hold them in there while pumping. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. Suction is good enough that I can pump both at one time without having to worry about my boobs falling out.

Not to be redundant w/all the other reviews, but yes, it IS easy to use. My hands haven't gotten worn out yet. Yes, it IS easy to clean. When I'm out on the road, I run water through it to clean it out. When I get home, I hand wash it and let it air dry (we don't have a dishwasher).

I tried electric and other manual pumps (medela, ameda, hospital grade and personal) as well as a variety of nipple shields (even got a lactation consultant to help) and my nipples were being rubbed raw on the sides. I didn't experience that with this pump...maybe because you can control how you pump (sometimes you don't have to have a lot of suction because your milk is flowing easily). With an electric pump, I had to constantly adjust the dials, which was annoying and time-consuming.

At one point, my milk supply dipped down (I wasn't pumping frequently enough it turned out) but I got help from my lactation consultant again. She tried a hospital grade pump on me. It squeezed out less than this hand pump did. Also, I can pump my breasts MORE QUICKLY with this hand pump than I can with an electric. Only takes me 15-20 minutes to pump (both boobs at once) depending on how long it's been since the last time I pumped.

Design-wise, these are better hand pumps than the others I looked at. The Ameda hand pump I tried broke after three squeezes and was a terrible design. With Lansinoh's design, when you squeeze, all the force you squeeze with is directly to your breast, so that means that you don't have to squeeze very hard and making small adjustments to how you are squeezing makes a big difference. There isn't a weak point in these pumps...with the Ameda, the force you squeeze with goes to the weak point in the pump, which is a poorly-made plastic joint.

Overall, I would highly recommend these over any other pump out there. Try it and see...for the price, you can't go wrong.

Ladies: please know that it is always my personal policy to test every product I buy and give every one a chance to prove its worth before I review it. However, I have some disappointing information to share from my experience with the Lansinoh manual pump. I purchased the pump because it had excellent reviews. Needless to say, it has been less than satisfactory. Every time I clean it, I let it air dry (recommended in instructions) before I assemble it prior to use. Unfortunately, if there is even one tiny drop of water left in the silicone diaphragm when you put it together, then the pump/suction does not work properly. It's very difficult to tell what is causing the seal to be compromised, but I generally have to take the pump apart and attempt to find every miniscule drop of moisture and remove it with a paper towel before I can get the pump to work properly. Imagine how annoying this is when you really need to pump (first thing in the morning for me) and you're struggling to get your pump to function properly. You must also be careful with the small white valve. It is important for proper suction. Having said that, the pump does have one advantage; there is no annoying cord to deal with. I found that if you can get it to seal and pump properly, it actually does a fair job of extracting breast milk. It makes a nice travel companion as well. Now back to the cons: it is quiet for about five minutes, then it begins to make a squeaking noise. The noise doesn't really bother me. I would completely over look it if the pump worked every time without me having to take it apart several times to inspect/correct the problem. It also has more parts than my Evenflo single electric pump. Finally, the easiest way for me to pump and produce 5-8 oz quickly is to pump one side while my baby is nursing on the other side. This pump makes that easy to do because you don't have to deal with a cord

I originally registered for this pump after reading so many positive reviews. I'm taking a year off of work to stay at home with my baby so I knew that my pumping needs would be just the occasional bottle for babysitters and daddy. My friends all told me I was totally insane for not getting an electric double pump and, out of what I think was incredulity at the fact that I never did, my sister-in-law lent me her Medela Pump In Style after my kiddo was born. I started pumping when my son was about three weeks old and ... I haaaaaaaaated it. I tried using smaller and larger breast shells, tried fiddling with the suction intensity, tried just using the nipple stimulation mode, etc. Supply wasn't my problem; I could get 4-5 oz per breast. I was just uncomfortable the whole time. Turns out my son was an awesome sleeper at night from one month of age (don't hate me) so I was having to pump every morning just to keep from exploding. After a month of still despising my early morning pumping sessions, I went ahead and ordered this pump.

(the clouds part and angels sing)

First of all, the silicone sleeve that goes over the breast shell is super comfortable. The shell IS a little smaller than the Medela standard size, more like a 24 mm shell, although I suppose you could just not use the silicone sleeve if you need a little more room for your nipple.

Secondly, I like being able to control the frequency and intensity of suction. I can much more easily replicate my son's sucking rhythm (more frequent with less pull) than the Pump in Style did (less frequent, more pull).

Thirdly, although I expected my hand to get tired, it doesn't. I do have large-ish hands so that may make a difference, and I'm also pumping for 15 minutes MAX. If you're pumping for more like 30 minutes, I can see how your grip might wear out. (BTW, I grip the neck of the bottle with my thumb and palm and use all four fingers on the lever. I'm also pumping into 8oz glass bottles which weigh significantly more than plastic but my hands still don't hurt.)

So after gushing to my husband about what a revelation this pump was to me, he (being the engineery type he is) suggested I do a head-to-head comparison with the electric pump. Results? I was able to pump 7 oz from the Lansinoh side in 14 minutes. During that same time, I got 5 1/2 oz from the P-in-S side. It took another 6 minutes to pump that last 1 1/2 oz from the P-in-S side. I believe being able to more accurately mimic my son's rhythm and suction with the manual pump makes a huge difference. I'll be returning my sister-in-law's pump to her.

Now for the negatives (are there negatives? Well of course there are.):

More parts. More parts to clean and dry and assemble and disassemble than the Medela pump. I still only pump once or twice a day, so this is not a big deal for me, but if you are pumping several times a day I can't imagine the parts would have time to air-dry in between each session.

It's not a workhorse pump. If I were pumping for a baby in daycare, I honestly can't conceive of using just this. I'd need a hospital-grade pump so I could fiddle with rhythm and suction. And so that I didn't develop carpal-tunnel syndrome.

Some other reviewers have noted that it starts to squeak after a few months of use. I haven't had it long enough to notice this issue; thus far, the sound of the milk hitting the bottom of the bottle is the loudest noise this thing makes. I will report back if it starts to squeak on me.

This pump fits my need perfectly, and it's just a bonus that it's lightweight and easy to travel with (I can pump in the car on road trips!) AND nearly silent so I can pump while my son is asleep without waking him.

*EDIT June 27, 2011* After owning and using this pump for two months, I still love love love it. I HAVE heard an occasional squeak now and again and it comes from the pressure point where the lever meets the plastic body. It doesn't happen every time, and it seems to happen when: a) the parts aren't fully dry, b) it's really humid in my house, or c) if I stick the whole bottle + pump contraption directly into the fridge and then take it out later to continue to pump. In other words, humidity seems to be a big factor in the squeak. Often if I change my grip slightly and squeeze a bit farther down on the lever it will go away. Taking it apart and giving it a thorough clean helps prevent the squeaks, too.

I have been using Avent manual pump for the past and thought it is the best pump ever until I came across this pump at Amazon. I bought it just to try it out and found that it's better than the previous one I used, for it's speed, quietness. Moreover, I think it was designed well as my milk don't get trap on the cushion part as well as on the part/stem where the milk flow thru the valve which happens for the Avent pump.

I have never had much luck with pumping. I pretty much never did with my first child, and had about given up with my second (currently 1 month old). After I boiled my Medela harmony to death by accident, I started researching reviews on manual pumps and read some outstanding ones for this one.
I must say I like it much better than my Medela manual and double-electric pump combined! I experienced nothing but pain from both of my previous pumps...this one is so comfortable! It seems much more durable and is easier to clean than my old Medela Harmony (and also a bit cheaper).
I have also gone from pumping a few drops in between feedings to pumping a full ounce. I honestly didn't think I would ever be able to pump anything signifigant until I gave this one a try. I pumped a full ounce in a few minutes with the Lansinoh.
This is the best purchase I've made in quite a while, I definitely recommend it to anyone who is an occasional pumper! It is worth every penny.

As a working mom of a 4 month old that is exclusively breastfed, I feel like I am constantly on the pump & I'll be honest, pumping sucks. Every once in awhile I figure there has to be a better way so I pull out my Lansinoh double electric pump, give it a try, and then put it away again for a couple weeks. The manual Lansinoh is far better imo. It really is SO easy to set up & clean and it's much quieter & more readily portable than the double electric Lansinoh I have. Also, I find the electric pump, even on lower suction settings (which ends up taking forever), really makes my nipples sore.

While I'm certain there's not a pump out there that I'd love (really, who enjoys pumping?), this one gets 5 stars for it's ease of use and portability. On occasion I will pump for a few minutes after I feed my daughter from the same breast to empty (or pump the other breast). This adds to my stash of milk slowly but is far less dreadful than sitting down to pump both breasts (which I still do at work) and this is where the manual pump comes in really handy. There's no way I would pull out and hook up to the electric pump to just pump for a few minutes.

Also, the manual pump is a godsend when you finally sit down to pump and baby starts crying...just put the pump down & tend to baby or walk over with pump in hand if it's something simple like their pacifier fell out of their mouth. :)

This pump is wonderful, works almost as well as the hospital electric pump I rented. My son is now almost 2 months old and though I only have to pump occasionally, it is dependable and efficient when I need it. I can get almost 4 oz sometimes after my baby has fed. I also really like the fact all the pieces come apart for easy cleaning, I owned a different brand that didn't, it had one part that couldn't come off or it would be broken, plus it worked horribly. Needless to say, it's now been thrown out. Lansinoh has redeemed my faith in manual pumps!

I only have one complaint, for some reason mine squeaks from time to time, it's not bad enough to return it though.