Customer Reviews

Medela Symphony Breast Pump

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I began using the Medela Classic hospital grade pump 2 days after my son was born and had HORRIBLE PAINFUL problems (i.e. cracked bleeding nipples, raw skin). After switching to the Symphony all of my problems stopped immediately after the initial healing time was over.

I pump exclusively and bottle feed my son due to latching issues and I've been using the pump 8-10 times a day for the last 3 months without a single problem with the mechanics of the machine or it's ability to express a lot of milk. Of course, the pump cab make a difference in how much milk you produce to a certain extent, but it's different for everyone woman so be wary of people who claim that certain pumps will solve your low production issues.

PROS:
-Extrememly quiet compared to the Pump in Style, Lactina, and Classic pumps
-Easy to clean
-Exchangable flanges if you need different sizes
-Replaceable parts (although I've never needed to replace any of them so far)
-Easy to use buttons, fool proof
-Double phase expression starts off slow to ease you into full pumping action which is softer on your nipples
-Cute!
-You can pump both sides at once.


CONS:
-It's not easy to lug around and can be a bit heavy. It comes in a huge hard case for protection since it's a pricey pump. Not conducive to travel even with the battery pack since it's heavy. I would never take it on the airplane with me.
-Condensation often builds in the tubes, but they are easily fixable by running the pump without the bottles attached everyone once in a while
-Expensive! You can rent this pump from a hospital which is definitely worth it if you are planning on pumping often. If you experience mechanical problems or you aren't satisfied you can simply return it for another one since you don't own it. I am paying $60 a month for this pump and it's worth every penny.

I highly recommend this pump. It has not failed me yet. For your sanity, buy a bra designed for hands-free pumping or take an old sports bra or padded bra and cut slits for the flanges to slide into. Being hands free will save you! Unlike some of the other pumps, these flanges come off you can clean them and insert them into your bra easily.

I'm renting this product rather than buying, since I'm unlikely to need it for over a year.

I had low milk production with my first child and used a Medela pump-in-style. I always needed formula supplements as well. With my second child I was coming closer, but was pumping 15-20 ml per feeding when I needed 30 to supplement what the baby was getting for herself.

My lactation consultant recommended trying the Symphony before going to formula supplements. I would not have imagined that slight changes to the rhythm of the suction on a pump could make so much difference in milk expression, but switching to the symphony has raised my pumped output by about 50% from the first pumping. In addition the Symphony is much quieter than my old pump.

My insurance company provided this pump for me since I was released from the hospital before my baby. It is great! When we were in the hospital we were using the Ameda Elite which was making me sore and had a hard time maintaining equal suction on both sides. Although the parts of the Symphony are slightly harder to wash it is a far superior machine. The breast shields are smoother and more comfortable. The one knob operation is very easy and intuitive. I don't know why exactly, but it is the only Medela machine rated for use with preemie babies.

I had insufficient breastmilk production and had to supplement with formula. My lactation consultant recommended that I rent the Medela Symphony hospital grade pump, even though I told her I was using my own Medela Pump In Style breast pump. She said the Pump In Style is good for expressing established milk and the Symphony is made to help establish the milk supply.

With the Pump In Style, I was getting a total of .6 of an ounce every 3 hours (end of baby's first week). I tried all of the lactation consultant's recommendations and got it up to 1 ounce total per double pumping by week 3. From the first time I used the Symphony, I had 2 ounces total per double pumping (less if it was less than 3 hours since the last feed/pump).

Note that the rental price was $80/month + $40 kit that is available on Amazon, but you can look into having your medical insurance or FSA cover some or all of the costs. Note - if you have the Medela breast shields, connectors, membranes, and bottles, you will only need to get the special tubing and connectors for the Symphony.

Other recommendations from the lactation consultant:

-Always double pump
-You must establish your breast milk volume in the first four weeks
-Take Motherlove More Milk Plus supplement (she said Mother's Milk tea doesn't have sufficient quantities of the needed ingredients, but also said there's no empirical evidence that this improves your milk supply). It's more than ten dollars cheaper on Amazon than at Whole Foods.
-Nurse every 2 to 3 hours (I tried this but the first few weeks she's so sleepy that she just won't keep at it) and pump afterwards to make sure breasts are emptied
-Get the baby undressed to diapers, skin to skin, and use cross cradle position (she showed videos from Dr. Jack Newman's website of proper hold, proper latch, and how to tell if the baby is swallowing).

Be kind to yourself and either get one of the bras made for hands free breast pumping or take one of your old bras and cut little holes in the center of the cups. You can then thread the shield through the bra and attach the rest and regain the use of your hands. =)

This really helped us!

I love this pump! I started using it because it was provided in the Pentagon's lactation rooms, but now it is my pump of choice. It is gentle yet efficient.

Comparison to other pumps I've used:
--Symphony vs. Medela Classic (both hospital grade). The Classic (Medela's previous version of hospital grade pump) is faster, but Symphony is much gentler. They both draw about the same amount of milk and both bring let down very quickly.
--Symphony vs. Ameda Purely Yours (personal use pump). Symphony brings quicker let down and is gentler. Ameda has more customized controls (both speed and suction individually controlled,) but I find it easier to just let the Symphony do its thing. Whoever programmed they Symphony knew what they were doing.
--Symphony vs. Ameda hospital grade. See Ameda Purely Yours comparison. I can't tell any difference between hospital grade and home use Ameda pumps.

This is hands down the best pump I have used. Both my sons were tongue-tied at birth, so there were latch issues which resulted in my having to express breast milk until they could learn to latch correctly. I wasn't able to resolve the issue with my first son, so we used the Symphony pump for 11 months. Somewhere in that time, I purchased the Medela Pump In Style in order to avoid the continuing cost of pump rental. After using the Symphony, I hated the other pump. I also had the Medela Swing (which I had purchased prior to my first son's birth). Again, nothing compares to the Symphony. The Swing is similar, but only a single pump and not as strong. The Symphony is the closest thing to a nursing child that you can find in a pump.

The Symphony has helped me through many blocked ducts and pumps quickly and efficiently. It is a time saver and is so much quieter than other pumps. It is expensive, but when I look back on what I have paid to rent one (not to mention the pumps I purchased that I don't use), I could have purchased the pump instead! I rented the Symphony on day 2 after my second son's birth (as soon as I learned that he was tongue-tied). I immediately looked for one to purchase knowing that I would most likely have it awhile. We are planning on having more children, so it made sense to purchase one. I Just wish I hadn't wasted my money on the other pumps. This certainly falls under "you get what you pay for".

My son was 2 weeks old when he was diagnosed with RSV. He had it so bad we were there for 11 days. 6 of those days he was in PICU. He was on high flow oxygen, feeding tube, and an IV. Not easy to see your baby with so many things coming out of them. So, he was breathing so fast they didn't want him to eat from the breast. So I said is there a pump I can use while I'm here. They said yes, and brought out the Symphony. This pump is so much like having a baby eat from the breast. It starts with the fast little sucking like your baby does, then it knows when you let down and changes to the longer slower sucking. It is an amazing pump. I wish they would have these cheaper for nursing moms to buy because it would help moms bodys feel like they are nursing their baby. I have the Nurture III breast pump which works fine, but if you use it often it hurts the nipples. If you have the money and you want the best pump and you are a dedicated mom to breastfeeding and will need to pump, please buy this pump. I promise it will not let you down.

So proud of my daughter who made the commitment to give her baby breast milk even when the baby couldn't suckle due to her cleft palate. It just made sense to get her the BEST hospital grade breast pump, because the cost of months of rental made this an easy choice. The pump is durable and such a nice closed system, that it can be used for several babies.

This pump is wonderful! It is perfect for the nursing mom that has to exclusively pump! I highly recommend if you need to exclusively pump - you should select this pump.

I have been renting this pump over three months since my baby was born. At first I only got a few milliliters per pump, sometimes just drops. Now I get at least three ounces every time, sometimes seven ounces. Here's how I get the most milk from my Symphony:

Wear a pump bra--I made one out of a pullover sports bra with holes cut (you can hand-sew around the edges to make it last). Amazon sells cheap ones (3-pack, Tank Style Sport Bras, Fruit of the Loom) in a three-pack. This way you can take advantage of the double pump action and have your hands free.

Massage--Now that you have your hands free, use them to do a compression massage to get more milk. Stanford has instructions on how to do breast compression massage while pumping as well as heartening statistics about how much more milk moms get when they do it this way.

Lube--I put shea butter on my nipples before pumping so that they don't rub so much on the shields. This helped a lot especially in the beginning to keep my nipples healthy and keep pumping productive. You can buy special stuff (Motherlove Herbal Nipple Cream (1 oz)) for this or just use some generic shea butter. Motherlove is a little easier to spread on.

Start low and raise suction dramatically for let-down--When I first started, I could barely stand three bars of suction. It especially hurt to "dry pump," i.e. run suction when no milk was coming out. Gradually my nipples got more stretchy and now I can go all the way to the highest suction during let-down. The key is to run at a level that gets your milk flowing well--for me this is seven bars. Play with the bars and with massage until you get a spray of milk and it makes the hissing sound, then crank that thing up so it pulls longer for each hiss. This really helps the bottles fill up. When the hissing spray (let-down) stops, turn it back down to a lower, faster setting so you can coax out another let-down.

Listen to audiobooks or watch tv--I have a routine now where I listen to an audiobook every time I pump. I swear it helps my body know to start the let-down, because it is the routine, and it makes pumping a lot more relaxing. I listen with one ear for a let-down hiss, and with the other I listen to a story.

Supplements help too--I have a prescription for Domperidone and I take Special Blend (More Milk Special Blend "Motherlove" , 120 Vegetarian Capsules). These work gradually, so give it about 4 weeks. After they're working you can wean back off of them. Jack Newman's website has advice about how to do this.

Maybe all this stuff is obvious, but it took me months to figure out and my lactation consultant did not tell it to me. Over two months I went from giving him almost all supplement to giving him all my own milk plus freezing some. Good luck pumpers!