My poor old Avent Isis has suffered irreparable damage, and with the arrival of number six, I’ve decided to replace it. While the Isis is a serviceable pump for it’s kind, there were enough drawbacks to my use of it, that I decided to do some research and try another brand. While I’d love to try a hospital grade electric, I really cannot justify the cost since I am primarily at home and able to breastfeed on demand, day or night. But I am once again seeking clients, so I will need to have something to feed our baby girl during those times I am called away.

Purchasing a breast pump is made all the more difficult for the fact that they are almost always a nonreturnable item. A good pump is not inexpensive, either. After doing a little internet searching, I stumbled upon a model of breast pump I’d not heard of before–the Whittlestone (there is also a Dr. Brown’s pump that looks virtually identical, except for the shape of the collection bottle). It looks very similar to the Isis which is a good, though not great, pump. It appeared to have remedied many of the qualities I found inferior about the Isis, namely lots of separate pieces making assembly and cleaning a chore, also increasing possibilities for cracking and breakage because of repeated assembly and disassembly. My biggest complaint with the Isis, though, is that I’ve never been able to achieve a let down while pumping with it. Also, with the shape/size of my nipples, I’ve incurred damage due to too much suction. While I am not an avid pumper, after six years of ownership, I’ve certainly had enough time with the device. At some points, I’ve even preferred manually expressing my breast, since the Isis wasn’t relieving the engorgement I was suffering having been away from tandem nursers through more than one feed. The trouble with expressing, however, is that I can be a little too harsh on my breast through a combination of impatience and efficiency.

The Whittlestone claims, like many pumps, to more closely imitate the suckling action of a nursing child. Unlike other pumps, this pump has minimal suction, and a adjustable dial to control even what little suction it offers. It’s main method of operation is the shape of the silicone inserted into the plastic flange. With the squeezing of the trigger, this flange collapses a little around the areola in an almost identical replica of a baby’s sucking, compressing the milk ducts and actually triggering the milk-ejection reflex! Within moments of pumping with this device, I had achieved let-down, and continued to repeat it over the course of pumping both breasts. While the action of the silicone may result in some friction on the nipple that some will find uncomfortable, it is nowhere near as much as the suction on other breast pumps I have tried. Not even as much discomfort as one might feel with nursing a toddler with a full set of teeth.

Other improvements over the Isis: the pump design has fewer parts, and the base of the collection bottle is wide enough that it can be set down without toppling the whole assembly. Anyone who has experienced a pump falling over, with the resulting loss of that liquid gold, can vouch for the importance of the latter quality.

As you can tell, I highly recommend this little pump, though of course cannot speak to the electric counterpart. The design is similar, though, so it might be worth the cost to someone needing a more sophisticated pump. I believe the Dr. Brown’s model is even in the process of marketing a double model. For the manual, prices are competitive with the Isis, though I managed to score a brand new one on eBay for $20 plus shipping.