Elvie Review
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So you’re looking for a pump?! I’m so excited to share with you my review on Elvie and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to work with them on this partnership. Please note all opinions are my own. They were generous enough to gift me the double pump. As a NICU nurse, mom to now four, and working towards my IBCLC I have a passion for helping moms feed their babies, however that may be!
Let me start by saying that if you are a stay at home, never away from your baby, or feeding them on demand, there is absolutely no reason that you NEED a pump. I believe in our society today, that we are so pushed to get back to work, get out and about, and leave our babies that we think that we need a pump to start building a “freezer stash” not to mention, our world is so focused on numbers that we feel this unnecessary urge to know exactly how much milk we are getting or giving to our babes. That’s just not necessary and really causes a lot of stress on moms.
When you are feeding your baby, and as they grow, LOOK at YOUR baby! What are they telling you?? Do they come off your breast or bottle and act as if they want more? Do they come off your breast or bottle and are content? As time goes on, are they growing, gaining weight, looking healthy? Look at your babies mama! You know how they are doing, without knowing how much you’re giving them in ounces.
Soooo, if you are looking for a pump because you are exclusively pumping, or returning to work, or away from your babe at any time, Elvie Pump is truly a game changer. I have used Medella, and Spectra both in the past and Elvie has taken the hands free, cord free pump to a whole new level!
Reasons I love Elvie:
Hands Free
Cord Free
Easy to use
Silent
Responsive
Hands Free/Cord Free: Out of all the amazing features Elvie offers, above are my top reasons why I love it and would recommend it to moms if they are looking for something like this. It goes without saying, hands free and cord free are really the game changer here, in my opinion. There’s really nothing enjoyable about being stuck plugged into the wall while you pump, without any hands to use as you sit there and hold each bottle for 10-20 minutes or longer (unless you remember your hands free bra).
Not many moms I know, have a lot of time for that. This is by far the best two reasons to invest in Elvie. I can be doing anything around the house, helping the kids, cooking, cleaning, and be pumping at the same time. It takes multitasking to a whole new level! I like to wear my Elvie most in the morning chaos, while everyone needs something from me at the same time and we’re rushing to get ready and out the door! I can pump while doing it all and not have to worry about waking up early or finding time to sit down to get ‘er done!
Easy to Use: One thing that I love, which I didn’t know that I would, is that it’s synced with Elvie app. This is so helpful if you actually want to track your pumping sessions, how long each lasted, and how much volume you got at each time. (This could be huge if you are trying to see when your supply is at it’s highest or lowest or if you need to add in some sessions to get more volumes for your baby, etc.) The app is also nice, because it walks you through the set up and how to use it. It’s super user friendly.
Silent: With its revolutionary technology, Elvie is completely silent. So, in theory you could be at work and pump on the job. This might be appealing to health care workers who may not always get a break! The only con to this is that your breast just look extra huge and you’d have to accommodate your shirt for this!
Responsive: Another thing I love is its ability to detect your let-down which automatically switches the pump from stimulation to expression. (On other pumps, you have to press the button when you feel your let down start to happen, not a huge deal, but kinda cool!) It also detects when the containers are full, so if you get side tracked and forget to turn off your pump when you’re done, it will automatically do it for you! (Again, not a huge deal, but there’s been several times I’ve been pumping with my hand held pump, get distracted and then overflow milk everywhere because the bottles are too full)
Concerns:
When first sharing about Elvie Pump, the most common concern I received was if the suction actually worked, if it can be used with big breast, if it’s covered by insurance, and is it worth the investment?
Does the suction work well enough? In my opinion yes. It’s no hospital grade pump, but no home pump is going to work like that. I would say the suction is comparable to Medella and Spectra, which is great because that means it actually works! However, I haven’t used it long enough to know if it starts to peter out towards the end of your pumping life (ie. a year or however long you would be pumping for) I know that personally my Medella started to not work as well after I used it for about a year, which is why I have gotten a new pump with each babe. So for only using Elvie for about a month, I can only speak on the suction as of now!
I will say that sometimes if not placed in properly the suction will not work, but that is user error and something you may experience like myself. I thought for a while that one of my pumps was broken, but after looking on their site for trouble shooting, they had a lot of information to help solve the problem.
Are your breast too big? No, not at all! I believe that with the right bra to hold your breast up, you can easily use this pump like any other mama. I myself have very large breast after having a baby, and they get very engorged at times, and I can still use Elvie and have it work like it should.
Does insurance cover it? Great question and one you would want to know if looking to invest. Elvie works with Durable Medical Equipment suppliers who partner with various insurance providers, so depending on your insurance carrier, it may be partially covered and something worth looking into. You can check a list of their partners HERE, but also follow up with your insurance carrier to be sure! I know from the past, my Medella was completely covered by my insurance (Preferred One) and my spectra was partially covered. You can also use your FSA/HSA funds to purchase Elvie, which is super nice and if you ever had troubles with your pump you can email them here at questions@elvie.com (As returns are not allowed, being it is an intimate product) Another option, would be to only buy one pump, rather then two, and that would be cheaper and you could use it while feeding your babe on the other breast.
Is it worth the investment? Heres, the thing. I think that if you asked a variety of moms, you would get different answers but everyone would agree that it’s worth the convenience factor! Convenience is HUGE for all moms! Working moms, SAHMs, first time moms, moms to multiples…you can always use an extra set of hands, and Elvie pump gives that to you! In my personal opinion, this is a great pump for moms that are going to be pumping a lot. If you are not planning on pumping a ton, then looking into a pump that is covered fully by insurance or even a lower cost pump would probably be a better option for you.
What other moms are saying: Click on the picture below to enlarge and read comments
Thanks again for stopping by, I hope this review helped you out! Be sure to check out my other post on breast feeding and pumping, I’m working on a comparison blog between the Medella, Elvie, and Spectra pumps that will be coming very soon! A huge thank you to Elvie for partnering with me and gifting me Elvie so that I can share this review with you all! Be sure to
xoxo Mari