Breast pumping = freedom to roam

As I sit here writing this testimonial, the soft pumping noise is my soundtrack and I’m comfortably using two hands to type while a Freemie Freedom Breast Pump is doing all of the pumping work for me.

My current baby – my third boy – is almost 6 months old and following his brothers’ footsteps in being exclusively on breastmilk until food gets introduced. And just like his older brothers, I want an easy transition to a bottle when the time comes, because I work and also enjoy going out for some “me” time.

My previous experience with breast pumping hand been mostly manual – I felt like the electric ones didn’t work for me, and my fast flow meant I could pump more efficiently by hand.

So when I got the Freemie, at first I was sceptical. Would it truly be “hands free”? What is the benefit of being concealed when I work from home anyway? Is the collection method as sterile and safe as what I’m used to?

Looking at the box and the instruction manual did not, at first, answer any of these questions for me. The contraption seemed like something for a science experiment, and there were a lot of “DOs” and “DO NOTs”.

I was sure that after one use I’d go back to my tried and true manual breast pump anyway, but wanted to give the Freemie a shot so I followed the instructions, set up the Freedom unit and sat down in front of my computer.

Well, after one use I was hooked.

My hands were free. Hands! Free! I know it says that on the box, but you don’t really appreciate how laborious and limiting manual breast pumping is until you go completely hands free. Even an alternative electric breast pump is not truly handsfree, because you’re holding the unit to your breast.

I sat there for a few minutes, just watching in awe… then I sprung in to action! I schedule a doctors appointment by phone. I caught up on my emails and internet banking. I even managed to sketch some ideas for a flowchart I’d been working on. And in no time at all, I was done.

I removed the two cups and poured the milk into my freezer container, and here’s when the next point hit me. Two Breasts! One Pumping Session! I filled one of my containers in the time I’d usually be able to collect half. No more half-cups sitting in my freezer. No more wondering if it was “worth” keeping that small amount because it doesn’t even make for a full feed.

As for the concealment option, because of my work from home nature it wasn’t as important to me, but it was nice not know that if someone came to my glass front door, they wouldn’t be any the wiser. And for mums who do need to do this in a different working environment, it’s ideal. With my first child I did breast pump at work for a short time, in the toilet stall. It was uncomfortable – physically and mentally – and I was in such a rush to finish that I never pumped enough and ended up with sore breasts and guilt in every direction. This would absolutely combat those problems.

The contraption itself is so very clever, and certainly as safe and sterile as what I’d been used to. I know I will be spending a lot less time pulling apart the pump, cleaning and steaming as I have been doing.

I tried the manual Freemie option as well – the Equality Breast Pump Set. Even though this requires you to use one hand to squeeze the pump, the collection cups themselves are still hands free which makes it immediately easier than a regular manual breast pump. Instead of holding the unit to your breast and not being able to pull away, this one has a pull-handle pump which can easily be put down when needed or swapped over hands without affecting the cups or the milk collected. In fact, if I pass off the handle to my husband while we’re watching TV, it will be hands free!

Freemie is amazing, and the very definition of multi-tasking. The Freemie Freedom Breast Pump gives me my time back. Incredibly precious time when I am working from home, and looking after a baby, and trying to fit in all my tasks before my older boys come back from preschool and the chaos really begins. I can keep the nutritious breast milk in my sons diet no mater what change in routine I am going through.

I love it. I’d never go back to a manual breast pump again. Now I’m starting to dream up new places and ways I can get the most out of this!