The Bottom Line: This is a great, effective pump, that can be adapted to any suction strength and frequency. It is portable, very light weight, easy to use and store. Best Value!!

Any breastfeeding mother knows that sometimes a girl's just got to pump. For the first two weeks of my daughter's life, I had to pump her milk because she wasn't able to e held to nurse. I got very spoiled by the pump at the hospital. That thing worked very well!! So when it was time to go home, I ended up renting a pump from a local store called "Mommy Zone." It was the same brand as the hospital (Medela) and so I thought it would be great. I was disappointed by the power it had, or didn't have as I should say.

After a few months of renting a pump to have on hand "just in case" we actually started having to rely on it. We decided it was best just to buy one. I had never known anything about breast pumps so I was clueless as to the different brands and all of that. A good friend of mine who has breastfed 3 babies now recommended the Medela Pump In Style to me, and going on her word, that's the one I intended to purchase. I guess they usually run for $300 but she said she could get me one for $150, and I would have to wait for her to ship it. I started looking on my own because we were in need of one soon, and I wanted to check out my options.

I investigated several brands and asked a lot of questions about them. I wanted a pump that I could pack up and take with me, but I didn't necessarily need a special tote bag if it meant spending more money. I also needed to be able to pump both breasts at once, or only one at a time if I wanted to. We did have a specific budget to stay within, and I needed a good quality pump that would last, and had good suction. Trying to find all of these things in a breast pump isn't the easiest thing. The ones that I id find, that were good quality pumps all came with a carry case (for $50 more)and were more expensive than I would have liked.

Finally I came across the Ameda Purely Yours pump. I called my lactation consultant who said it was a very effective pump. In fact, she said that is was comparable to the quality of the Medela pumps. Now, because I wasn't happy with the Medela I rented, I asked her about it and she told me that the rented pumps aren't serviced as often as they should be and that the brand new ones, are usually much more effective and that I couldn't use it enough myself to make it less effective. I trusted her, but I still needed information. This was a big purchase in my home and there was no returning once we had it, so I wanted to be right.

I found out that my favorite store "Mommy Zone" had several of the brands I had considered in the store, and they said I could come look at the demonstration models if I wanted to. I must have sat in that office for 30 minutes putting all sorts of suction cups against the palm of my hand trying to gauge the power. I inspected 6 different models, and the one I decided was right for me was the Ameda Purely Yours Pump. It had everything I needed. It is a light weight, very portable dual action pump. It can be adjusted to pump one side if need be and the suction power is the same strength whether you use one side or both at the same time. (A big plus for me.) It has two knobs on the front that you use to adjust the pumping power to your specific needs. There is one for the suction force, and one for pumping frequency. (Basically, how many times it pumps per minute, but the dial isn't set in minute form.) It is a very compact design that has 2 cylinder shaped places for you to store the bottles while you are pumping, or when you are going to get bottles to transfer the milk to, or whatever you may need to put the bottles down for. These are better than the other pump's "bottle holders" because the walls of the cylinder are raised and the bottle is less likely to tip over. I chose to buy the pump without the case, but the same model did have a tote bag option if you want that. That one comes with a few more bottles and an ice pack or two (I'm not sure.) The one I purchased came with two storage bottles, 2 breast set ups, (the cone shaped breast cup and tubes) and the AC adapter. The AC adapter is quite heavy, but I had no problem with it. In fact, the only problem I did have is that my pump did not have the fitting ring that goes inside the cone shaped breast cup to help your breasts mold into the cup for better suction. I had to use the ones I had from another set up that I got at the hospital. I found that I needed them and thought it was odd that they were not included. They may be available separately at the location of the purchase, but I never checked into that.

Overall, I thought the Ameda Purely Yours breast pump was a very good purchase. I was pleased that it had all of the features I was looking for and I got it at half of the price of the Medela (the comparable brand.) I could have gotten a Medela from my friend for a little less than I paid for the Ameda Purely Yours, but I would have had to wait, and I don't think I would have been any more pleased with it. I would recommend the Ameda Purely Yours breast pump to a mother who is in search of a good, dual action pump that can be traveled with. I never took mine anywhere, but I could have very easily if I needed to. I think it was well worth the $180 I paid for it.