Most of my girlfriends had their kids before I did, so I had a wealth of anecdotal information on which to base my breast pump decision. One friend had given me her Medela double pump, but I was told that it was not intended to be used by more than one person -- I still don't really understand that, but . . .

Another friend simply raved about her pump, the Ameda Hollister Purely Yours. None of my other friends raved about theirs, they were more like a necessary evil. So I got the Purely Yours.

It is just terrific. It's very fast and comfortable. Its best feature, in my opinion, is that it can be run on batteries. I've used it for long road trips so we wouldn't have to stop to feed the baby and it was great. I used the same set of batteries forever. I know there is a car lighter adapter available, but I do not foresee buying it as it runs so well on batteries.

I do find it a little difficult to pump both sides at the same time unless my husband is nearby to turn it on for me (both hands busy holding bottles, no hand free to turn it on), but it's so fast that even using it as a single pump takes less time than lesser pumps. I've since seen another brand with a handle connecting the two collection units -- that seems like a great idea to me.

It comes with plenty of collection/storage bottles. I also got the carrying case (it is available without). I couldn't imagine using it without, however, if pump and AC adapter are both in the top compartment, the bag is top heavy and will flip upside down whenever shoulder strap is used.