Avent Manual Breast Pump

With my first child in 2002 I bought the Avent Manual pump and after the initial period of getting used to the assembly and method, it worked like a dream and helped me to breastfeed and pump for about two years.  I used the Avent bottles as well, so it was perfect. It was also pretty hardy as I also got to use it for my second child in 2005, also for nearly 2 years.  I always handwashed it, and used the steam sterilizer for about 7 months, after which I simply poured boiling water.

With my 3rd child in January 2008, my trusty old pump finally gave in and cracked about a month after my son was born and so I purchased the new Avent Manual pump.  There were less pieces now, which I thought at first was a good thing, but like the other reviewer here, I have been having the exact same problem.  After a few movements with the pump lever, the tiny piece for suction pops out and you have to open the entire main peice to put it back in again.  Obviously its' a problem with the design and I'm wondering if Avent has done anything about it yet with so many Moms experiencing the same thing?

I bought a Medela pump and found it takes me twice as long to achieve "letdown" in spite of it being electric, so I've continued to use my Isis even if the "popping out" bit sometimes drives me crazy. 

I bought the ISIS pump on the go set for using at work and when out of town and it worked wonderfully for a couple weeks. Then it got where I had to boil the peices every time I used it for them to fit correctly. I talked to avent about it maybe being defective and they said it wasn't that boiling continuely was the only solution to the issue of the peices not fitting correctly, to boil them inbetween every use- not very good when using it for work. I told them so and they agreed, and weren't at all suprised by my complaint and the woman I talked with said it was a common one. If I didn't boil them between EVERY use the peice in the suction chamber expecially would pop off and the piece over the suction cup would not fit and seal well at all. I got so that I didn't even use that peice and you know how uncomfortable that is. I even bought a second one cause I thought maybe I just got bad fitting/made peices, but the second one did the same thing after a couple of weeks. I was really disappointed with this product.

After months of this I ended up buying a Lansinoh manual pump when out of town without baby for a couple days once and that was all we could find at the store in the small town my in laws live in. It was much cheaper then the avent and didn't fit the avent bottles we love, but I never had any problems with it other then that. So I ended up switching to it because the inconveinence of it not fitting the bottles we use was far less then the inconviences of the rediculous upkeep to use the avent manual pump.