Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump Review

I received this item at no cost in order to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. 

There’s something oddly comforting about pumping. Maybe it’s just me, but since pumping became a daily ritual in my life some 15 months ago, it’s become a pretty important part of my routine. Every evening after Petit Prince is fast asleep in his crib, and I’m getting myself ready for bed, I spend about 20 minutes pumping. Though pumping isn’t something I have to do, it’s something I choose to do for just one little reason. Why? Because I’m a breastmilk donor. If you didn’t know, yeah, you can donate breastmilk! It’s something I found out about before Petit Prince made his arrival, and I knew I wanted to try to pump enough milk to donate to the local milk bank (NorthernStar Mothers Milk Bank). At first, I didn’t know if I’d ever reach that first minimum donation amount, or if I’d have the time to continue donating through Petit Prince’s first year. Once I had pumped enough for my first donation, pumping had become part of my routine and I wanted to keep it up. I love being able to donate breastmilk, and having a great breast pump is a key component in maintaining my supply so I have some extra milk to donate. Of course, a great breast pump isn’t just for breastmilk donors! I’d argue that every breastfeeding mom should have a breast pump, and I think it’s something worth having at the ready the day you bring your baby home. A breast pump can be a tool to help alleviate breast engorgement when your milk starts to come in, it can help to stimulate your supply when you need to produce a little more milk, and it is a must have item for creating a freezer stash. There are a lot of features I look for and want in a breast pump, and the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump delivers in all the areas that count! 

The Details:

The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is a breast pump designed to be comfortable and effective for all breastfeeding moms. The pump comes with everything you need to get started pumping right away. Included with the pump is  the pump unit, two breast flange kits, two different sizes of soft flange inserts, two 5oz storage bottles, a bag for storing wet pump parts, an AC adapter, and a set of extra valves and membranes. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump can be used plugged into the wall with the AC adapter or with six AA batteries.

Though it is a double electric pump, it can be used as a single electric pump by placing the cap over one side of the tubing adapter, and attaching one tube to the other side. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump unit is equipped with two built in bottle holders. When you’re getting set up to begin pumping, you can place the bottles with the flange kits attached in these holders until you’re ready to begin pumping. Once you’re finished pumping, you can place the bottles back in these holders so you don’t accidentally spill your milk while getting yourself organized again after pumping. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump has separate adjustment buttons for speed and suction. There are four different speeds, and eight different levels of suction to choose from. In all, this allows for 32 personalized settings so you’re sure to find the right speed and suction combination for you. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump has an AdvancedFit flange system. This system consists of three different sizes of breast flanges that are all included with the pump. The flange kit itself is the large size (30.5mm), and there’s a medium (28.0mm) and a small (24.5mm) pair of soft flange inserts. With all three sizes included, most women will find one that is most comfortable and provides the best seal against the breast without having to purchase additional parts for the pump. The design of the flange kit is such that is allows for what Evenflo calls PerfectPosition. That means that they are angled so that you don’t need to lean forward or slouch for the milk to flow easily into the bottles. This ensures a more comfortable and relaxed pumping experience.

The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is a PerfectlyPure closed system breast pump. What this means is that it is designed to prevent milk from backing up or spattering into the tubes. The tubing of any electric breast pump leads directly from the breast flange to the pump unit itself. The Evenflo PerfectlyPure closed system ensures that milk won’t get into the tubing and make its way to the pump unit. This makes a for a more hygienic pump, and one where you never have to struggle to clean out the tubing.

How It Works:

Before I get into how the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump worked for me, I want to preface this by saying that the amount of milk you’re able to pump is not indicative of your milk supply. Some women, like myself, respond really well to breast pumps, but not all women do. Remember that baby is much more effective at emptying the breast, so if you’re also putting baby to the breast you may not pump large quantities of milk at every pumping session. That’s okay, and it’s not a sign that your milk supply has dropped. I have a pretty strict once a day pumping routine, and have been pumping at the same time (give or take an hour) every night since Petit Prince was around a month old. My body is convinced that it needs to produce a full feeding at that time, so my output is usually pretty good unless Petit Prince has gone to bed late or is up nursing more often than usual.

The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump has been a great pump for me. The output that I had with this pump was consistent with what I’ve come to expect from other double electric pumps that I’ve used over the last 15 months. There are some great features of this pump that I especially like. The first is the customizable speed and suction. Many other pumps have set speeds where the level of suction automatically increased with the speed. In other words, if you need the pump to go faster it will also have a stronger suction, or if you need more suction it will also have to go faster. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is not that way. With the Evenflo, you can increase the speed without also increasing the suction and vice versa. This is an awesome feature that really lets you customize the pump to precisely what your body responds to best and what is most comfortable for you at that time. When you begin the pumping session, you set the speed to the fastest setting and to a comfortable level of suction to stimulate a let down. Once the milk begins to flow, you lower the speed to a level that mimics the speed that your baby nurses at or to a level that allows the milk to flow well for you. Throughout the pumping session, you can adjust the level of suction as well if you find that you need a stronger or weaker suction. Because this pump has so many available speed and suction combinations (32 to be exact), it did take me a handful of pumping sessions to find my preferred speed and suction level. Once I did find my sweet spot with the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump, I was getting excellent output (for me), and was having a really comfortable pumping experience. I find that I need a pretty fast speed to trigger a let down of my milk. I did use the highest speed of the Evenflo to trigger a let down, and it did work for me, but I would prefer that the speed go a little bit faster just for the let down phase. I am used to a let down happening with one to two minutes of pumping at a high speed, and I found it took closer to three to four minutes for me to have a let down with the Evenflo. My normal speed for pumping with the Evenflo is at the third of four speed settings, so overall I prefer a relatively quick pump which I was able to achieve with this one.

The AdvancedFit flange system of the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is fantastic. I just assumed that I’d need the medium soft flange inserts (that’s the 28.0mm), and that’s what I started with. It was comfortable enough, but when I read through the manual that came with the pump again, I decided to try the small soft flange inserts (the 24.5mm) just to see if it would be better. To my surprise, not only was it even more comfortable, but my output increased when I used the small soft flange inserts. This is the first pump I’ve tried that actually includes more than just one size of flange with the pump. Some other pumps have multiple flange sizes available, but none that I’ve tried actually included those other sizes with the pump. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump does! Not only does this allow you to do a little trial and error to find the best fit for you, but it also means you won’t be calling around every store in town that carries pump parts trying to find the right flange size (or having to order online and wait for them). This might be a small detail, but I think it’s an important one. It’s hard enough having a new baby at home and trying to get into your groove with breastfeeding and pumping. The last thing you need to be doing is wasting time buying extra pump parts you didn’t think you were going to need.

I also appreciate that the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump can be used plugged into a wall outlet or just with batteries. Now my pumping routine never has me very far from an outlet, but I know that’s not the case for many moms out there. How awesome is it to be able to pop the batteries in and pump on the go? Heading out on the road for a long weekend with the in-laws? You can pump in the car! Want to pump a fresh bottle for baby on your camping trip? You can pump in the woods! Is the outlet in your workplace pumping space just that little bit too far from the chair? Now you don’t need to figure out a way to sit next to the outlet! I tried this pump with the batteries, and found it to pump just as effectively with no loss of suction compared to using it plugged into the wall. Feel free to pump on no matter where you happen to be!

Can we talk about the built in bottle holders for a minute? Ever knocked over a bottle of freshly pumped liquid gold? Been there. It’s okay to cry. Pumping is hard work and it is downright devastating when a bottle of that hard work gets knocked over while you’re trying to tuck yourself back into your bra and button up your shirt. Or maybe you’re like me (lacking in the depth perception department), and knock the bottle over while you’re reaching for it to pick it up. The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump eliminates that possibility. You simply place the bottles into the built in bottle holders on the pump unit and you know your milk isn’t going to spill anywhere. I also like to place the empty bottles with the flange kit attached in these bottle holders before I start pumping as well. If you use the large flange (just the kit without one of the soft flange inserts), the bottle with the flange kit is steady and balanced when it’s empty. However, if you use the soft flange inserts (the medium or small inserts), then it adds just enough weight that the bottle and flange kit together is tippy when it’s empty. As a breastmilk donor, I have to sanitize my pump parts once a day, so there’s nothing worse that placing the bottles with the flange kit attached on my night stand only to have it tip over and fall onto the floor. The built in bottle holder on the Evenflo pump unit eliminates this problem. I just slide the bottles into the holder and I don’t have to worry that they’ll be bouncing onto the floor while I get my pumping bra on.

There is just one little thing about the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump that I didn’t love, and that’s the sound. First of all, breast pumps are loud. So far I haven’t found a pump that isn’t loud, so that’s not in and of itself an issue. I did find the Evenflo to be a little louder than the other pumps I’ve tried. That is in part because the model I have didn’t come with a bag for the pump. I’ve found that putting the pump unit inside a pumping bag muffles the sound of the pump enough that it isn’t crazy loud. Also, it’s less noisy if you put the pump on a softer surface (like the couch or the bed) instead of setting it on a table.

Washing the pump parts is fairly easy to do and I find the parts of the flange kit are easily accessible with a bottle brush. You’ll want to be careful when washing the membranes as they are fragile. I wash these just with my fingers and don’t use the bottle brush on them at all. When taking the flange kit apart, I always had a little trouble pulling the valve off the flange. It’s just really smooth, and it didn’t seem to matter if I tried to remove it right after pumping or if I waited until it was dry. I ended up just grabbing a paper towel and gripping that around the valve to remove it from the flange.

Pros:

• PerfectlyPure closed system
• Independently adjustable speed and suction for 32 personalized settings
• AdvancedFit flange system includes three different sizes with the pump (3 additional sizes will be available to purchase starting January 2017)
• PerfectPosition means no leaning forward or slouching required
• Tubing stays clean and dry
• Built in bottle holders
• Can be used as a single or a double
• Operates with an AC adapter or batteries
• Drawstring bag for wet pump parts included
• Extra set of valves and membranes included
• Two 5oz bottles included
• Digital access to Simply Breastfeeding™ and Breast Pumps & Briefcases™ education programs developed by Breastfeeding Expert Shari Criso, (IBCLC, CNM, RN) included with every pump

Cons:

• Fastest speed could be faster
• Pump is a fairly noisy
• Pump bag not included (though some models do include one)

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I’ve really liked the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump. I find that I don’t need to lean forward to encourage the milk to flow into the bottles instead of back up in the flange, and that makes for a more comfortable experience overall. The included soft flange inserts are probably my favourite thing about this pump. Not only did these soft inserts make for a more comfortable and gentle feeling while I pumped, but it allowed me to know for sure that I was using the right flange size for me. I didn’t need to just assume that I was getting the best performance with the flange size the pump came with because it came with three sizes to try! The independently adjustable speed and suction is such a great feature to have in a pump. I love that I can max out the speed without worrying that the suction will be so intense I’ll lose a nipple! If you know that you need a strong suction to maximize your milk output, but need a slower pace, the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump can do that. It’s so customizable that it absolutely has a speed and suction combination that will work for any breastfeeding and pumping mom. Though I pump almost strictly for milk donation, the Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is a great choice for moms who pump exclusively, pump at work (either full or part time), for the occasional day or night away from baby, and for pumping for an occasional missed feeding. I also think it’s a great option for having on hand to help with breast engorgement in the early days, and to help stimulate your milk supply as needed.

The Evenflo Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump is available to purchase in the USA from Amazon and is available to purchase in Canada from Babies R Us. It retails for $160 USD.

How would you like a chance to win an Evenflo Deluxe Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump? One lucky US reader has the chance to WIN an Evenflo Deluxe Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump valued at $160! Just scroll down to the giveaway and get your entries in for a chance to win. This giveaway is open to US residents only, 18+, and closes on November 15th, 2016. Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment. Don’t forget to follow the Pay It Forward giveaway “hop” and enter the other awesome giveaways linked up below!

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