I wish I had known about the Haakaa breast pump when I had my first baby.
The Haakaa breast pump is a manual breast pump made of silicone. It can be attached to your breast, collecting the milk during let-down while you are breastfeeding your baby.
But get this – it’s not just a milk collector, it is also a manual breast pump that allows you to pump your milk using natural suction.
However, most lactation consultants would advise to bottle feed babies only once your babies have established breastfeeding properly. To contact a lactation consultant, you can contact Susu Ibu.
But if your baby has problems latching and cannot seem to feed directly, do remember that fed is best!
Related post: Our honest review of the Spectra 9+ Breast Pump
When Would You Need to Use the Haakaa Breast Pump?
You can use the Haakaa breast pump whenever you need to collect and freeze milk for your little one.
It functions as a manual breast pump, but it uses natural suction that prevents your breast from producing too much milk.
Therefore, you can use the Haakaa breast pump:
While you are breastfeeding – collect the extra milk on your other breast during let-down. Instead of letting your milk flow into your bra and nursing pads, you’re saving them.
To stock up milk in case you need to be away from your baby for any of the following reasons:
- Relieve engorgement
- Work
- You’re at the hospital, separated from your baby
- You need a break from breastfeeding
Related post: 10 Breastfeeding things I wished people had told me.
The Pros of the Haakaa Breast Pump
If you produce a lot of breast milk and previously had trouble producing too much milk, the Haakaa breast pump is for you.
1. The reason why it’s great for breastfeeding mothers who produce too much milk (more than what the baby needs) is that it allows the milk to drop during let-down, allowing you to save that liquid gold.
Breastfeeding moms who produce too much milk than the baby needs, create a lot of foremilk. Sometimes, the baby would just drink the foremilk and not drink enough until he or drinks the hindmilk (the milk that has more fat). This happened to me when I had my first baby.
2. If you need to pump both breasts, the suction is not overpowering. The silicone pump collects the milk from your breasts slowly. This allows the breast to produce milk according to the needs of your body.
3. An electric breast pump, on the other hand, has a very strong suction that would force your breast to release a lot of milk in a short period.
4. The best part is – as both can be attached to your breasts, that means your hands are free! You would not need to hold the silicone bottles while allowing your milk to be collected.
5. Very easy to clean – as it comes in one piece. Unlike electric breast pumps, you’d need to clean the bottles, valves, and tubes.
6. Lightweight – as this is only made of 2 silicone pumps and does not have a motor, they are very light. It’s so much easier if you need to travel to the office with these!
7. Much cheaper than an electronic breast pump
8. Does not make any noise
The Cons of the Haakaa Breast Pump
I’d say the only downside of the Haakaa breast pump is that it is a manual pump, meaning if you really need a lot of milk in a short amount of time, then you might not have enough patience for the Haakaa breast pump.
If you’re a busy working mom who works at the office, then you might be better off with an electric pump.
How Do You Use It?
Using the Haakaa breast pump is less complicated than an electronic breast pump.
However, you would still need to read instructions about how to use the pump, especially if you have never used it before.
1. Clean and sterilize the Haakaa breast pump when you use it the first time. Use a bottle solution that is safe for babies. Once you are done, you can sterilize it by immersing it in boiling water for 5 minutes.
2. Leave it to dry
3. Press the lower bottle to allow some air to be pushed out. You will see that the flange will change a bit of its shape. The best way to attach these to your breasts is by pushing the flange back before you attach it to your nipples.
4. Release the lower part of the bottle to attach it to your breasts. If you are using this to collect your breast milk during a let-down and while you are breastfeeding your baby, make sure you attach it to the breast that is free of the baby (the breast that is not being used to breastfeed).
5. Allow the Haakaa breast pump to collect your milk. Once you’re done, carefully squeeze the lower bottle to release and detach your breast.
6. Immediately store the milk into a bottle or milk storage bags, depending on when you will use it.
7. Clean and sterilize the Haakaa breast pump.
Which Silicone Breast Pump Should I Get?
The Haakaa Breast pump has evolved and now comes in 3 generations.
Generation 1
- Comes in one silicone bottle
- Does not have an extra flat surface at the bottom
- You can buy a cap/cover to prevent your milk from spilling out
- Capacity: 100 ml
- Suitable for: home, on the go, travelling, and work
Generation 2
- Comes in one silicone bottle
- Stable suction on a flat surface to prevent from spilling
- Larger size
- Capacity: 100 or 150ml
- Suitable for: home, on the go, travelling, and work
Generation 3
- Comes in two parts that can be detached
- When detached, can be changed to a bottle, attached to a feeding spoon
- Flat and stable base
- Capacity: 160 or 250ml
- Suitable for: home, on the go, travelling, and work
As you can see, the Haakaa breast pump comes in a few forms. Therefore, new moms have the liberty to choose which model is best for them.
Apart from the Haakaa breast pump, many other brands have also started to make silicone milk collectors such as the brands below:
Dr Brown’s Milk Flow One Piece Breast Milk Silicone Collector
Pigeon Milk-Saver Pump
Autumnz Silicone Manual Milk Collector
Many of these brands have created silicone collectors. However, if you read closely, not all brands have a cover for the silicone collector.
The price is also much cheaper.
It really depends on what you need. If you are a mom who stays at home most of the time and will end up using the silicone milk collectors often, it is always best to invest in something that you’d use often.
Buy something that works for you 🙂
