This is the start of my pumping journey!
Before the year 2015 ended, we went to Babymama PH‘s store in Ortigas to purchase a Spectra 9+. It’s already March, yet I’ve only pumped for less than ten times.
I’m a stay-at-home mom so I haven’t had the need to pump regularly. Our little Rafael still doesn’t know how to feed from a bottle, so I just pump for back-up and I.C.E. stock. My lactation consultant, Nanay Nona, does not recommend for me to pump regularly since I have an abundance of supply, and pumping may cause me to have oversupply issues.
With our current needs and situation, I chose to purchase Spectra 9+. It’s rechargeable, portable, and very easy to use! It can be used up to five times per day, so it’s more than how often I intend to pump. Its portability also appealed to me since our family frequently goes on out-of-town trips. It’s also not as loud as the other pumps that I’ve seen on YouTube.
According to Spectra’s website, Spectra 9 has the following features:
– The Spectra 9 Plus comes with a complete double kit so you can double pump – pumping both breasts at once saves so much time, which, as a busy mum trying to find time to express, you will really appreciate. Double pumping also ramps up levels of prolactin (the milk-producing hormone) in your blood, so is better for supporting milk supply.
– The Spectra 9 Plus has a nozzle for each milk collection kit, making it easy to swap from single to double pumping. Just attach a milk collection kit to both nozzles if you will be double pumping, or if you only want to single pump, you can just close off the second nozzle.
– Letdown mode – switch with a touch to the letdown mode, which is a light, quick mode designed to speed the start of milk flow, just the way a baby does. This will get you expressing faster and help your body get on board with the job of expressing milk.
– Easy adjustment of suction strength and cycle speed together – touch button controls allow you to adjust the suction strength and cycle speed with one touch. As you increase the suction, the speed will slow down.
– Inbuilt rechargeable battery – yes, we know you love this feature. Use your Spectra 9 Plus while plugged into mains, or just use it wherever you like from its inbuilt rechargeable battery.
– LCD display so you can easily see where you’re at with vacuum and cycle settings. There’s a battery indicator so you know how much charge you have left on the battery AND there’s a timer so you can keep track of how long you’ve been expressing.
– The Spectra 9 Plus is our most portable pump – lightweight and slimline, it will slip easily into your handbag. If you are a busy mum running around after kids or needing to pump on the go, then you will love being able to hang the Spectra 9 Plus from your wrist or around your neck, team the pump with a handsfree pumping bra (to hold the breast shields in place handsfree) and pump on the run!
– Closed system – like all Spectra breast pumps, the Spectra 9 Plus has a closed system, which means that there is no way for milk to get into the pump motor. Milk particles in the pump motor can lead to the growth of mold and is a potential source of virus transmission.
– As always with Spectra breast pumps, the Spectra 9 Plus has high performance vacuum with maximum suction of 300mmHg.
Sanitizing is also easy. I don’t have an electric sanitizer yet, so I clean the parts by boiling them in water, except for the tubes. As for the backflow protector and the valve, I just submerge them in hot water.
Assembling the parts is very easy, as with using the pump. For now, I only pump one breast at a time since I need to use both hands (or wear a pumping bra) if I want to pump both breasts. Pumping is also comfortable using the Spectra 9+, and the current levels I can tolerate for now is L4 for Massage, and L3 for Expression.
Here is a video I took of the different levels of expression, and notice how the sound becomes longer as the level (suction) gets stronger:
All-in-all, the Spectra 9+ is one of my best Mommyhood purchases. I think I will be able to use this pump for a long time as I plan to breastfeed until 36 months, or maybe even beyond that. For now, our current project is teaching Rafael to bottlefeed. Wish us luck!
UPDATE:
30 March 2016
I only noticed a couple of days ago that we didn’t have the nipples with our Spectra 9+ so I messaged Babymama through their Facebook page. Apparently, to comply with the Milk Code, they don’t include nipples unless it’s indicated by the customer. They then told me that they will ship the nipples to me with my next order, or if I pay shipment. Naturally, I went to their site and ordered a couple of items. Their store (online and physical) is such a treat for moms and babies, so why not? Big props to their helpful staff, too!
31 March 2016
My haul is here! I will write about them in another post. ^_^
THE PAPER MENAGERIE 