Freemie pump adapters - because every mom can use an extra hand (or 3)

Eating and making food at the same time!

The first time you pump milk you may be shocked to find out that you have to hold the cones to yourself.  As you sit there for 20 minutes, bored, unable to even play tetris on your phone, your mind runs through all the things you need to do but are instead tethered to a machine making donkey noises (to clarify, the donkey noises are coming from the machine, not you). This combination of boredom and wasted time may inspire you to look for solutions advertising themselves as facilitating hands free pumping (things like the Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra are a popular choice in this category).  I tried to make this bra work for me, I really did.  But after somewhere around 5 attempts I gave up and it stayed at the bottom of my pump bag for the rest of the year.  The bra was then lent to a friend who I also believe used it pretty much never. It was just too hard to get in to it in a way that it was tight enough to hold the cones, and even then, the cones never felt secure.

By the time it came to equipping myself for another year of pumping for my son, some very smart people had come out with with Freemie Collection Cups. (Note: they also make the Freemie Freedom Double Electric Hands Free Breast Pump, but by now I am too loyal to my Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump to give it a try).

So now, after using these guys for about a month here are my thoughts.  These are a bit tricky to assemble, but once you get the hang of it they really and truly allow for hands-free pumping.  I think these are awesome for occasional use.  I don't think I would use them for every pumping session because one's ability to massage and pump is quite limited with them, and I would worry about my supply dropping.  That said, here are the two scenarios I've used them in and been very glad indeed.

1. 1.  On the weekend my husband fed the baby a bottle at 6am, allowing me to sleep in.  Then once I got up, I was able to eat breakfast with the family (pictured) while also pumping to make up for the missed feeding - technology for the win!
2. 
   
3. 2.  Many weekday mornings when we are in a hurry to get everyone out the door on their way to day care and work, I am able to feed the baby from one side while simultaneously pumping from the other.  This allows me to make it until approximately noon for my next pumping session.  

Other than the potentially unfounded fear about supply drop, the only other downside to these guys is that not all the parts are rated for steam cleaning.  As this is my preferred method of cleaning my equipment at work, I am mostly using them at home.  That said, I think every mom can use an extra hand at work or at home, so I give these a hearty thumbs up!