Medela Freestyle Review

Nursery Product Review

What's in the box?

Double electric breastpump with motor unit 4 x Calma bottles
2 x bottle stands
Hands-free accessory kit
Mains adaptor
Rechargeable battery
Cooler bag
Freestyle carry bag
Disposable breast pads.

 

Price:

The RRP of the Medela Freestyle Breastpump is £319.99

How to use the Medela Freestyle

The Medela Freestyle is one of the smallest double electric breastpumps in the world, and this makes it perfect for using both at home and out and about, with the option to use via the mains or with the rechargeable battery pack. The Freestyle uses the 2-phase expression technology, which first stimulates the breast before using longer, more intensive suction – just as your baby would feed. You can change between these 2 phases yourself, to suit your own preference, or you can pre-set the vacuum setting to do it all for you. Once you have chosen your preferred setting, you can programme the Freestyle to remember this in the memory function, so next time you want to pump everything is ready to go. The double pumping option means you can express more milk, more quickly, and the hands free option is perfect for when free hands are needed for building towers or reading books! There is even a ‘nightlight’ to make pumping in the early hours much easier. And because the pump action is so quiet, you can even have it running without disturbing others who are lucky enough to be snoozing away!

 

The Medela Freestyle is easy to assemble, and equally easy to take apart for cleaning and sterilising. Included in the package is a bag to allow you to transport your breast pump when out and about. It looks like a small black handbag, so no-one will know what you are carrying. It is spacious, with plenty of room for everything you need for on-the-go expressing. There is also a cool bag included, which can hold up to 4 bottles of expressed milk, keeping them at the right temperature until you are ready to use or store. I love this feature – it means that no matter how much milk you express when out and about, none is wasted – you can simply store in the cool bag until you get home. The only downside for me is that the breastpump will not fit all bottles. My baby uses a different brand of bottle with a wide neck, and the Medela Freestyle pump does not fit these. You do, however get 4 Calma bottles in the kit, so I have been able to use these to pump and store milk.

Medela Freestyle Conclusion

There are lots of clever features that make the Medela Freestyle stand out from the crowd. The hands free pumping option is ideal for when you just can’t spare 2 hands (we have all been there haven’t we?) and the double pumping option allows more milk to be expressed more quickly, so you can get on with the important stuff – cuddles, kisses and tickles. The backlight makes night-time pumping a breeze, and the carry and cool bags make it easy for you to be out and about without worrying about how to store or transport everything.

Having had 3 special care babies myself, this pump really appeals to me. The option to set the vacuum setting to just ‘get on with it’ would mean you could pump at the same time as being with your newborn - and that actually helps the milk flow, and the double pumping action can actually increase milk output – this is especially important if, like me, you have a premature or poorly baby who cannot suck well. The Medela Freestyle allows you to pump and provide your baby with expressed milk, but also helps increase your supply for the day your baby is ready to feed for themselves. This is also the pump for you if you are a mummy to twins – you can pump for both babies at the same time. Supporting both babies and mums, this breastpump get a definite thumbs up from us!

We give the Medela Freestyle 5 out 5 stars

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