Spectra Review

Before I got a pump, I scoured the Internet for reviews and other information I can get about pumps in general and about the different brands and models of pumps out there. To pay it forward, I would like to contribute to the pool of resources available online.


What I love about Spectra in general:

• Cheaper than other brands, their hospital grade pump is still cheaper than those of other brands that are NOT hospital grade
• All the pumps use a closed system which means there are no backflows I wrote about this here a few months back.
• Quiet motor
• Great reviews online
• Easy to assemble
• Great service via BabyMamaPH
• Spare parts are easy to purchase online with one day delivery
• Cheap bottle system
• Cheap milk bags
• Cheap nipples
• All the parts are made in Korea

 What I hate about Spectra in general:

• Storage bottles are terrible. For some reason, the locking disc becomes loose. 
• Threading of the bottle to the flange sometimes become loose. We have associated it to temperature. When bottles tend to be warm, it seems to be more loose. We have tried so many experiments. At first I blamed the flange but now I am down to just the Spectra bottles. Avent works with the pump but it does not screw on completely which made me not use Avent for pumping. I have seen others use Avent though and they seem to be happy with the setup.
• Threading of the bottle to the nipple becomes loose sometimes. How many times has my baby had an unplanned milk bath because of this. Again, when the bottle gets heated, the lock becomes loose causing spillage. 
• Wide neck bottles only come in pink.

As you can see, most of my problems stem from the bottles. I could have opted not to get them because as I have said, Avent wide neck bottles work with the pump but the bottles were cheaper and they were supposed to work perfectly with the pump. I have also read one comment online complaining about the threading so it is just not me.

To date I have been able to use the following pumps:

Spectra S2 
I love this pump because it has helped me build my milk supply without giving me much pain. Initially, there will be some discomfort because you have to find the best vacuum and cycle settings. Vacuum is the suction strength and the cycle is the frequency of suction. This feature helped a lot when my nipples were cracked from my baby's incorrect latch. It also has a massage function that mimics the way the baby sucks. This is meant to encourage your body to give more milk. What I found to be most effective is to first use the usual vacuum and cycle I am accustomed to. When I feel my milk slowing down, I use the massage function until I see more milk come in again. I then switch back to the usual vacuum and cycle. I can experience multiple milk let downs this way. Another milk booster is the silicon massager that can be bought separately. This also makes the pumping process more comfortable as the silicon massager is soft.

What I love about Spectra S2:

• Hospital Grade
• Quiet
• Cheaper than other known brands
• Dual Electric
• Less parts to assemble
• Parts work with the Spectra 9+ and Spectra Wideneck Manual Pump
• Gentle
• Settings for Vacuum and Cycle
• Auto shut off after 30 minutes
• Can be used 12 times a day (according to BabyMamaPH)
• Nice design
• Multiple awards
• Backlight
• Easy to use
• Works well with the silicon massager

What I do not like about Spectra S2:

• Its weight: 3lbs

Spectra S1
I do not have this pump but the only difference between Spectra S2 and Spectra S1 is that S1 is battery operated. I was told by a friend that Spectra S1 can be used while charging. My friend used this pump for 2 years and it is still working perfectly. She only had to get the battery replaced because it would not charge anymore. 

Spectra 9+
We eventually decided to get the Spectra 9+ two months after I got back from work. The Spectra S2 was very bulky to carry plus I worry I might damage it in transit. The deciding point was when I was asked to travel for two days and I could not bring my Spectra S2 for fear that I might damage it during the flight. I had to make do with a manual pump during which time, my milk supply declined. Also, I ended up spending twice the usual time pumping.

We figured it will be great to have the Spectra S9 because this means that I can now pump in the car because it is battery operated. Rather than finding a way to make the Spectra S2 work with our car charger, this is a safer way to go.

What I love about Spectra 9+:

• Very light, less than 1 pound
• Very small, it fits into my tote bag
• Quiet
• Backlight
• Settings for Vacuum
• Battery operated
• Battery from my experience can last for 3 30 minute sessions
• Less parts to assemble
• Parts work with Spectra S2 and Spectra Wide Neck Manual Pump
• Auto shut off 
• Dual Electric Pump
• Massage Function
• Easy to use
• Works well with the silicon massager

What I do not like about Spectra 9+:

• Not as gentle as Spectra S2
• Does not have settings for Cycle
• Can only be used 5 times per day (according to BabyMamaPH)
• May not be used while charging (according to BabyMamaPH)
• Battery should not be drained (according to BabyMamaPH) 
• Must not be overcharged 

Spectra Wide Neck Manual Pump
We got this when I was 1 month post-partum. It dawned on us that if ever there was a power outage, I will be unable to pump. I tried hand expressing but I only get a little and it is very messy. I mean push comes to shove, if I need to do that again, I will but given a choice I'd rather not.

What I love about the Spectra Wide Neck Manual Pump:

• Very light
• Less parts to carry 
• Quiet
• Sturdy
• Less parts to assemble
• Easy to use
• Cheap

What I do not love about the Spectra Wide Neck Manual Pump:

• Silicon Massager does not work well with it or you have to get a bigger flange
• Not as gentle as the electric ones
• It takes twice the time to pump using this
• Can get messy
• One breast at a time
• No hands-free option

At the end of the day, the most important thing to ensure that the breast pump will not hurt is the flange size. I initially thought that the 28mm flange size will be perfect for me because that is the size that comes with the pump. I later on discovered that my size is 24mm. Here is the size guide from BabyMamaPH. I checked this before I got my pump but I thought feeding will increase the size of my nipple. It did but the change was not dramatic enough for me to change flange sizes.

I hope this will help you in searching for the best pump for you.

Bringing Milk Back

Just recently, I was on a two-day hectic business trip. I only had time to pump at around 4am and then at 5pm. Recommended intervals between pumps is 4 hours, 3 hours if you really want to maintain your milk supply because milk supply works based on supply and demand. While away, I also got dehydrated. I was not able to take my Moringga supplement (Natalac), was not able to drink Milo nor was I able to take in soup. I was also without my trusty Spectra S2 dual electric breast pump. I was afraid I might damage it in transit so I just brought with me a Spectra Wide Neck Pump. Towards the end of the day, I was so engorged, it was difficult to focus on what people were saying. I just knew that my breasts were hurting. I could already feel the lumps forming. The manual pump did its job,helping me express 12oz after the first working day. On the second working day, I had to pump in the van going to the airport, I was able to get 9oz. Needless to say, my milk supply took a hit. 

My milk supply is still not like before I left but steadily,  I think I'm getting my milk back. Here are things that I did:

1. Drink lots of water. During the time that I was away, I had access to very limited water supply. On my first night, I had to make do with just 500mL. In the morning, I got to drink a few glasses of water and then went on until 1pm without water. My body got used to this a bit so it was difficult to force myself to drink many glasses of water in a day when I got back but I knew I had to. 
2. Take moringga supplements. I did not overdose. I still took 3 capsules per day as prescribed by my son's first pediatrician (He has had four but this deserves a post of its own). 
3. Sleep. Or at least I tried. I had to attend to my son when I got back so sleep was still elusive but I tried to steal a few winks here and there with the help of my husband. 
4. Drink Milo. In the absence of soup, I take in hot Milo. I drank Milo during breakfast and dinner. 
5. Drink Ginger Tea. I drank a mug of ginger tea every lunch when I can. 
6. Pump every three hours. This was a challenge because each session, I produced so little and that was disheartening and stressful. I had to wake up at night to pump. At work, this turned out to be quite a challenge. I would pump in the morning and then again after lunch and on the way home. My electric pump does not have a battery so I had to use a manual pump in the car. I did not mind but recently, my husband asked me to buy a Spectra 9 Plus portable dual electric pump (this also deserves a post of its own). 
7. Try not to get stressed. Before I left, my three month old baby was downing 5oz per feeding. When I got back, my baby seemed to need more than 5oz per feeding which means, a bottle now had to have 6oz. I was only pumping 3oz per session after the trip. My stored refrigerated milk went from 13 bottles to a mere 3 bottles. It was a race I had to win. My husband tried to calm me down by telling me there is a lot of frozen milk bags in the freezer. This comforted me a little but I did not want my baby to consume the frozen milk as breastmilk when frozen loses its vitamin C and other micronutrients. 
8. Let the baby latch. I let my baby latch on to me whenever he can so that he can stimulate my breasts to produce milk. I could feel his frustration and disappointment whenever he latched as he tugged at my breasts for more milk. 

It has been nine days since I got back from the trip and while I am not yet freezing milk again, at least I now have 12 refrigerated bottles at 6oz each in stock again. There is hope.