My Honest Elvie Breast Pump Review

I have been using the Elvie breast pump for about 1 month now and I am ready to share my experience so far! For those who are not familiar with the Elvie breast pump, it’s a portable, wearable pump that fits right inside of your bra, which allows you to be ‘hands free’. The Elvie pump is not cheap, so I am giving you my honest review and I hope this helps you if you are considering investing in this product.

Before we get started, I want to just mention that while I work in healthcare, I am NOT a lactation consultant and do not specialize in post partum care. This review is purely based on my experience as a consumer. If you are looking for assistance with specific issues regarding breastfeeding, I recommend discussing this with your provider or lactation consultant. Additionally, this article is not meant to promote breastfeeding as superior to formula feeding. A fed baby is a happy baby, no matter how they are nourished!

MY BREASTFEEDING EXPERIENCE SO FAR

Breastfeeding did not come easy for me. I feel like this is something that we as mothers expect to ‘just happen naturally’ immediately after baby is born. When it doesn’t, it is easy to feel super discouraged. Kennedy was born with an upper lip tie, which made latching difficult for her very early on (she is doing great now!). On top of that, my milk didn’t come in for almost 7 days, which I am told is quite long. This put us behind a bit and it took us about 4-6 weeks to really get the hang of breastfeeding. Why am I mentioning this? …because if you are a new mom struggling out there, I hear you. Hang in there, you got this!

Because my milk didn’t come in right away, Kennedy lost quite a bit of weight. We ended up using formula for a few days, and then started feeding her pumped milk to get an accurate measurement on what she was taking in. Prior to getting the Elvie pump, I was using the Spectra S2 Electric pump, which is a hospital grade breast pump. I received this through my insurance carrier. My review on the Elvie pump is based on a comparison to my Spectra. Right now, I pump twice a day minimum. Once after her first feed in the morning and then again at night right before bed (she gets a bottle at this time so dad can have that time with her and feed her).

WHY I DECIDED TO GET THE ELVIE PUMP

My Spectra S2 works great, and when I am home I don’t mind that it has to be plugged in to a wall outlet. However, I decided to get the Elvie so that I could have a little more freedom when we are out and about, and also for when I go back to work. Right now, I don’t have a private office in the clinic, and while I know my employer would provide a private space for me to pump, I wanted to have a convenient portable option for myself. I am thinking of situations where I may get behind while seeing patients, or am running low on time and need to multitask. Many of you may have also heard of the Willow breast pump, which is another portable, wearable option (similar price point). When deciding which pump to purchase, I crowd sourced reviewed on Instagram, and the Elvie seemed to be more popular, which resulted in more feedback, so I just decided to go with that option.

Once I bought the Elvie, I decided to wait until 6 weeks post partum to try it. I chose to do this because I wanted to give my body a chance to regulate, and I wanted to know what my ‘baseline’ production was so that I could accurately compare both pumps.

PROS OF THE ELVIE BREAST PUMP

• The ability to be ‘hands free’ while pumping is great. I am able to do other household tasks easily while pumping, which is great for optimizing time.
• The pump itself is very quiet. I wouldn’t say that it is silent, but you would have to be very close up to hear the mechanical noise it makes while turned on.
• With your purchase, you get access to the Elvie pump app. You can control the setting directly from the app, including adjusting the suction and turning the pump on/off. It also tracks your pumping sessions and output for you.
• There are more parts to the Elvie breast pump than my Spectra, but they are easy to clean.
• The latch and suction are great on the Elvie pump, and the pump flange has alignment markers so you can ensure that you have the pump in the proper position.

CONS OF THE ELVIE BREAST PUMP

• Cost. These hands-free pumps are not cheap. The Elvie double pump rings up at $500 (there is a single pump option for less). This is a huge factor to consider, especially since many of us cannot predict how long we will be able to breastfeed baby.
• I didn’t find the pumps to be very discreet while I was wearing them.
• While the set-up of the Elvie pump is relatively simple, I found that it can be very finicky. This can affect your output, which I will discuss more in depth next.

OUTPUT COMPARISON ELVIE VS HOSPITAL GRADE PUMP

I felt like I needed to discuss the output comparison between my Spectra and the Elvie pumps in a separate section because that is the whole point of a breast pump, right?! When I was considering purchasing the Elvie, the biggest complaint was that the pumps didn’t empty the breast completely, which caused clogged ducts, and/or decreased milk production if used exclusively. With my Spectra S2, I typically get anywhere between 3.5-5oz per pump total. First thing in the morning, I almost always get 5oz, and the rest of the day is pretty variable, with the last pump in the evening being the least. With the Elvie, my output is definitely lower, but only about .5-1oz less than usual.

There is a lot of variability with this, though. For example, I noticed my output was higher with certain bras than others (my Soma bra worked the best for me). Or, if the pump was angled just slightly off, I would get less output. Another common complaint about this pump is that it leaks easily, which can be really frustrating. This did happen to me once, the first time I used the pump, and it was because I did not align them correctly. Once I figured that out, it didn’t happen again.

If you are having trouble getting adequate output with the Elvie, I would do a quick google search for tips. There is a lot of information out there. For example, I had to play around with the settings in the letdown and expression modes. At first, I used the same settings as my Spectra (5 and 4 respectively) but I found that I get the best output on the Elvie pump with a suction of 4 in letdown mode and 2 in expression mode. Also, make sure you have the correct flange size and DO NOT put the flange parts in a bottle sterilizer as this can warp them and negatively impact your output. I sterilize mine by putting my in boiling water for 3 minutes.

IS IT WORTH IT?

Overall, I have to say I am indifferent about the Elvie breast pump. I do like it, and I plan to bring it to work with me when I go back if I am still breastfeeding. The pump is convenient and I like the option of being hands free, especially if I need to pump outside the home. It will also be great for pumping in the car during long drives, or if you have a commute to work. However, for $500 I feel like it is really finicky. At that price I would expect it to function seamlessly without too much chance for user error.

Personally, I would not recommend the Elvie as your sole pump, especially if you are exclusively pumping. There is so much variability with the output, which could negatively impact your milk production. I plan to use the Elvie if we are out during the day and we are giving Kennedy a bottle, or when I am work. Otherwise, if I am home I will likely continue to use my Spectra because it is more efficient.

If you can grab it on sale, use registry rewards, gift cards, and/or coupons I would recommend it! Also, keep in mind that breastfeeding experiences are not one size fits all, everyone has a different story and what didn’t work for me may work great for you!

I hope this Elvie breast pump review was helpful! If you have a hands-free pump, please leave your tips and tricks for optimal use below!

If you liked this post, check out my other pregnancy and postpartum content!

Shop the post and my favorite nursing friendly bras below!