I’m one of those who only nurse on one side at each feeding. Because I was not certain that breastfeeding was going to work out, I initially only bought a manual pump, which turned out to be really important because my baby was admitted for photo therapy for her jaundice a few days after birth. During my maternity leave, I pumped once in a while if I needed to step out for a couple of hours, and replace a feed. When I needed to go back to work part-time, I thought that I would buy the less expensive single pump since I only feed from one side. It made sense, but nope.
I forgot to account for the interval. My baby feeds 2-3 oz every 1.5-2 hours. But it’s impossible to pump every 2 hours at work, so I ended up pumping every 4 hours instead, which means I needed to pump from both boobs. I end up getting 4oz from one side each time (before heading to work and at work), which seems to work for my supply. Some days I can’t get 4oz, and have to settle for 2 and try to pump the other side as well, which is annoying. Ideally, I would be pumping both sides simultaneously, saving myself some time.
I don’t use the maximum setting on my pump, so I could convert my single to a double following some instructions I found on youtube and other forums. I basically need 2 tubings (because Medela is annoying and has a different connector for each pump) and a splitter, which should be available at the aquarium store. I’ll report back when I get a hold of everything. Shopping is hard these days with a little one…so is blogging.
But my point is don’t bother buying the single electric pump. The double can be converted to a single, but not the other way around.