Elvie Pump: Review, Pros, Cons, Troubleshooting

[@taylorboard2537]

"I tend to be very evangelical about things I like" simultaneously the most true statement about you and my FAVORITE thing about you! LOVE that you did this and I second everything you said!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Well you just made my day!!! ❤️❤️❤️I'm SOOO soo glad you feel the same way about the pump!!

[@pianogirl9676]

Just tried my Elvie for the first time today and I have to say I loooove it!! This is definitely a keeper, might get a second one next month. I have a newborn and a very demanding 3 year old. Defo have zero time to sit down for a pump. This is a life saver. My newborn woke up and I was able to pick him up and put him back to sleep while pumping. I would have easily been able to nurse him as well had he needed to nurse. Well done Elvie!!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

I'm so happy to hear that!! Glad you enjoy it!

[@AB-gi2cg]

This was SUPER! helpful, great review. Very thorough. I greatly appreciate the information about cleaning and avoiding spills. I’m a Marine mom returning to work and easy, discrete pumping will make life as a pumping Mom in the Marine Corps will be so much easier. Thanks! New subscriber here. 😉

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Well you just made my day! Thank you so much!! I'm sure it'll add a lot of ease and peace to your life!! I'm using mine while typing this haha. Thank you for subscribing! Congratulations on your sweet baby and thank you for your service!!

[@AB-gi2cg]

FitStyled Thank you so much 😊

[@litoteh]

If your Elive does not charge any more, the Li-ion battery voltage drops to ~0.5 volts and will not be registered by the charger to charge. If you are out of warranty, you can try to parallel charge/connect with another 3.7 volt battery for 30 seconds to bring up the voltage to a recognizable voltage. The disassembly is very tricky by not breaking the bendable plastic button bit. You will also need a T7, a small, and large flat head screwdriver. I got mine to work again and I will donate them, with all the other bits, to a low income family with a newborn who could use them.

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

That's a great tip and you rock for choosing to donate them to someone who can use it! That family will be so grateful. I know I would be!

[@MelPara13]

Super helpful!!

[@cr1rkme1]

Can you use it while charging? I know wireless, but if you forget to charge and NEED to pump ASAP can you plug it in and use it?

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

That is such a good question! I'm bummed to tell you no, though :(! I wonder if that's something they can perhaps change in an updated version someday!

[@katiel16ify]

Thank you for the review! How do you clean the reusable containers? Do you have a brush that you can recommend? Also, when transferring milk from the containers into bags or bottles, how do you prevent losing some of the milk (ie: leaving it in the container versus being able to transfer it?) I used to have a Spectra S2 and just ordered the Elvie for baby #2. I was able to pump directly into bottles with the Spectra which was amazing - just wondering if you had any tips/tricks to prevent milk loss. Thanks. :)

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Hi! I don't have a brush recommendation for the Elvie. I just clean them with soap and water, but no brush (I do use my hands!). When trasnferring the milk into bottles or bags, I just try to transfer it as soon as possible. If it sits in the container too long, you miss getting as much transferred as you could when it's fresh! Occasionally, I've added a couple drops of filtered water and stirred it around to make sure every last drop got in there when transferring! Oh, also running the container under warm water and then transferring seems to help. I hear you on pumping straight into the bottles. Definitely so convenient! Good luck on baby #2!

[@dakotabrower3905]

The munchkin bottle brush with the sponge on the end works great!

[@MarshForever]

Which bags do you use transfer the milk to and do you spill when transferring it to a bag often?

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

I have used both the Medela bags and the Lansinoh bags (which hold a little more and are a little cheaper!). I found the best way to avoid spills when transferring is to keep take the little green piece on top of the milk container off so that you're left with the milk container with the clear piece on top so that it makes a little spout. That sounds confusing to type out...but at @9:06 min in the video, you can see what I mean (just take the green piece off) :). I hope that helped!!

[@MarshForever]

Thank you. And you feel you would be just as successful if you only had the single vs the double?

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@MarshForever I prefer having the double and think having it has helped for all the times I've pumped while baby is asleep etc., but DEFINITELY at the beginning I was mostly just using one at a time while I nursed on the other side! So in my experience, a single was fine for the first few weeks, but I think it helped my supply further by having the double.

[@MarshForever]

Thank you so much for all of your help!!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@MarshForever You are so welcome! Good luck

[@tymberly1993]

Hi there! I have sterilized my parts in the medela micro steam bags and I believe it shattered the plastic on my milk cups. They don’t auction very well and have little cracks in them. So I’m curious if yours did this?

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Hi! YES I had a similar experience and had to buy new Elvie pieces after using them in the Medela micro bags! I talk about it in the video around the 10 minute mark and tell exactly what Elvie told me to do to sterilize them. I hope that helps!!

[@Bnice2any1]

I have a problem, I have a small breast but with long nipples 🤦‍♀️ I really need to hear from mummas out there with similar / same situation, so if you have tried Elvis would you share me your experiences please?

[@donnat7820]

I have large breasts and small nipples but there are many ways your baby can latch you just have to find the one that suits both of you and pain free of course. It took me multiple attempts to get baby to latch which meant I had to get the baby to open his mouth as wide as possible for the deepest latch.

[@mcbunny1112]

Nice review!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Thank you so much!!

[@SonicAndTrippy]

You forgot to edit out a part at 3:55, just trying to help you out! I know editing is an excruciatingly long process 😓 If you left it in on purpose though because you were just tired of editing, then nvm and delete this comment! 😊 Also, personally I wouldnt try willow if I were you. I used willow, it unfortunately did not work for me (everyone is different but it seems like half of the people who try it love it and the other half hate it), and I was out the money. Since elvie can be bought at target it can also be returned. So at least with that one, trying it out isnt as scary!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

I noticed that recently!! Thank you! I didn't get tired, just a mistake haha. That's really good to know about Willow! I thought the same thing about Elvie, too, with the Target consideration and that's great advice! So sorry Willow didn't work out!

[@nicolebrandt1571]

I don’t think it can be returned once opened (at least according to others on a group in following).

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@nicolebrandt1571 that's good to know!!

[@ashlyndold6429]

It can be returned if open! I did at Target!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@ashlyndold6429 Ah thank you for this tip! That's so good for everyone to know! 🙌🏼

[@PritiShikotraPhotography]

Have you noticed an increase in milk supply at all? Are you expressing as much as the medela? I just got mine a day ago and still getting to grips with it. I haven’t ever expressed much milk even though I was mix feeding babe but now at 8 months his teeth are through & the reason I’m trying the pump is to express instead of having him BF. I’m not getting much milk right now but I know it could be number of different things so I’m giving it a few weeks as it’s literally my last resort to try keep expressing milk as I can’t deal with being hooked to a wall.

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Hi Priti! Yes, it increased my milk supply a TON especially at the beginning and I find that because it's so convenient to pump, it lets me pump more often thereby increasing it, HOWEVER, I still typically express more when using the Medela. I know what you mean by getting used to it - it's so different! Keep at it and I hope the troubleshooting tips in the video help. Even though it's probably less milk than with Medela per pumping session, my thought is that the convenience will let you more easily build supply.

[@lenkadan11]

It is a great invention if it works, but what the reviews usually dont tell is that it is a quite bugged product. All of the reviews I have heard so far mention the same pros and cons. For me within the 1st 3 days both of my double pump pieces broke down with diverse issues - one stuck in suction mode not releasing my nipple and the other died during chatging and did not turn back on anymore. And it is not like I was butchering it, I treated it normally. So what are the odds of both products being so faulty if not bugged? the only thing that comes to my mid is that I have always had it on twice in a row cause I did not have time to pump every 2-3 hours so I needed longer sessions. Elvie recommends to take a break between each sessions of 1 hour but a recommendation should still not have such a huge effecf on the pump functionality, so I thini there is more to the problem than that. I would love to find a video that actually sums up the tech iasues that people encountered with this pump and possible causes/solutions. Although this does not fall into the personal review category, I sure a lot of people would find it super helpful.

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Oh wow, that does sound like a horrible experience. Your video idea does sound helpful. Sorry I couldn't address your issue in this troubleshooting video - I could only speak to troubleshooting for issues that I had encountered myself. Maybe ask Elvie to include your issue an FAQ section on the website?

[@lenkadan11]

@@HeresWhyILikeIt I have browsed their website on troubleshooting tech issues, so far only few things listed. It's a good idea to suggest to Elvie to expand that as people go look there if there is an issue with their pump, will do. Before purchase, I personally prefer video reviews to clicking through websites with product ratings make myself a rough picture what to expect of the individual products available the market. That's where my suggestion was coming from.

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@lenkadan11 I like doing the same!

[@kaarinatowey5467]

This product dropped my milk supply overnight. I normally pump 5-6 ounces in 15-20 minutes. The Elvie took 30 minutes to pump 3-4 ounces. Maybe I was using it wrong? It just didn’t seem to get the suction and power my Medela does :(

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Hi! I don't get quite the same suction as my Medela with it either, so I don't think you're doing anything wrong! There are suction controls on the Elvie, but I always forget to use them. In my case, it still helped supply because I could pump more often!

[@glammedbynatalia]

Deffff. Cuz it doesn’t empty the breast milk :( mayb the willow generation 1 and 2 did a better job

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

​@@glammedbynatalia Yes, maybe Willow will have a better output (and I believe they have reusable containers now and are covered by insurance). I'm not sure any cordless pump has the same output as the Medela (or typical pumps). Personally I like the convenience, but sometimes I still use the Medela in the AM and cordless throughout the day! I would've loved to do a comparison video between Willow and Elvie!

[@glammedbynatalia]

FitStyled the ameda mya rechargeable pump n the freemie cuts work best out of All of these 😉

[@anglancome6550]

Can u do the willow review pleaseeeeee!!!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

I would LOVE to! I contacted Willow to see if they'd work with me...nothing yet haha. If they sponsor me a pump for a comparison, I will absolutely do a comparison! 💙Let's reach out to them and make it happen, haha!

[@anglancome6550]

Yayy I hope they do I love how down to earth u are!!!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

@@anglancome6550 ❤️Well thank you!! That's so nice!! I hope I have good news for you soon and can give you the comparison!!

[@thewannabehomesteader2067]

Your so adorable very helpful review!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Aw thank you! And I'm so glad it was helpful!!

[@theMurr23]

Yes want to see your willow comparison video!

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Girl me too!!!! I contacted Willow to see if they'd work with me...nothing yet haha. If they sponsor me a pump for a comparison, I will absolutely do a comparison! 💙

[@lucretiah8578]

The suction on this is brutal. I often wonder if I need an even bigger size that what I have.

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear that! Yes, try another size! I hadn't had that experience but I bet you're right that the size is the issue.

[@glammedbynatalia]

Elvie doesn’t empty my breast milk only my cord pump Medela

[@nessiageee7346]

Your funny 😄

[@HeresWhyILikeIt]

Haha, thank you Nessia!