Post by fortmyersbride on Jan 20, 2015 12:50:12 GMT -5
How awesome is it? There's a symphony sitting in the lactation room at work. I never saw anyone use it or the room itself any time I passed by before ML. The lactation consultant who stopped by my room said it's pretty much always available. I have 2 freestyles that I used for my first 2 and like fairly well, but will I love the symphony a lot more? Do I just need to order one or two parts sets to use it?
It's so much better than my medela pisa. I changed to renting the symphony with J at 8 mos and used it until I stopped pumping at 13 mos. I have been using it the entire time with the girls. Before I knew you could get a car adaptor for it I would use my pisa anytime I had to pump in the car. I hate that thing so much!! It pinches and pulls and is so uncomfortable. The symphony is like a nice massage compared to the pisa lol.
*I am an 40I nursing the girls so this may play into my feelings on pumping.
My output was the same, but I definitely liked it. Way less loud which was nice as the walls are thin in my office. And come to think of it, it was more comfortable to use, but not too much more for me.
I'll be able to answer this better in about 8 months, but my coworkers love the Symphony. they all use the Symphony at work and the PISA at home. I don't know how their output is on one vs the other, but I can see their bottles in the fridge and able to tell when supply is dipping.
Post by Velar Fricative on Jan 20, 2015 13:17:02 GMT -5
My output was the same as my Freestyle (but I didn't use the Symphony until DD was about 4 months so it's possible it could have made a bigger difference in the beginning). However, it took half the time to get that output so if time is important, the Symphony could be great for you!
I loved the Symphony...rented it for about 9 months. When I switched to the PISA, it was about the same (honestly a little hard to tell since I was cutting back pumping at that point anyway, but so loud. With the symphony I kept it by my bed and pumped in the MOTN early on (DS was a preemie and in the hospital for a month so I had to pump all hours of the day). It never woke DH up.
Post by Stingyshark on Jan 20, 2015 13:30:35 GMT -5
I hated the one my insurance got me; it was so loud compared to the hospital grade pump. I think the output was about the same, but I rarely used the non-hospital one.
I used the symphony in the NICU and had way better output in faster time. If my supply dips when I return to work I plan to rent one. I have a pisa at home.
I rented a hospital grade pump. Given the pump may have had some issues (it would randomly shut off during a session and error out) it pumped equivalent to what my Medala PIS pumps. I returned it to the hospital after a month of use.
I didn't notice a difference between that and my PISA. I would like not having to haul a pump back and forth. The only additional part you should need are the tube adaptor things that tealblue posted.
The Symphony was way better than my freestyle but I'm a terrible pumper. This time I have a Medela classic that my LC thought would be even better than the Symphony for my situation (twins and history of breast reduction)
I used a Symphony that I rented from the hospital. I had another Medela electric pump (free through insurance, I think it was like the PISA). I liked it much better.
Post by fortmyersbride on Jan 20, 2015 16:05:33 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies, everyone! I had a decent output with my first two with the freestyle, but it took me a full 20 min to pump at work. If using the symphony saves me some time, that would be awesome. I have two freestyles as a friend gave me hers after she ended up not needing to pump. I'll probably keep one of the freestyles at work in case the symphony is already being used or malfunctions in any way.
Post by BlueNotebook on Jan 20, 2015 16:13:16 GMT -5
I loved the Symphony. When I had big supply dips I rented one and it was great. I helped my supply come back because it emptied so well and it was super quiet.
I used a Symphony with my first and the PISA with my second. I liked the Symphony better because it was more comfortable (like, the sucking wasn't so violent? hard to explain) and it seemed to get the job done faster. I don't think the output was better/worse on either.
I liked the Symphony better because it was more comfortable (like, the sucking wasn't so violent? hard to explain) and it seemed to get the job done faster. I don't think the output was better/worse on either.
Ok I was going to say the same thing but it has been a while since I used it, so I thought maybe I had misremembered. I agree it wasn't as violent as the PISA.
It's the reason I made it pumping until 4 months. My son never latched and I pumped and FF. There's no way I would have made it that long without the symphony. My output was better, it was more efficient, and it was so quiet.
Post by winemaker06 on Jan 20, 2015 16:55:03 GMT -5
I used a Symphony at work and liked it. It was definitely quieter and I think more comfortable. Didn't notice a difference in output though. You'll just need one parts kit I believe. It should have 2 circular caps that connect to tubes.