This $13 Breast Pump Totally Changed My Breastfeeding Experience
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The Haakaa Manual Breast Pump is super affordable and lets you save every last drop of liquid gold—hands-free.
Parents / Daisy Rodriguez
Breastfeeding is a journey for many parents filled with lots of blood, sweat, and tears (literally.) My personal breastfeeding experience was good overall, but there were definitely some hiccups along the way. In the plus column, my daughter latched on right away after she was born. In the minus column, she only latched on properly on the right side. In those first few weeks, I tried with the determination of a first-time mom to get her to latch correctly on the left—but it never happened.
By the time my daughter turned one month old, I accepted that she had a preferred side. If I’m being honest, getting gummed hard enough to draw blood multiple times on my left nipple also convinced me to stop forcing it. I accepted that she preferred the right side and that I needed to figure something out to fight engorgement on my left side and maintain my milk supply. I had a great electric pump but it could only support one connection and wasn’t practical to use while I nursed. As a result, I experienced leaking when I nursed and when I pumped, and seeing that liquid gold get wasted was heart-breaking.
Then I stumbled across the Haakaa Manual Breast Pump. I’ll be honest, when I first saw this under $13 breast pump, I was equally skeptical and intrigued. However, I figured an affordable price point and over 70,000 five-star ratings couldn’t be wrong. At the very least, it was worth trying.
Amazon
To buy: Haakaa Manual Breast Pump $12.94; amazon.com
Considering that baby gear can get very expensive, I was relieved that this little manual pump was so affordable. Beyond its wallet-friendly price tag, the Haakaa was actually comfortable to use—which is so critical in those early baby days.
One parent reviewer mentioned that her “hand would get sore having to pump so much” with a traditional manual breast pump, and I completely agree. I had a manual pump that was gifted to me and it was such torture to use, I tossed it. The Haakaa Manual Breast Pump was a completely different experience—in the best way possible.
The Haakaa relies on a very gentle suction to attach to your breast. To put it on, you simply squeeze the chamber, position your nipple to point into it, and attach the opening to your breast. That’s it, no hand squeezing required—the natural suction of the container does the work, and since it’s made of a soft silicone, it isn’t uncomfortable.
In my opinion, it’s more of a milk catcher than a true pump. It’s great for catching all that extra letdown milk from the other side when you’re already sitting there nursing. It is small enough that it didn’t get in the way of my daughter when I was nursing, despite being an impressive four-ounce capacity. I was amazed to discover that I was often leaking one to two ounces of milk from the non-feeding side every time I nursed. This means I was able to stash away milk that previously would’ve just gone to waste.
Amazon
To buy: Haakaaa Manual Breast Pump $12.94; amazon.com
I also liked that the Haakaa’s opening made it easy to pour and save any expressed milk. I used the Medela Breast Milk Storage System so I could transfer my expressed milk into either pouches or bottles. Cleanup is easy as the BPA-free, food-safe silicone can be boiled for two to three minutes or run through a sterilizer like I opted to do with my Philips Avent Sterilizer.
The only negative is that if you want a lid, you need to upgrade to the slightly pricier version which is $21.69. Although not a deal breaker, it is something to note. Still, I highly recommend getting a lid as the last thing you want to do is knock the Haakaa over after expressing and lose all that precious liquid gold.
The Haakaa can also be a handy tool if you’re battling engorgement or trying to wean. One reviewer shared that she was able to collect up to “one ounce to help with engorgement” as their milk dried up.
For someone like me, the Haakaa Manual Breast Pump was truly a breastfeeding game-changer—and I’m clearly not the only one that’s obsessed. A fellow happy parent raved that the Haakaa “catches so much let down” and saved them “from having to pump extra” every time they nursed or pumped. Another revealed that thanks to the Haakaa, they “managed to establish a strong milk supply” and “have plenty of milk stored in the freezer.” As one enthusiastic parent wrote, the Haakaa should be “a must-have for every mom!”
If you decide to breastfeed, let down, leaking, and engorgement are all real concerns that you’re likely to experience. While there are plenty of pricier picks that also promise to help you pump, the Haakaaa Manual Breast Pump is probably one of the easiest—and most affordable—ones out there. It’s also amazing for traveling since it’s so small and can literally just be tossed in your purse if needed. My Haakaa is now in storage, and whenever baby #2 decides to come, I know I’ll be ready.
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