You can EnJoye Pumping!

The Makes Mom Happy Breastfeeding Blog Celebration is brought to you by A Mother's Boutique. =)

Enjoying pumping sounds like an oxymoron, right? And it sort of is; I don't think many breastfeeding moms actually enjoy pumping. But, there's a new pump on the market that can at least make it an easier, more positive experience: the Hygeia EnJoye.

There's so much to love about this pump that I'm not even sure where to start!

First, it's a safe pump. Any parts that come into contact with breastmilk are BPA and DEHP free (both are plasticizers). It's a closed system, so the motor can't be contaminated by breastmilk. That makes it safe for multiple users. In fact, it's FDA-approved for multiple users. That makes it a great value - when you're done with it, you can give it away or sell it and all the second user will just need their own accessory kit (bottles, tubing, etc-). There's a filter piece that screws into the motor - that's what the tubing attaches to. It's one more step in ensuring that these pumps are safe for more than one user.

When it reaches the end of its useful life, it can even be recycled. That sure beats the single-use pumps that are essentially disposable! I love that the Hygeia pumps won't be chucked into a landfill. I've got an old one rotting in my closet because it cost so much that I can't bring myself to just throw it away, but there's no other option. I love that Hygeia pumps avoid this sad situation!

This company truly cares about breastfeeding. They have a WHO Code Compliance Officer to ensure they follow the guidelines on how they may ethically advertise their products (read more about that here and here). They're donating at least 5% of their profits to supporting breastfeeding. And also in-line with the WHO Code, they have a goal of "70/24": 70% of mothers breastfeeding for 24 months. How awesome is that?!

With the 70/24 goal, they're putting their money where their mouth is. The EnJoye has a THREE year warranty! That's something you won't find with many other brands, if any. It's another example of Hygeia not only standing behind their products, but behind the moms who are using them.

Here's what those of you who haven't purchased a pump yet will absolutely love: Hygeia has a Total Compatibility Guarantee. That means that if it's not working out for some reason, it's returnable within the first 21 days (less the price of the personal accessories that can't be reused). I'm not aware of any other pump on the market that actually has a window in which it can be returned! If the EnJoye isn't working for you, they'll work with you to fit you with a different Hygeia pump that better suits your needs. Having the luxury of buying the EnJoye and knowing that Hygeia will do whatever they can to make sure you have the best pump for your needs is awesome. And as their site says, they will handle any situation in a "mom-first," friendly, and supportive manner.

And now the details on the pump - it's fabulous! I've used a Medela Pump in Style, so I have that to compare it to. I've also used manual pumps and done manual expression (Hygeia has a really neat manual expression cup. I've not seen it in person or tried it, but it looks great).

First, the physical. It's smaller, lighter, and more portable than my Medela (the pump alone weighs just 2.8 pounds; the whole shebang -bag, bottles, accessories- comes in at just under 8). While Hygeia offers the EnJoye with an external battery pack, I recommend the one I tested that has an internal, rechargeable battery. The battery lasts a really long time when it's charged! I didn't add it up precisely, but I used it, unplugged, six times on a business trip, and it was charged enough for all six uses (probably about 5-10 minutes per session). Toward the end, it was losing a little suction, but I'd say that's a pretty impressive performance.

If you don't need the flexibility of having the internal battery, the EnJoye also comes with external battery and no battery options. Both are at lower price points than the internal battery model. I like that they're offering the same awesome pump with a variety of options to suit the needs of the end users. For example, a lot of stay-at-home moms may not need the battery option, so they could save the cash on the feature they wouldn't need. Hygeia is about accommodating its users.

All the features of the pump don't matter unless it works. And it does! The EnJoye has separate speed and suction dials, making it extremely customizable. When I pump, I like lighter, faster suction until I let-down, followed by deeper and slower suction. I set the dials at the beginning, then just make a quick adjustment when I'm ready. It's similar to Medela's two-phase expression, but I actually like this better. Let-down doesn't run on a two minute clock, so just adjusting it once when I'm ready works better for me than the pump doing it for me.

I found it to be extremely comfortable to use. There was no tugging or pulling, it was a really natural, smooth suction at any setting that I used. Much closer to a baby's smooth and easy suckle than anything else I've used. At first, I worried that it wasn't going to be as effective, because I wasn't experiencing that tell-tale tug and pull pattern, but it absolutely got the job done as quickly and effectively as the Medela. It's gentle and the motor is also very quiet. I was able to have the tv on at a very low volume and still hear it easily over the quiet hum of the pump.

The only issue I have is that they don't offer multiple sizes of flanges. The pump and accessory kits come with 27mm flanges. I'd love to see them include a few different sizes, like another popular pump maker does. Obviously, one size of flange isn't going to work for all sizes of women, so this is an important point of improvement.

See the little black and green buttons on the pump? Those are an amazing feature that's exclusive to Hygeia pumps. It's especially valuable for working moms, or moms who are pumping regularly and often. It's called CARE: Customized Audio Recording Experience. You can actually record the sound of your own baby cooing, crying, giggling - whatever you'd like! Rather than just looking at an image of your baby, you can actually listen to it as you stimulate your let-down.

Little story: I was walking through a store one night. I was on my own, this was after the baby had gone to sleep. Somewhere in the store, a baby started crying, and I let down. Luckily, I had breast pads in and it didn't leak all over my shirt. That's just evidence of the power of a baby's cry on a nursing mom. I think that feature could be a game-changer for moms who have trouble letting down when they're not around their babies. Again, this is something that you won't find on any other pump.

There's another feature that Hygeia offers that's really helpful: the bottle stand feature. If you've pumped, you've probably had the lousy experience of finishing, only to have tubing pull the wrong way or a stray hand knock over the full bottle, spilling it everywhere. The little feet for the bottles are helpful, but only to a certain point (the Hygeia does come with the feet for the bottle). The pump has a piece on the front that flips up, so that it cradles the flange and keeps the bottle from falling over. Brilliant! Here's a picture (shown with the left bottle):

The EnJoye I tested comes with everything shown above (pump, AC adapter, internal rechargeable battery, 40" tubing, filters, bottles, 27mm flanges, the orange rings to stabilize the bottles (the afore mentioned "feet"), wide to narrow neck adapters with caps, the cooler, and the carrying bag. That sells for $299. The EnJoye also comes at $259 and $219 price points, depending on what battery options you need.

When it comes time to clean it, it's way easier than any other pump I've cleaned. The valves that the milk flows through into the bottle are just a single piece of some rubber-like material (I'm not sure what they're made of). There aren't a lot of nooks and crannies to try and get clean, either. It's just three pieces: the flange, the valve, and the bottle. Easy-peasy!

The cooler for the milk is lead, latex, and BPA free. It's also nice and compact. I like the cooler, but I'm not a big fan of the carrying bag it comes with. To me, it's actually much larger than necessary, and it's also not very good looking. The pump is really compact and could even be stashed in a diaper bag.

I love my EnJoye and I love Hygeia - I really can't say enough good things about them! They are a socially and environmentally responsible company that's allocating resources to what really matters: promoting breastfeeding and helping their customers be successful at it.

**UPDATE!** (8/19/09) Hygeia has been wonderfully generous and is giving away one of their EnJoye pumps to one lucky Makes Mom Happy reader! YAY!

This giveaway will run longer than the other Breastfeeding Blog Celebration giveaways: it will run from 8/19-9/19/09, 11:59pm EST. Here's how to enter:

Leave ONE comment on this post giving me ALL of the following information (you must do each step to have a valid entry):

• Let me know the Twitter name you use to follow ALL three: @HygeiaBaby, @HygeiaKate, and @HappyMomAmy
• You must follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (in the sidebar) to win - leave the username you use to follow

You can also tweet up to TEN times on Twitter for bonus entries! Your tweet MUST include ALL of these (link + 2 hashtags) to count:

• http://bit.ly/2mYlF #HygeiaMMH #bfing

Please don't leave comments for your tweets! I will tally those and include them in my spreadsheet for entries. Comments with tweet links will be deleted, since they'd be duplicate entries.

GOOD LUCK!