It feels like forever ago since I first opened my Willow Pump and tbh, it’s probably been close to a year because I bought it so early in my pregnancy. I’ve gotten a lot of questions about it since it is still pretty new to the pump scene. Soooooo, as promised all those months ago, I’m giving you a 100% honest review of the pump and my experience so far. Before I go on, I’m going to clear the air; this post is not sponsored. I did a lot of pump research and ultimately decided on purchasing this one because it seemed like the best fit for me.

I have been pumping for a full six months now and feel like I’m finally in a good groove (another reason it took so long to get this post written). Overall, I would say I have had an easy experience. There were a few bumps along the way and several days where I lost sleep because I didn’t think I could produce what my child needed. If no one has told you, keeping up milk production is as much of a full-time job as raising a child is. However, having the Willow Pump has made milk production and pumping a lot easier because of its convenience and easy to use design. I’ll get to all that in a minute. First, let me start at the beginning.

EXPECTATIONS

It took me a solid week to work up the nerve to use my pump. My body had already gone through so much giving birth and my nips were already killing me from breastfeeding. The last thing I wanted was to put them in a device that was going to torment them more. One night after stressing about my milk coming in, I decided to try the pump to up production. I had no real expectations except what I had witnessed my friends go through over the years.

LEARNING CURVE

I flipped through the manual, watched the instructional videos and gave it a shot. For those of you thinking, “I don’t need a manual to operate something that is pretty self-explanatory”, you’re wrong. I thought the same thing and I 100% ate my words. It wasn’t difficult to use, it was just very specific. The Willow Pump is a pretty advanced tubeless design and therefore has to be attached juuuuust right. If you’re off the mark by even a tick, it won’t attach properly and it will never express the milk. I know because my first time was a total failure and it was all because I only glanced at the instructions vs really reading and understanding them.

My traumatizing first experience with the pump made me even more hesitant to go back for more. It was quite painful (because it wasn’t on right) and only yielded 0.1 ounces of milk. After another week of being a complete coward, I gave myself a pep talk, watched every video twice, thoroughly read the instructions and decided to go until I got it. The second time was rough but better and by the fourth time, I finally felt like I had the hang of it. Once I found my groove, it was like I never knew any different. Now, after three months of practice, I can easily assemble, latch and pump in the middle of the night without having to turn on the lights.

LIKES

CONVENIENCE: I cannot tell you enough how convenient this thing. When I tell you this is a game changer, I mean it. I pump driving down the road, on road trips, while cleaning the house and prepping for parties. I personally have not used another pump, but I’ve heard horror stories and how terrible it is to be forced to sit still and pump multiple times a day. If you’re trying to keep your sanity and your life after baby as functional as possible, go for Willow.

CLEANING & CARE: Willow recommends purchasing an extra set of tubes to change out and clean after each pump. I purchased them but honestly have not used the second set because cleaning is so easy. The pump comes with two sized bottle brushes that are tiny but made to clean the pump thoroughly. I wash them with the baby bottles and am done in minutes. The pump also comes with two dust bags (one for each pump) so they don’t get banged up or scratched in travel or diaper bags. I use them when I travel but for day to day use, I created a pump bag that has bags, a sharpie, the charger and pumps altogether. This has been a life saver for keeping up with everything.

BATTERY LIFE: As with any battery powered product, I would like for it to last a little longer than it does. I mean, who likes waiting for things to charge?! That being said, the battery life is really good. I can get 3-4 full pumping sessions out of one full charge. This is, of course, dependent on how long you choose to pump in one session. I hang around 20-30 minutes depending on how full I am and that is sufficient. Willow also has a built-in shut off feature. It will pump for 25 minutes then pause itself. You can end your session or continue but 25 has been more than enough for me and allows me to get the most out of a charge.

COMFORT & NOISE: As I said, I haven’t used any other models, but I would imagine the Willow is as comfortable as any other device that constantly tugs on you. It fits comfortably in a nursing bra and stays put until you’re done. One thing the website won’t tell you is that it makes you look like you have enormous implants. I walk around with “9-5” stuck in my head because I feel like Dolly Parton.  That and the noise are the only reasons I don’t wear them out in public (because I def would if I could get away with it). The noise isn’t terrible, but every few minutes, the pump will make a noise as it releases milk from the tube to the bag. Again, it’s very brief and hardly audible with a sweater on; I just wouldn’t want to be next to anyone at the butcher counter when it happens.

DISLIKES

BAGS: I can honestly say I had no complaints about this pump until I accidentally let myself run out of bags. This wouldn’t have been such a traumatic event if I could have done a quick run to the store or even used sandwich bags to get by but neither option was possible with the Willow Pump. The Willow requires a very specific bag designed to fit in the pump and they sold exclusively on the Willow site. Even though I ordered my bags a few days before I ran out, I still ended up in a pinch for 24 hours before they actually arrived.

My second dislike is also bag related. While they are designed specifically for the Willow Pump, they are very difficult to tuck into the pump. Since I purchased my pump and a healthy supply of bags, they have redesigned the bags to fit better. If you get the pump version 1.0 or 2.0, I highly recommend getting the newer bags – no matter the cost difference. It will be worth it to have them fit easily inside your pump.