
Parts aren’t as readily available. Medela parts can be found in just about any store that carries baby products, but that’s not the case with the Spectra. A battery option would be really nice, but I wonder if this has to do with the fact that it’s a stronger, hospital grade pump. You either need a plug or a car adaptor in order to use the pump. Not all bags will fit the S2, but my gal Sarah Wells developed a pump bag that will! I use her Abby bag, and the Spectra fits perfectly. Not as portable: It’s a little bulky of a design, and definitely not as small as the Medela. It makes it a little cumbersome to put them on when wearing a hands-free pumping bra. This is kind of annoying, if I’m being honest. The breast shield and flange are one single unit. This is actually super beneficial because I can’t tell you how many times I fell asleep pumping when I exclusively pumped for Landon! It saves your settings: The S2 will remember the settings you used previously, which can be beneficial and saves a bit of time! However, if you like to work your way up to a certain setting, you just have to remember to turn it back down before you shut the pump off.ģ0 minute shut off: The S2 conveniently shuts off after 30 minutes. The higher the numbers = the more suction! Play with the settings to find what your body responds best to. There are numerous settings to fit your needs. For instance, it can do a slower, stronger suction or a faster, lighter suction. There are multiple cycle rates so you can control how fast or slow it pumps. This helps closely mimic your baby’s natural sucking pattern. The Medela only offers one suction strength in stimulation mode. The suction is adjustable in both stimulation and expression mode. I like this because everyone’s body responds differently, so you can adjust accordingly. You can switch to expression mode once you’re milk starts to flow. Similar to the Medela, once your milk starts flowing you can switch it over to save time! Great for exclusively pumping moms, or mamas with low supply. It’s a hospital grade pump. This means it’s a high performance pump with great suction. I received the Spectra S2 this time around through my insurance company! Did your pump talk to you? Most mamas I ask say it does, haha! I also felt like to was talking to me every time I hooked up and said a few choice words (I swear it called me a, ass-hooole, ass-hooole, ass-hoooole). This was probably what I mainly disliked about this pump. You can find Medela parts just about anywhere, which is helpful in a pinch! The design is pretty small and sleek and it’s easy to throw in any bag! The only thing I don’t love about this pump is there’s no barrier between the milk collection kit and the pump mechanism to prevent contamination. This is helpful if you have to pump on the go so you’re not having to search for an outlet! The only thing I found is the batteries die pretty quickly, so you have to change them out frequently! If I don’t want to completely express all my milk, I’ll just do one side so one boob is ready to go for him. There’s the ability to pump single or double. I usually only pump double, but this is convenient if you need to only pump one side! I do this now at times because Austin still isn’t really on a schedule yet and his feeding times are sometimes unpredictable. Do your nips a favor, don’t put the suction all the way up! Only have it as high as you need to get milk out. You can control the strength of the suction. BUT IT’S POWERFUL. I like this option because sometimes I have a let down before it automatically switches over to the pump mode, so if that happens I can switch over sooner.

You can switch to expression mode once your milk starts to flow. It made it through 13 months of EPing, which means I was pumping anywhere from 3-8 times a day! The compact size made it easy to bring on the go (I would often be pumping in my car since I work in homecare), and I loved the battery pack and car adaptor options. I’ve used the Medela Pump in Style Advanced for 2 out of 3 kiddos, and one of them I exclusively pumped for. Please make sure you check with your insurance company for breast pump coverage!! 🙂 Medela Pump In Style Advanced and Spectra S2 Comparison This post has been LONG AWAITED, but I’m so happy to finally share my Medela Pump in Style Advanced and Spectra S2 Comparison with you! As a former exclusive pumper, I feel like I have high expectations for breast pumps and wanted to share my thoughts and the differences on both of these top performers! I’m talking about each of them individually, and even included a TL DR for you to sum up 😉 I’ll give my final thoughts at the end! So let’s hop to it!
