How to express breastmilk with the Medela Freestyle

When you first receive your Medela Freestyle Double Electric Breast Pump, the many, many spare parts may look like a mechanical nightmare but fear not, this compact breastpump is easy to assemble and to take apart for cleaning.

First, let’s get to know the individual spare parts of the Medela Freestyle. Here is the membrane (soft), the connector (hard) and and the back cap (hard).

First, press the membrane gently onto the connector. Ensure that the 3 sides are firmly in place. Here’s what it looks like when inserted:

Next, snap the back cap firmly onto the joined parts 1 + 2. Again, there are 3 parts to press in. You can hear “snap” sounds when the back cap is in. Here’s what the 3 separate parts look like from the side. You can only see the back cap and connector from the back.

Below is the connected part attached with the Medela milk bottle. It’s time to take the 3-prong tube (looks like a doctor’s stethoscope) and connect each shorter end  to the hole at the back of each connector.

Plug the longest section of the tube into the hole on the right side of the motor. Be careful not to twist the tube as the tube is key to the suction for the breastpump. I always store it away carefully in its flat and naturally curvy shape.

Before a pumping session, I place each Medela milk bottle onto each of the bottle stand provided. The bottle stands are especially useful after you express your breastmilk.

Finally, attach each breastshield (I use the SoftFit breastshields) to each connector. Here is the Medela Freestyle double breastpump all set up. That wasn’t so difficult, was it?

GETTING READY TO DOUBLE PUMP
1. Place your nipple right in the center of the breastshield and hold each breastshield against your breast. The Medela manual suggests wetting the outer corner of the SoftFit/PersonalFit breastshield with boiled water or breastmilk for better suction.

2. The hands-free kit is actually a pair of rubber straps in the shape of a “+”.

• The center of the “+” attaches to the back of the breastshield.
• The ” | ” (vertical) section of the rubber strap latches onto your bra hook and your rib band.
• The “-” (horizontal) ends of the rubber straps go to the middle and left / right sides of your bra.

You need some time to attach the rubber straps firmly to hold the bottles straight and maintain the suction.

3. Once you are ready, take a deep breath, have a hot drink, turn on the fan (if you feel warm while expressing milk like I do) and RELAX. As you need to sit straight, make sure that your lower back is well supported with a cushion or an ergonomical chair.

LET’S START PUMPING (My favourite!)
1. Press the ‘ON’ button. The first phase is the “stimulation” phase, which are quick and short pumps. The Medela Freestyle default begins at level 3. You can see 3 bars on the bottom left of the display.

Level 3 is too low for me so I press the “+” button to go up one level to Level 4. The “stimulation” phase lasts for 2 minutes. If you feel a letdown earlier, just press the “droplets” button on the bottom left.

2. When the breastpump switches to the “letdown phase”, you’ll automatically go up one level i.e. Level 5. The suction is long and hard in order to express the breastmilk and empty your breast.

Watch the video below to see and hear the differences between the 2 phases:

3. For best results, choose the highest level of suction you’re comfortable with during the “letdown phase”. For example, I start at Level 4 and when it switches to Level 5 during letdown, I press “+” to go to Level 6 to express the breastmilk. If I feel that the suction is a bit too strong, I press the “-” to go back to Level 5. It’s so easy!

4. Expressing breastmilk with the Medela Freestyle double pump is relaxing because the motor does the work for you. Since the Medela hands-free kit doesn’t work for me, I bought a tight tube top, cut two holes in it and prop the bottles in them while I read a magazine

5. I love the Medela Freestyle because in 10 mins, I could see the milk bottle filling up with 2 oz on my active side and 1/2 oz on my inactive side. (I was down to nearly 0 when the baby girl rejected direct breastfeeding.)

6. Since I bought the Medela Freestyle double breastpump to relactate, I took 6 capsules of fenugreek per day and pumped 2x during the day and once during the night before I turned in to bed.

7. I also switched to a single pump and continued pumping an extra 5-6 minutes to further stimulate the inactive side.  To get a single pump, just insert the short end of the tube into the additional hole in the middle of the tube where the ”Medela” logo is.

You cannot imagine how happy I am when I can store away 2 oz of breastmilk after each pumping session. Even the babysitter was surprised when I started bringing her 2-3 bottles instead of the usual 1 bottle

Here are some tips from Medela on expressing breastmilk.

NOTES:

1. Medela breastshields trap milk on the outer ring (unlike AVENT , which traps milk in the funnel). After you finish pumping, slowly remove the breastshields and tilt them towards the bottles so that the milk flows back into the bottles and not drip onto you.
2. Do not wash the tube since no milk touches it. Getting it wet could affect the suction or cause a “backflow”. If you bought a used Medela Freestyle breastpump, you may want to buy the Medela Freestyle Breast Pump Replacement Part Kit to minimize the risk of contamination (from the previous user) in your breastmilk.
3. Medela advises breastfeeding Mums not to sterilise the SoftFit breastshields by boiling / steaming because the prolonged heat may change the shape of the breastshields. I wash them with soapy water and then run hot water through them.
4. Remember to re-charge your batterywhen it’s down to 1 bar, so that your Medela Freestyle is always available for you to express breastmilk. Unlike AVENT breastpumps, the Medela Freestyle does not have a manual mode.

I hope that this post helps you get started with the Medela Freestyle double electric breastpump.

Do you have any questions or tips? Feel free to leave a comment. We breastfeeding Mums will surely appreciate it.

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