When you’re exclusively pumping, your breast pump can feel like a ball and chain. The Baby Buddha breast pump is a great mobility pump that can give you a lot more freedom while still getting your pumping sessions in! Here’s a Baby Buddha review.
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Baby Buddha is an awesome mobility pump
One of the hardest things about exclusively pumping is feeling tied down.
If your pump doesn’t have a battery pack, you’re stuck next to an outlet.
And even if your pump doesn’t need to be plugged in, a larger pump can leave you more or less stuck in one place because it can be a hassle to pick up and carry around.
The Baby Buddha pump has a rechargeable battery and is super small! It comes with a lanyard, so you can hang it around your neck, or you could easily fit it into a pocket.
How to Use the Baby Buddha
Like most breast pumps, the Baby Buddha has two modes: letdown and expression mode. Most moms start the pump off in letdown mode for a few minutes and then switch to expression mode after getting a letdown.
However, others find it works better to use one or the other for longer. The Baby Buddha is a little different from other breast pumps in that every few “pulls” is longer pull. Experiment and see what works best for you!
To adjust the settings on the Baby Buddha, you can use the roller ball. Press it to switch modes, and roll up to increase suction or down to decrease suction.
You can see more of how to use it in these stories that I did:
Suction Strength
I’m not going to lie. The suction on the Baby Buddha is STRONG.
(The company sent me a pump after I’d weaned and I decided to try it anyway just for fun. Research, right? My nipples have clearly gone soft – I couldn’t get past the first setting because the suction was so strong!)
This can be great if you have problems getting letdowns and feeling “empty” after pumping. However, some people find that they need gentler suction.
Hacking the Baby Buddha to Use Other Pump Parts
Because the Baby Buddha is often purchased as a second pump, many parents want to use their existing pump parts with their Baby Buddha pump.
Using Baby Buddha with Freemie Cups
If you want even MORE freedom, you can also use the Baby Buddha pump with closed system Freemie collection cups.
Image courtesy Kahla from Exclusively Pumping Mamas Facebook group.
Note that the Baby Buddha tubing can be difficult to get in there, so this setup is attached with Bella Baby tubing.
Medela Pump Parts
You may be able to use Medela pump parts with the Baby Buddha. Here’s how I did it with the closed system parts used with the Max Flow:
With older, open-system Medela pump parts (such as the Pump in Style Advanced), you need to attach a backflow protector to prevent milk getting into the tubing.
To set this up, you can connect the pump to Medela pump parts using the Maymom long stem backflow protector. (Here is a detailed overview on how to do this; instead of connecting the tubing to your Spectra, you connect it to the Baby Buddha.)
Motif Luna/Spectra Pump Parts
You can do something similar with Motif Luna pump parts.
Here, I removed the white tubing connector from the Baby Buddha tubing, and attached the tubing to the Motif Luna backflow protector.
Baby Buddha Discount Code
Baby Buddha gave us a special discount referral code for you guys – you can get 10% off with the code EPM10!
The Baby Buddha consistently gets good reviews in our Facebook group, and I think it’s a great investment for exclusive pumpers to be more free of the “ball and chain.”
Do you have a Baby Buddha breast pump? Share you Baby Buddha review in the comments!
