Broken Pumps = Curvy Lady Lumps

Wow. so, my breast pump broke. not good. it broke one night, late. i decided to make it through the night. The grossest part was that when we took it apart to see if we could fix it, there was MOLD all inside it. Sick. So, i really wanted to steer clear of it for this next purchase.

I woke up, the next morning, fed Makena and we were off to the local Walmart...only to find that they only carried the same exact pump that broke on me. I've had it 3 months, and even though it was only $50, I still expected it to last longer. I left Walmart and drove ALL the way to Rock-town to the Target bc I KNEW I'd seen more pumps there. I was determined I was not going to buy the expensive Medela pump b/c I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be using it. I settled on one and went to the cashier to make my purchase. I drove ALL the way back home and rushed in to relieve my boobies. I opened up the package and realized there was a piece missing, oh well, i decided i was going to do one boob at a time and I'd deal w/ it by calling the company later. I was in PAIN. I start to put all the parts together and realize...this pump had been USED. Not only that, but there was MOLD in the all tubings in this "NEW" one. I was LIVID. I called Target (my least favorite store, mind you) to speak w/ a manager b/c all sales are (supposed to be) final on an open pump and I wanted to make SURE i was not going to have an issue returning it. Also, I was pissed I was wasting more time and gas having to drive all the way back there. Plus, it was FREEZING and rainy outside and I'm dragging a carseat all over the place, and I AT LEAST wanted sympathy or maybe an apology. (Didn't happen). I discovered that though the "seal" on the top of the packaging had not been broken, someone had very sneakily opened a clear disc on the bottom of the pump. Luckily, I had no problems returning it. I decided to go to the WalMart in Rock-town and I was just going to purchase my old pump b/c I KNEW it worked, and it was only $50, and I wasn't about to buy another pump from Target and risk more mold (and they were out of all other pumps except the Medela, and I wasn't about to spend that much money or give that store that kind of business). Anyway, I went about 15 hours without pumping. OUCH. I filled up 2 (pumping) bottles in less than 15 minutes. RELIEF!

Moral of the story...check BOTH the TOP and BOTTOM seals to make sure no hankie pankie has occurred when buying a breast pump...or just break down and buy the expensive one. I'm going to w/ the next babe. but NOT from Target (a.k.a. the devil).