Modu Breastpump: Review

my very own Modu! jangan jeles!

Being so lucky to get Modu Pump as a present from my (male!) Director, I vowed to give back by writing a review on this pump. My Director probably will not gain anything from this review, but I wish mothers out there would have some overview of this pump so that you will have more insight on choosing the right one for you.

Modu: Pros

Simplicity
- 4 button, 1 display
- Turn on/off, Speed (+ and -), Continuous Flow buttons – this 4 buttons made it user friendly and easy to operate.

Size (does matter!)
- Portable CD player size, 700g
- Mobility is also a plus with this hospital-grade but light weight and compact size pump.
- Tips: Custom made Stylo Mama bags for Modu Breast Pump are not only stylo, but also very accommodating.

Parts & Assembly
- Hassle-free and easy to put together
- From the cute pinky pump, use single or dual tube, connect to lactation cup with bottle attached - viola! We’re good to go!
- Well I must admit I was cheating a bit since the delivery of the pump was made by Farah SaraKids herself. Thus, all explanation, demo and tips were given clearly by the creator of the pump herself. I believe all SaraKids sales staff and resellers are also well trained by the famous Cik Farah!

Ergonomic lactation cup
- Easy to hold on during pumping
- Lactation cup has extra bit on the handle (see photo) which make it ergonomically easy to hold at one place during pumping session
- In a glance I saw that bit was quite a waste – design wise. Only saw the purpose when I hold the lactation cup to start pumping. Cleaver feature indeed!


Double pumping bliss
- Modu enables single or double pumping
- Double pumping saves time. This is also a bliss to those who at times got discouraged or distracted to pump one after another. Not to mention double pumping can fight the gloom of being morally down after waiting for one session to end so that another can start.
- Double milk power yeah!

Relaxing
- Modu pump is relaxing
- There is no need to concentrate during pumping session. Assemble parts, turn on power and milk expressing will be a breeze.
- This is a great solution when we need to pump but just too tired after the day’s work
- Modu being my very first electric breast pump, I can not compare it other similar product. However, my first experience using Modu – this is very relaxing, I practically don’t have to do anything. Just sit back and milk will be flowing into bottles. It is like goin to spa – except for paying each time, we get milk to bring back!

6 suction levels
- 2 levels : stimulating; 4 levels : expressing milk
- Level 1 & 2 to prep for milk let down, level 4 to 6 to efficiently pump milk after let down reflex. Simply adjust suction speed accordingly
- This feature gives us option that suits us personally. I myself prefer level 2 for stimulation and level 5 for expressing milk.

Self-Cleaning
- This pump can be cleaned internally
- The self-cleaning feature enable us to clean the pump from milk residue if God forbid there will ever be any case of back flow. If milk were sucked into the tube (and then into the pump) instead of down the lactation cup into the bottle, cleaning is essential to maintain suction capability of the pump.
- Lucky me I have not come across any back flow so far, but seeing Farah play with the pump actually did enticed me to try self-cleaning!

Nasal Aspirator
- Modu can clean baby’s nose
- Nasal aspirator set also bundled together with this pump. Using continuous suction mode, it is very easy to suck out extra mucus from baby’s nose when baby has cold or running nose
- So far this is daddy’s favorite feature of the pump so he himself does not have to suck out baby’s snot using manual tube and nasal aspirator. Totally daddy-gone-automated gadget!


Modu in custom made Stylo Mama bag - pump and bottle all in 1!

Modu: Cons

Positioning
- Lactation cup need to be hold through the session. This need practice.
- For most expert pump user, this might not be an issue. Being a newbie, I do need some practice to properly position the cup (and keep doing so during the entire session) so that suction can be done neatly by the pump.
- Tips: insert suction cup at nursing bra opening for better hold

Number of Parts
- OK, it’s just that I’m so used to manual pump. Having 2 tubes, extra lactation cup, extra silicon funnel, extra bottles and a pump to carry is definitely more parts than I used to. It should be no hassle for average electric pump user – especially if we have one of those sleek Stylo Mama bags! In fact, Modu should have more advantage being lighter and smaller then most electric pump.

Set of Bottles
- Main set: 2 bottles included. No sealing discs or screw cap.
- I’ve read about this before getting my very own Modu. Initially I was thinking why not, we have 2 extra bottles. After having it myself, I feel it is quite peculiar when we have bottle but no cap. Unless all milk goes into sterilized plastic container after pumping, we definitely would prefer bottle with cap. (Most probably that is the very reason why Modu set comes with Stylo Mama bottles!)

Continuous suction drawback
- While it is cool to have self cleaning and nasal aspirator feature, continuous suction will use up the lifespan of the pump. So use these features wisely (yeah, try not to do self-cleaning just because it seems like fun during demo!)

Power supply
- Power point needed.
- Probably this is why Farah suggests pumping during working hours at work station. Just cover with shawl or nursing cover. No time out from work just to express milk. One pumping session every 3 hours achievable. Power point within reach. (Cleaver Farah!)

Power plug
- China made measurement
- Being accustom with among others - Korean electrical product (I’m working in Korean Trade Center where we represent Korean government to market products form Korean manufacturer to importer and reseller in Malaysia) I found that most Korean product use China made power cable. Most of them are 2 pin and can not be plugged directly into wall socket because of the measurement slack.
- Solution? Just use any (China made, still!) cable that have similar end – preferably 3 pins. Or like Farah, she will use extension cord which fit the 2 pin better.

Motor sound
- Pump produce some noise
- Also, I’ve read somewhere that according to some users, there are available choices out there of electric pump that is quieter than Modu. Personally I don’t find the sound produced by an operating Modu as loud. At the same time I wont pump next to (my!) sleeping baby or tired husband who is trying to catch some sleep :p

Personally autographed. How much do you think this worth on Ebay? :D

Modu: Icing on the cake
Since Farah (rumored to be creating another pump or improving existing ones and for the fact that she) always welcome suggestion, here are my 2 cents (man! I do hope one of these days my 2 cents will add up to something as worthy as brand spanking new iPad 2 or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1!) :

Display
- I have quite a difficulty seeing the number display clearly especially in brightly lit room (or maybe I dreamed of iPad too much). Eye-friendly display are most welcome!

Rechargeable
- Not having to find a power point to pump milk is priceless especially to moms on the go (regardless I sit at my workstation all day, I can still pretend like I’m too busy locating a power point so I can enjoy unplugged pumping!)

Silent
- Yeah, (shy, well-behaved, polite) moms expect discreet pumping session especially if it is done at the work station during working hours. Silent is golden (might be next to colostrums!)

Clear white
- I would strongly suggest clear transparent silicon funnel and lactation cup. It is very uplifting to see milk coming down the funnel. More! More! More! :p

Nursery bag
- Well this might be not for pump package, but baby package. On daily basis I always end up stuffing cooler bag into my Baby Alice’s bag. Can Stylo Mama come up with all in 1 bag? Front part where we can put 6 bottles with ice packs, and in the middle enough room for 1 day supply of diapers, 1 pair of baby clothes, socks, handkerchief, plus compartment for travelling size baby powder, rash cream, wet wipe and tissue. Please, please pretty please?


one of available Modu set

Modu: in a sentence
Pink, sleek and chic - Modu Breastpump is one of the best choices of portable compact electric double pump where power point is available.

Happy pumping, everybody!