I received this manual pump in a breast pumping supplies kit that I bought. The kit did not originally come with an electric pump. I have had to use this manual pump many times, but especially before I started using an electric pump. The manual pump is easy to use and very easy to clean; however using it does get very old very fast. It is a lot of work and my arms wold get very tired when pumping. I pump milk for my babies up until they are about 6 months old. I could not imagine manually pumping my milk for that amount of time. This pump is great for traveling purposes and for storing in the car. Just in case I have forgotten my electric pump, I can always resort to this one. The whole process of pumping is simple, yet I have to always remember to keep the pump tightly up against my skin during pumping. If air gets into the pump, then the suction will decrease and not much milk will be dispersed. It is a great back up pump!

VictoriaBuchan

USA

This pump is a must-have for the breastfeeding mom. My lactation nurse recommended this model when I had my first child and was dealing with engorgement issues. It is easy to use and easy to assemble. I've thrown it in a plastic storage bag and easily taken it on road trips if I need to pump-on-the-go or even just had it along if I'm going to be away from baby (missing a feeding) and want the option of pumping while away. Cleaning is fairly easy as well except I wish it came with a small tool to help clean out the small hole that the milk flows through as it goes down into the bottle. I used this pump on a regular basis with my first child for over a year and it definitely stood the test of time! I am now using it again with my second baby. The soft/flexing freastsheild is also an added bonus! As far as the price, it may be slightly higher priced than some other brands of breastpumps on the market... however if this is something you are going to be using regularly or want to last a long time, it is worth the little extra money!

shawblaster

Casper, WY

I first used the Medela Harmony while my daughter and I were combatting latch issues in her first few days of life.  I needed to keep up my milk supply while we were struggling and I ended up using the Medela Harmony breast pump to exclusively express milk for her for about the first 5 days.  Once we had established a breastfeeding relationship and I no longer needed to pump, the Medela Harmony was still useful to have around for those times when I was feeling a little engorged, or just to build a freezer stash of milk in case of an emergency.  Once my daughter got a little bit older and I was comfortable being away from her for short periods of time I used the Medela Harmony pump to express milk for her to take while I was away and also to keep up my supply while I was gone, for which it was extremely effective.  The negative about this pump is that I only found it useful when used with the Soft-Shield flange.  The Soft-Shield flange mimics the baby's massaging suck rather than relying on the pure suction of the hard plastic flanges and it served me very well, however when using a hard plastic flange I did not find this pump and more or less effective than the hundreds of others of its kind.

Emilik

Norwich, CT

I bought the Medela Handpump because I had forgotten to take my electric pump with me on a trip. I was super engorged, my baby was going on nursing strikes, and I needed to a breastpump to  help relieve my pain. I found the Medela Harmony pump and was delighted. It was already assembled for me, all I had to do was clean it prior to using and away I went. It was so easy to use, and pretty quick too. It did take a bit longer than my double electric pump at home, but worked great for what I needed it for. I love that it has two different pumping features. The smaller, quicker letdown feature is great to get things going and really mimicks the way my baby sucks to get the milk flowing. The big manual pump side was very strong and effective at getting quite a bit of milk out. It's great to use in the car on road trips because I can pump while my baby is sleeping and have a bottle ready for her when she wakes up, and we don'thave to pull over to get her out and nurse her, and I don't have to make sure I have a special cord to plug in an electric pump to the car. It's great for at home to pump right before bed or in the middle of the night when I'm a bit engorged. I just sit up and start pumping, don't have to mess with plugging bottles into a pump and plugging the pump in. It's not something I would take to work to pump, but it's great for at home spontaneous pumping and in the car. It's great to pump just one bottle if the hubby and I are going out for the evening. I love it, it's the second best breastfeeding accessory I've purchased (next to my double electric pump)! I highly recommend it!

CraftyMama

Wichita, KS