I am not a huge reviewer of products... but this pump has been a complete game changer for me! My son is 5 months old and I went back to working full time when he was 7 weeks old. He is exclusively breastfed & I pump 3 times while I am away from him at work. I was previously using the Medela Pump In Style and I always felt like I couldn't get my settings or accessories right. I dreaded pumping & the pain. My nipples were constantly scabbed over which, at 5 months, I wouldn't think would be an issue anymore I went through several flanges trying to find the right fit but I think what ultimately kept me from being successful was the painful suction from the Medela. I ordered the Spectra S2 last weekend & in just one week, I have seen an increase in my supply while pumping. I used to bring home 10-11 oz per day from work and I have been bringing home 12-15 oz. This pump is SO much more comfortable. I was able to purchase all of the necessary accessories to keep using my Medela bottles and the flanges that I already had. If you are thinking about this purchase, make the move! Especially if you are planning to pump long term. I was debating weaning at 6 months but this pump has instilled a new life in me to keep moving closer to the 1 year mark!

I started using the Medela PISA when I went back to work. I switched to the Spectra S2 by recommendation from quiet a few ladies in my nursing moms class. I can honestly say that I made the right choice in switching to the Spectra 2. Unfortunately, I had already used my insurance on the Medela PISA so I had to pay for this out of pocket - still so worth it. I wish I had known about this pump before I used my insurance on the other one, but there's nothing I can do about that now. With the Spectra from just my morning pumping session I have gone from pumping 4-6 oz to pumping 8-9oz! I don't personally like pumping. I'd prefer to breastfeed, but I've gone back to work and have to pump. The Medela PISA felt like a tugging/pulling and it would actually hurt sometimes. The Spectra feels more like a quivering suckle, as natural feeling as a pump can be I imagine. I love this pump as much as anyone can love a pump. I 100% recommend this over the Medela PISA (that is the only pump I have personally tried so it is the only one I can compare it to).

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Update 1/10/18 - I have had this pump for 7 months now and I love it as much now as I did when I first used it! I have recommended this pump to any pregnant woman I have the pleasure of discussing breastfeeding and pumping with.

After reading some of the 1-star reviews, I did want to mention up a few things that I did not mention in my first review.
1. Since I had the displeasure of spending the first 5 months of my baby's life using a Medela PISA, I owned SO many Medela products (mostly bottles).
2. I was already investing in this second pump. I did not want to have to reinvest in all new bottles to fit this new pump. There had to be another solution!
3. SO I purchased "wide to narrow neck adapters" from Amazon. Then I could use the Spectra and pump directly into my old Medela bottles solving the issue of investing in even more bottles. This saved me a ton of money. This also means that I never actually used the Spectra bottles that came with the pump and I cannot attest to their durability or reliability.

I will apologize in advance for the long winded review - but a breast pump is an extremely important purchase for a breastfeeding mother - so I am going to try to cover all the bases on this pump.

As a mother now breastfeeding her 3rd child, I'm am approaching 4 years total of nursing.

In the past, I have always used Medela products. I've struggled on every end of the spectrum from low supply with one child to oversupply with another and a healthy spot on supply now with my 3rd. A good pump makes all the difference in maintaining milk supply - ESPECIALLY if you're a working mother.

I HAD been a loyal Medela PISA user for almost my entire 4 cumulative nursing years - but I am no longer. When I was pregnant with my 3rd I had just started hearing about the speCtra s2 taking the breastfeeding world by storm, but I figured I'd stick with old faithful and I asked my insurance to provide another Medela - hindsight is 20/20 and I wish I'd done more homework then. About 3 months after my daughter was born all I heard about was how amazing the s2 is - from nursing friends, mom groups, breastfeeding groups and even a couple La Leche meetings. When I looked into it the price was half what a PISA is so I figured heck - why not. My husband was apprehensive about buying me yet another breast pump (I've tried SO MANY OTHERS - Lanisoh, Hygeia, Avent, Ameda - none of which I liked or I felt fully emptied my breasts). Now that I have my Spectra I will never go back to Medela or try anything else - let me tell you why:

First and foremost - let's talk about the perks of a closed system pump. I managed to ruin 2 Medela PISA's with my current nursling. In less than 3 months - that gets expensive QUICK. Milk in the tubes and right into the motor, rendering them useless. Let's not forget about trying to keep tubes from molding - not fun. The speCtra s2 perfectly protects from back flow, and the flanges also are designed to make sure milk goes directly into the bottle instead of into the backflow protector. I bought extra tubes initially, but I'm really not sure why because they're not needed, because I'm no longer dealing with those issues thanks to Spectra.

Comfort? This is where it's at. While never having issues in the past, this time around I often felt like my nipples had been put through a garbage disposal after pumping with the PISA - the comfort of the speCtra s2 is unmatched. It feels just like my baby's suckle and I'm no longer wincing in pain during my long pumping sessions. How they can make the suction so strong yet so comfortable is beyond me - but more power to them! Added bonus for comfort: Spectra offers a silicone insert for their flanges!

Speaking of long pumping sessions - those are no more. The speCtra s2 empties me in half the time - and we all know how important time is with little ones running around!

There are a wide variety of suction and speed options, and even a letdown button (you can tailor it to your specific needs) which can switch you back and forth from your desired suction and speed to a quick light sickle to induce letdowns - also customizable. It also kind of "vibrates" while you're pumping so it helps even more to stimulate quick multiple letdowns. Added bonus: it remembers your settings from your previous pumping session and turns back in exactly in the last settings you used.

There was a bit of a learning curve for finding the right settings for myself, but that's because with my PISA I had no choice but "hard and fast" suction and speed, there was no option to change those separately. Gone are those days, thankfully - Spectra tackled this issue as well.

It's SUPER quiet and also comes with a nightlight that has 2 settings so if you're pumping near your baby during a nap or bedtime you don't have to worry about waking baby - plus you won't feel like your pump is trying to "sing you the song of its people"! (Seriously - who HASNT tried to figure out exactly what in the world their pump could be saying with all that noise?) Not with the speCtra, though, just a quiet purr.

The only downfall is the availability of accessories - you have to buy full kits from Spectra instead of just the parts you need, otherwise you have to buy aftermarket - which work ok in my opinion, but I'm OCD and I prefer OEM parts.

Lastly - Spectra Customer Service. They're AMAZING. As far as I am able to tell, customer service is run by breastfeeding mothers - which is what we need! They do great Q&A sessions on Facebook, and they'll happily help you with getting covered by insurance. From what I understand they're expanding this year to reintroduce the s9, and to be more available at local retailers (accessories included).

Bottom line is, this pump in my opinion is worth every penny and then some. Even my husband, who as I said was apprehensive and is what you might call "tight with money" is happy about this purchase. (Happy wife, happy life, right?) Hands down the best pump I've ever used in every department. Look no more, mamas, you've found your pump in speCtra.

I needed a hospital grade electric breast pump after my previous pump , medela pump & style, supplied by my insurance company didn't seem to have a strong suction anymore. I purchased this pump after reading the positive reviews.
I love it.
Pros: size, various suction options, and my favorite is the nightlight.
Cons: over a short time the tubing disconnects from the back flow protector and the wide neck bottles that come with the pump seem to topple over easy. I ordered different wide neck bottles from Amazon which I like better because they're more stable.

Can I just say, if this pump continues to be this good months from now....it will be the BEST $120 I've ever spent...like EVER. Seriously, I NEVER review stuff (I know, I really should but 4 kids kind of occupy my time). That's how impressed I am though.

I had been using a PISA that was covered through my insurance and it was okay for the first 3 weeks when all of a sudden, a few days ago my nipples began to hurt so bad even something brushing up against them softly made me want to scream and cry. Then, 2 days ago....I noticed that my milk was not letting down with the pump no matter how long or how many times I tried. It also was excruciating to pump or breastfeed. I told my husband I wanted to order this pump because I had heard such amazing things about it so I ordered it Wednesday night and it got here yesterday afternoon (Thursday).

Yesterday was the most painful yet, all I got all day was drops from my PISA and even my first try with the spectra. I decided to take a rest from pumping all together for a few hours and tried again around 11 with the Spectra. I normally get anywhere from .5 oz to an ounce but I got 2 oz out of my right breast right off the bat. This morning, I decided to try my left breast while baby was latched on the right, I normally don't get very much if any at all from my left breast using a pump but I already have more milk from my left than I got from my right last night.....and we're still going!! My daughter is only 4 weeks old so I feel like this is a huge accomplishment considering I was in so much pain and getting little output with the PISA. Oh yes, and this does NOT hurt my nips like the Medela does. They're still sore but they need to heal as I think I just had the Medela settings set way to high. This already feels 1000xs better though. I'm super happy!

One more thing, I did order the attachment to make the spectra compatible with the Medela flanges and bottles and it worked great. That being said, I also think the Medela flagged were part of my problem with pain to because the the part the nipple auctions through is slightly narrower on the Medela flanges but going a size up was way to big. The spectra was a little bigger and had a wider opening which, I think helps with my pain. So I've found that I just prefer to use the spectra flange with my Avent bottles and it works out perfectly. I'm not a huge fan of the bottles that came with the spectra but both my Avent bottles and my Pura bottles are compatible.