Elvie Pump- The Original
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The Elvie Pump is a Wearable Breast Pump option that is changing the rules of breast pumps!
The Elvie Pump is one of two high-end, self-contained, wearable breast pumps currently on the market! Elvie competes directly with the popular Willow Pump, and it is a more high-end competitor than the wearable Freemie and Spectra Cups paired with portable breast pumps.
Compared to the Willow Pump, the Elvie Pump is lighter, quieter, and has a lower profile making for an incredibly discrete pumping experience.
Elvie is not a leak-proof pump and it is not possible to use this pump in any position. During use, you would need to remain upright and avoid movements that could cause the milk to slosh in the bottles causing a leak. That said, the Elvie does allow a fairly good range of motion, and the lack of wires and tubing is a huge bonus compared to the more traditional Freemie and Spectra Cups.
Is the Elvie Pump Right for your Needs?
Choosing the breast pump that is right for your needs is a very personal decision. This decision requires assessing why you are pumping, what challenges to pumping a wearable pump might address, your budget for the initial investment, the ongoing price of replacement parts, and the situations in which you will be using your breast pump.
Once you have taken all of these things into consideration, you can determine if the Elvie Pump is the right pump to support your breastfeeding journey. There are several concerns with this pump that can render it useless for some people, and these concerns will all be detailed here.
Suction and The Elvie Pump
The Elvie Pump is widely known for it’s incredibly gentle suction. Of all of the available pumps on the market, I have found this pump to be the most similar to the sensation of actually nursing a baby. Suction is generated by the Green Flexible Membrane that is seated on the flange before inserting the flange into the rechargeable hub.
Suction can be controlled by the buttons on the Elvie Pump, as well as with the Elvie App on your phone. It is extremely easy to toggle between stimulation and expression mode. This feature is an advantage over the Willow Pump which does not allow the user to control the mode at all.
A common issue with the Elvie Pump is that the membrane is seated directly on top of the flange with an air hole in the top of the flange. Depending on how your milk lets down, you may have issues with this membrane becoming wet and causing the pump to lose suction. Often when this happens the noise of the pump changes slightly causing a sticky type of noise as the wet membrane makes contact with the flange.
Elvie Pump is the most discrete pump option currently available.
The pump fits easily in a normal stretchy nursing bra, and this is typically adequate support for the Elvie. The shape of the Elvie allows it to blend in with your own breast anatomy, and most people will not notice the increase in your bust line.
The low profile of the Elvie allows you to pump discretely even when interacting with others. The pump is extremely quiet, and often, the only detectable noise is the sound of the milk pouring into the bottles during a let down.
The Willow Pump has a much larger projection and a more distinct oval shape that makes this pump much more obvious when using it in public.
It is worth noting, though, that the Elvie does have lights on the front of the hub that may be visible to others depending on the shirts you are wearing. Compared to the much more obvious shape of the Willow, and the strange shapes of the Freemie and Spectra cups, this light is really not a problem.
Parts to Elvie Pump
Elvie Pump requires the use of their proprietary parts, and the only company that produces these parts is Elvie. These parts are available on Amazon, though, which means getting them is not hard!
Parts that require frequent and routine replacement are the Duckbill Valves and the Membranes. These part are directly responsible for the suction generated by the pump, and over time, they stretch and wear out causing a loss of suction.
The bottles and flanges may require replacement over time as they do tend to warp - especially if you use a steam sterilizer, dishwasher, or a microwave sterilizer to maintain your pump parts. The company warranties these parts for 90 days when used according to their directions, but many people have found they last much longer than that with gentle care.
Like EVERY breast pump out there, the key to using the Elvie Pump successfully is to have properly sized flanges!
So how should the flanges fit with the Elvie Pump?
The Elvie Pump uses the standard breast pump sizing that all pumps, with the exception of the Willow Pump, use. The positive suction of the Elvie Pump requires a fit that allows the nipple to move and stretch freely while preventing the excess room that can place pressure on the areola or cause swelling that can restrict milk flow.
On average, this requires a fit that is 2-4 mm bigger than the size of your nipple when measured BEFORE pumping.
When visually checking the size of your flange before pumping, you want there to be a small amount of room around the base of the nipple to allow the nipple to easily enter the flange, but not so much room that the areola will be excessively pulled into the flange (some areola will enter the tunnel during pumping which is fine, it is when excessive tissue enters the flange that we have problems).
A challenge with the Elvie Pumps, as with all wearable pumps, is that we cannot see the nipple during pumping which can greatly assist us in finding your ideal size. So, we need to put emphasis on measuring correctly before pumping and optimizing the flange fit to begin with.
Elvie makes pumps in size 21 mm, 24 mm, and 28 mm, and in my professional opinion, they made the best effort to assist in proper sizing of any pump manufacturer out there today. On the bottom of the flange, they marked the flanges with easy to identify icons and guidelines to help you identify a good fit. They indicate that the ideal sizing will be the flange with the guidelines that closest fit against the edge of your nipples as in the graphic below. Flanges with a circle icon are 21 mm, triangles are 24 mm, and squares are 28 mm. The Elvie Pump comes with 24 and 28 mm flanges, but the 21 mm flanges are sold separately.
So do we have options outside of 21, 24 and 28 mm for the Elvie?
Yes, we do have options to modify the sizing of the Elvie to accommodate a wider range of nipple sizes. The important thing to understand with our options for the Elvie Pump, though, is that we are more limited by length with the Elvie than other pump options. The low profile design of the Elvie Pump, combined with the placement of air holes necessary for the pump to function, limits the overall length of the flange we have to work with.
Length of the Elvie Flange can create some challenges when it comes to modifying the size for smaller nipples.
Typically we use Maymom and Freemie silicone inserts to reduce the size of existing flanges for smaller nipples. These silicone inserts give us options ranging from 13 mm to 28 mm for the Elvie which does cover the vast majority of nipple diameters.
Our limitation here is in the length of the flange. Maymom and Freemie inserts are approximately 30 mm, but in order to use them successfully with the Elvie, they do have to be cut down to prevent blocking the air holes. This reduces the overall length of the flange to approximately 20 mm and can leave rough edges on the silicone that could cause nipple damage with average to longer nipples.
There have also been issues reported using BeauGen Cushions with the Elvie as it can stretch to block the air holes. Some people have had success cutting the BeauGen cushions slightly to prevent blocking the air hole, but this is not a recommended practice. Given the very short length of the BeauGen Cushions, if you can use them with the Elvie length wise, you would be better served using a Maymom or Freemie insert cut down.
Onionbaby inserts are newer to the flange insert market, and are much shorter than the Freemie or Maymom Inserts. They fit perfectly in the Elvie with no trimming required, which reduces the concern for nipple damage from poorly cut inserts. They may be too short for some nipples, but so far appear to work great for people needing a 15, 17, 19, or 21 mm flange for the Elvie without requiring any modification.
Elvie Legendairy Flange Hack
The Legendairy Silicone Flanges have been perhaps the best thing to happen to users of the Elvie struggling with the short flange tubes or issues related to milk on the green membrane causing a loss of suction!
The hack entails carefully inserting a 24 mm Legendairy Silicone Cup Flange inside of the 28 mm Elvie flange. This is a snug fit and you will have to work it into place but it can be made smooth. The silicone flange does not sit flush, but is firm enough to be able to be used with the pump without a lot of issue for most people.
The benefit of this hack is that it allows us to use flange inserts without trimming them. This results in a longer flange length for the nipple to be better protected.
The silicone flanges also help those with extremely elastic breast tissue to more successfully use this pump comfortably, as the tacky texture of the silicone inhibits the excessive stretching of the breast tissue while pumping.
With this set up the two biggest shortcomings of this breast pump are adequately addressed.
We get longer length flanges, and we can stop milk from being sprayed into the suction hole that connects to the green membrane. This will not help if the issue is an overactive letdown that is flooding the pump flange faster than the duckbill valve can empty. It will help with the spraying of the milk by redirecting the flow away from this area.
This hack will not make up for poor sizing with the Elvie pump. It still only provides benefit if you are using a properly sized flange and insert combination for your unique nipple size and shape.
Elvie Sizing Options
Have you already measured your nipples and want to know what options exist in your size?
Check out all of your options below to see how you can make the Elvie Pump work for you!
13 mm Elvie Options
MayMom Inserts
13 mm MayMom Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with a 13 mm Maymom insert.
15 mm Elvie Options
MayMom Inserts
15 mm Maymom Insert in a 24mm or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
15 mm Freemie Insert in a 24mm or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with any 15 mm available insert.
Onionbaby 15 mm insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, does not require trimming to fit.
16 mm Elvie Options
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
16 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with a 16 mm Freemie insert.
17 mm Elvie Options
MayMom Inserts
17 mm Maymom Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
17 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with any 17 mm available insert.
Onionbaby 17 mm insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, does not require trimming to fit.
18 mm Elvie Options
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
18 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with a 18 mm Freemie insert.
19 mm Elvie Options
MayMom Inserts
19 mm Maymom Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
19 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with any 19 mm available insert.
Onionbaby 19 mm insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, does not require trimming to fit.
20 mm Elvie Options
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
20 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with a 20 mm Freemie insert.
21 mm Elvie Options
Elvie Flange
Evenflo Insert
21 mm Evenflo Insert in a 28 mm Elvie Flange. Note: The Evenflo insert results in a softer and longer flange tunnel, but does require folding the insert back into place.
MayMom Inserts
21 mm Maymom Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
21 mm Freemie Fitme Inserts
21 mm Freemie Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
21 mm Onionbaby Insert in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, does not require trimming to fit.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with any 21 mm available insert.
22 mm Elvie Options
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
22 mm Freemie Insert in a 24mm or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Beaugen Cushions
Beaugen Cushuion in a 24mm Elvie Flange, May need to cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Legendairy 24 mm in a 28 mm Elvie Flange with a 22 mm Freemie insert.
23 mm Elvie Options
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
23 mm Freemie Insert in a 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
24 mm Elvie Options
Elvie Flange
24 mm Elvie Flange in a 24 or 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Freemie Fitmie Inserts
24 mm Freemie Insert in a 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
Maymom Inserts
24 mm Maymom Insert in a 28 mm Elvie Flange, Cut down to allow clearance for Elvie Airholes.
24 mm Legendairy Flanges
24 mm Legendairy Flange in a 28 mm Elvie Flange.
24.5 mm Evenflo Inserts
24.5 mm Evenflo Insert in a 28 mm Elvie Flange. Note: The Evenflo insert results in a softer and longer flange tunnel, but does require folding the insert back into place.
25 mm Elvie Options
No options for 25 mm with Elvie are currently available.
BeauGen Cushion with a 28 mm Elvie Shield can be considered.
26 mm Elvie Options
BeauGen Cushion in the 28 mm Elvie Flange
Elvie Pump OG Quick Start Cheatsheet
A handy, free download to keep in your pumping bag to give you confidence when Elvie Pump issues arise.
