Willow Go Review: Pump and Run

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There are a couple of minimal physical controls on the Willow itself: a power button, a mode button, and a plus and minus button to change the suction level. You always turn the pump on manually to start a session, but you’ll need the Willow Go app handy to see what mode or level you’re using (you can feel a difference in these, and Willow always starts at the lowest). level) and how long she has been pumping.

Willow Go has two pump modes: a stimulation mode and an expression mode. Both have a few suction and rhythm levels to choose from in the app. The Willow Go will start in stimulation mode for two minutes before switching to expression, to try to replicate how a baby begins to feed and activate the let down. You can manually change the modes on top of the Willow and within the app, and also change the intensity to find the ideal setting. Each side is controlled separately and you’ll see a timer in the app to show the total pumping time for each pump (but not how much time was spent in each mode). Promises hospital-grade suction like the classic Medela pump in advanced styleand pumped the same number of ounces as I would with my Spectra S1.

I tried the Willow Go with a sports nursing bra and one of Willow’s pumping bras. Both have full coverage and a hook to allow the bra to be lowered all the way and then secured around the pump and breast, which is what to look for in any bra you wear with a portable pump. It fit well in both bras and was comfortable enough to wear, but certainly not discreet.

parties party

Each side of the Willow Go has six parts: a canister bowl, a duckbill valve, a diaphragm, a flange, a canister back, and the pump itself that sits in the middle of all these parts. Total with two pumps, there are 12 pieces for the pump. The Willow also comes with two USB-A power cables to charge each pump, but no power adapter.

All those parts, plus tucking it into your bra, make it hard to see how much you’re pumping. If you’re trying to check your progress or find out if you’ve squeezed every ounce of fluid out of your body, you should tilt your head a bit to see if anything is still coming out of the duckbill valve. It is recommended to pump for about 15 minutes, but after a few uses you should be able to figure out how long your body needs for a pumping session.

While it doesn’t wash the central pump, it does wash the other 10 parts. It’s not a small number, but the Spectra S1 has a similar number of washable parts. But I prefer to wash the Willow Go pieces. They’re larger, making them easier to handle and easier to air dry or by hand compared to some of the smaller breast pump parts that I’m constantly afraid of going down my sink drain. I especially love that the bowl of the container opens all the way for you to clean, instead of scrubbing up another bottle. These pieces are also dishwasher safe.