Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got this pump a few weeks before returning back to work. My best friend had her baby a month after me and she was able to get a Medela Lactina hospital grade pump for herself, unfortunately she was not able to breastfeed. She let me borrow her pump and I started pumping exclusively with the Lactina. I didn't want to take her pump to work (it's a rental, expensive to replace, and not easily carried) so I was in the market for a good work pump. I decided I would use the Lactina at home and buy another pump for myself. I naturally looked at the Medela Pump in Style, but the cost was pretty high, and I don't care what bag it comes in or what it looks like as long as there is a bag to transport the equipment. I read lots of reviews and based on my needs, and affordability i chose the Avent Phillips Twin Pump. This decision was not made lightly, in large part because I know this cannot be returned like you would a piece of clothing that does not fit. My decision in large part was based on Amazon reviews and other peoples experience with Phillips customer service. Fortunately I have not had any negative issues with this pump and am extremely pleased with the level of suction and ability to empty out my milk while at work. My pumping routine is pretty much using the Lactina in the morning before I go to work, then twice a day at work I use the Avent pump, then I get home and pump on the Lactina. The Avent pump helps me produce 5 oz. Bottles in one sitting, is not loud, and best of all has similar results to the Lactina. I have had this for over a month now and am so happy this worked out. If you want a pump with good suction similar to a hospital grade pump look no further. I love reading reviews but am guilty of not writing them, especially when I really like to base my purchases on them, so here is my small contribution because this really is a good pump! **UPDATE 4/10/12** I have been meaning to update my review because I've noticed that other people found it helpful and I truly hope that I can help others with my experience now that I've been using it for more than a year. When I initially wrote the review I had it for one month and now I've had it for over one year. From late January 2011 to April 2012 I have never had a problem with the mechanical aspect of the pump. I continued to use the Lactina through the end of Dec 2011 in conjunction with the Avent pump and I still found the Avent pump to be a more comfortable experience. Over the course of the year I did have to call customer service due to two issues I encountered. One was definitely my fault and the other was not. The one that was my fault was due to a hole in a plastic diaphrahm that was too small to notice. Due to the hole I started to notice moisture in the tubing which prior to the hole, there never was. The moisture started slowly going up the tubing and I called cust service before it got to the base. My experience with cust service is nothing short of FANTASTIC. They sent me not only the part I needed, but also sent other parts too, to convert it to a manual breast pump just in case. Once the part was replaced there was never any moisture in the tubing. I would just reccomend to check your diaphram for any holes when you wash and/or sterilize the parts at night. The other time I had to call cust service was for frayed wires in the plug due to constant pulling and wrapping the cord around the adapter at night. This happened around 8 months in so it was still under warranty. They sent out a new one, no problem. The only other issues I have with this pump is not even with the pump itself but the accessories. The grey bags that come with it for storage of the pump horn started to rip on the sides. If it had been cloth I would have been happier as it could periodically be washed as milk does sometimes get on the bags. Also, the small freezer bags are tiny, and don't stay cold that long. Aside from the fact that once my son got a hold of them, they ripped and blue stuff came out so it had to be thrown away. It was easily remedied by getting hard plastic freezer blocks at bed bath and beyond. So there you have it, my final review for the Avent Isis Duo breast pump. It held up to 2x a day, 5 days a week for 11 months of serious pumping at work. My son is now 16 months old and I still nurse and credit this pump for helping me achieve that goal. As a side note (and the final reason for FINALLY writing this review), I was using this pump up until last week when my car got vandalized (window smashed in) and burglarized while sitting in our driveway. I'm REALLY REALLY sad because it was a great pump, I was still using it and now my milk supply is starting to dwindle. Granted I only used it once a day at this point because I was already tapering off, but it definitely was in use till the day it got stolen. My last word of advice, the black bag is nice looking (I actually got compliments on it while walking through the office) and apparently can be mistaken for a laptop computer bag by thieves. So please, don't leave your pumping bag in a place where it can be easily stolen, like the front seat of your locked car in your driveway.