Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump review

Like the battery-operated Elvie Pump and Medela’s Freestyle Flex Electric Breast Pump, this Tommee Tippee model is designed for use on the go, whether that’s taking it to work, or simply donning it around the house. Tommee Tippee claim it is “lightweight and discreet enough to give you confidence and freedom to express breast milk when and where you want”.

They also say that it’s “extremely quiet”, “gentle on breasts” and has a battery with “long-lasting power”, while its hygienic closed system means there’s no backflow of milk into the air tube or pump.

Tested by:

Journalist Kayleigh lives in Essex and has been testing the Tommee Tippee pump to help feed her baby Arthur

What were your first impressions of the breast pump?

When not using an electric breast pump, I tend to use a silicone milk collector such as the Haakaa (£30 on Amazon) for expressing – for me, it takes all of the hassle out of expressing and saves time – so I was relieved to find the box didn’t contain too many components.

Was the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump easy to set up?

After giving the separate elements a thorough wash in soapy water and then sterilising them, I found the pump to be reassuringly straightforward to put together.

The instructions were brief but thorough – informative enough that you understand how to use the product quickly and efficiently. The separate elements fit together well, with a trumpet-shaped ‘horn’ and silicone cup attaching to the side of the pump’s body, a cup and lid attaching to the top, and a bottle and valve attaching to the bottom. It’s clear where each part belongs, and there’s no need to worry about putting the wrong part in the wrong place. Let’s just say, it’s straightforward enough to be put together by a bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived mum like me!

Our home tester felt the same, saying “The pump was easy to assemble, and the instructions are also clear.” In comparison, some manual breast pumps I’ve tested have been more time-consuming and less straightforward to put together.

How does it compare to other pumps you have looked at or used?

It’s certainly one of the niftiest pumps I’ve used in terms of cleaning, assembling and using, and, as Tommee Tippee claims, it’s quiet. It’s also remarkably small compared to some hospital-grade pumps I’ve tried. It stores away nicely in a compact box, or can be left on the countertop without occupying too much space.

Is the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump easy to use?

Once you’ve set it up, it’s very easy to use – a view shared by our home tester who said, “I found the pump quite easy to use. The horn is placed over the nipple and the power turned on. The pump starts on level one massage mode, however this can be turned up dependent on preference. Once milk appears, you press the power button again and this changes the pump to express mode.

“There is a timer on the power unit, and it only has three buttons: minus, power and plus. Minus and plus are self explanatory for moving up or down through the massage and express settings. The power button turns it on or off as well as switching between massage and express mode.”

Plenty of Argos mums also found the pump easy to use, with an impressive 90 per cent giving it 5/5 for this, while nearly half of Tommee Tippee mums praised this aspect, too.

How comfortable was the breast pump to use?

Tommee Tippee say that the silicone cup is designed to be comfortable against the breast and, like 15 per cent of Argos mums and more than a quarter of Tommee Tippee mums, I felt that it was. Our home tester agreed, saying “The silicon horn was soft enough to not cause discomfort while using the pump.”

It was so comfortable that I wasn’t really aware of it while expressing and it definitely helped encourage the let-down – vital when you need to collect those precious ounces!

Are the five massage settings and nine express settings effective?

The initial ‘massage’ setting is said to replicate baby’s initial sucks at the breast which stimulate milk let-down. These felt pretty natural to me, and I felt most comfortable having the level set to ‘3’ – our home tester also found that this mode worked well, saying, “In massage mode it did not take long to produce milk.” Once you see milk trickle down in the bottle, you switch to one of the express settings – I found level ‘5’ to be the most comfortable.

Is the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump good at stimulating and expressing milk?

I’ve been able to extract more than with manual breast pumps I’ve tested, and about as much as with the Haakaa. Overall, I found it to be effective, as did our home tester, who said “The pump was powerful enough to ensure there was no backflow and loss of milk.”

However, I did find I had to lean forward slightly (so my nipple pressed into the silicone cup further) for it to be more effective (but that could just be the shape of my nipples!).

Is it “significantly quieter than the leading breast pump available”, as Tommee Tippee claims?

It was quiet enough not to disturb my light-sleeping baby while he napped – so that’s saying something! A fair amount of Argos mums thought it was quiet, too, with 20 per cent mentioning this as well as more than a third of Tommee Tippee mums.

However, our home tester didn’t share this view, saying “I thought the pump sounded quite loud, although I did pump one night with my sleeping baby and it did not bother him.”

Is the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump mains- or battery-powered?

This unit is battery-powered. It requires charging via USB – so you can plug it into your computer or the wall with the right charger – and conveniently it can be operated while charging. Once charged, it is supposed to work for 60 minutes – although 20 per cent of Argos mums were disappointed with the battery life, with some saying it needs charging after every use and was slow to charge – not quite the “long-lasting power” Tommee Tippee promises.

Is the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump portable?

It’s as portable as it claims. The hand-held power unit is very light, and also contains a hanging strap which you can slip onto a finger. Our home tester felt this could have been larger, saying “I felt the loop may have been more useful if it was big enough to fit around the wrist.”

I found the base unit just the right size for fitting into a shirt pocket – so I was able to hoover and pump at the same time: genius! Again, you could use it out and about by slipping it into a pocket or a bag.

However, our home tester wasn’t sure it would be as effective when not plugged in, saying “I didn’t feel confident that the suction would be enough that my breast would not fall away from the horn and I would lose previous milk. This may take practice.”

Is the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump easy to clean?

Although the pump is not suitable for dish-washing, it is straightforward to clean – a view shared by 20 per cent of Argos mums and more than a quarter of Tommee Tippee mums. The power unit and the air tube must be removed before washing, but the rest of the pump easily comes apart and can be washed in soapy water and then sterilised.

What’s in the box?

• Instruction manual
• Cup
• Horn
• Body (duck-shaped)
• Valve (also duck-shaped)
• Diaphragm
• Diaphragm cap
• Diaphragm lid
• Air tube
• Power unit
• USB charging lead

Do you like the design of the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump?

The lightweight power unit has a handy digital timer, so as well as seeing which express mode you’re using, you can also see how long you’ve been pumping – although this can equally be frustrating if you’ve been pumping for half an hour and barely extracted a drop! The design went down well with Argos mums, 82 per cent of whom gave it 5/5.

Can you buy any additional accessories?

There are no additional accessories required.

Is the product value for money?

The Made For Me Single Electric Breast Pump is mid-range pricewise. Although it is slightly more expensive than similar models on the market like the Philips Avent Electric Breast Pump (£125) and the MAM 2-in-1 Single Pump (£130), it’s cheaper than the Medela Swing Flex (£139.99).

In my opinion, its portability and effectiveness make it worth the money. The MAM 2-in-1 Single Pump is probably its nearest competitor as it can also be used out and about using a rechargeable battery – in which case, there isn’t much in it in price terms.

Nearly a quarter of Argos mums also felt that it was worth its price tag. However, our home tester felt that the price was still quite high: “For first-time mothers who are unsure if they wish to breastfeed, this is an expensive option if they later decide to bottle-feed. However, for established breastfeeding mothers, this is a good option.”

Where can you buy the Tommee Tippee Made for Me Single Electric Breast Pump?

It’s available from Amazon, Boots and Argos.

MadeForMums verdict:

Overall, this nifty pump makes light work of expressing. Its particular strengths lie in its comfort, portability and ease of use and I love that the lightweight and compact power unit can easily slip into a pocket – no need to spend hours sitting by a plug!

The pump is most useful for time-poor mums who are looking to express while undertaking other tasks, or for mums on the go. However, for those looking to build up a freezer stash, I’d still recommend a double or hospital-grade pump for extra oomph and capacity. On that note, I’d love to see a double pump version of this product – while this model ticks all the boxes, a double pump would make it even more efficient.

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