The Elvie breast pump is a good product that you might not need right now

To review the list of places I've used the Elvie pump is to catalog the activities I used to do in the Before Times: Go to the office and stay there all day, meet friends at bars, see movies in theaters, travel to visit family for holidays. The pump made those things easier and more convenient, but I don't know how to evaluate it when nearly all of them are off the table.

The Elvie pump as a product represents a conundrum for many women. Do we spend money on ourselves? How much is comfort and convenience worth? How much marginal comfort and convenience is needed to be worth the money? Breastfeeding, for its health and bonding benefits, is a time-consuming activity. There is a limit to how nice pumping breastmilk can be – a limit I'd call "aggressively fine." To buy the Elvie pump is to claim whatever long-overdue engineering improvements can be had, and to make pumping more compatible with a wider range of activities. But in an era where leaving home for long periods and traveling are broadly inaccessible, it almost seems like a solution in search of a problem.  Read more...