I’m always looking for things that make mom life easier. Especially something to do with breastfeeding and pumping, those have always been hard for me. So when every mom everywhere told me I needed to try out a Haakaa with Nellie (I missed the boat with Hayes), I went for it. And I was not disappointed. But Elvie, best known for their wearable breast pump, has expanded into other products to support breastfeeding and breast pumping mamas and one of those products, the Curve, is a pump much like the well known, Haakaa. If you’re reading this thinking “Elvie what? Is Haakaa really a word?” Let me fill you in on what these amazing products do.
Both the Elvie Curve and the Haakaa are classified as manual pumps that use gentle suction instead of anything electric or battery operated. You might use them to manually pump, but many mamas’ primary use for the Elvie Curve or the Haakaa is to catch milk that would normally leak out of the breast opposite your child is nursing on. Basically when you have let down you can have it soak your shirt, you can catch it in a pad or by stuffing a burp cloth in your bra (my previous emergency method), or you can catch it in one of these manual pumps and start to build your breast milk freezer stash (win win)!
I started to use the Haakaa (and later the Curve) when I was about a month into my breastfeeding journey with Nellie (lactation consultants will caution you on using these pumps too early because it could mess with your supply and lead to overproduction) and I am OBSESSED. At 3 months postpartum with Nellie I had as much milk as I had 5 months postpartum with Hayes. It’s a game changer for my milk stash and my laundry (A LOT less milk soaked shirts).
Since I’ve been able to use both Haakaa and Elvie Curve, I’m telling you all about why I love them both…but one of them more 😉
Where the Elvie Curve and Haakaa tie
There are a few things that I think fall into the different but equal category for these two pumps…
While the shape of the pumps are extremely different, they are both extremely easy to move the milk from pump to storage bag (or bottle) once you’re done pumping.
While they have a flat bottom to set on a table, both the Elvie Curve and Haakaa feel like they are one toddler visit away from spilling that precious liquid gold. (You can buy a stopper or a lid for the Haakaa to help avoid this.)
Both Elvie Curve and Haakaa are made of soft, food-grade, silicone material that can go in the dishwasher.
For both pumps, I use two hands to get it in place and attached correctly and one hand to apply more suction.
It’s easy to see if your nipple is aligned in the center of the pump for both the Curve and Haakaa (Curve has a little window and Haakaa is completely clear).
Elvie Curve
Overview of the Elvie Curve
The Elvie Curve is a wearable silicone breast pump for simple, hands-free expression. It’s shaped like you took a knife and cut a large grapefruit in half (lol to my bizarre analogy), much like Elvie’s wearable breast pump.
Pros for Elvie Curve
Just like the breast pump, the shape of the Elvie Curve allows you to wear it while you’re wearing a bra (no undressing necessary!), which is super convenient and saves time.
It’s HANDS FREE. (Again, because of the shape) it sits comfortably and securely in your bra. Unlike when I use the Haakaa, I am never ever worried about losing suction on my Elvie Curve manual pump, spilling milk all over myself, losing said milk that I could have stored, and having to change my clothes. I can truly be in the moment when I use the Elvie Curve, which means in the middle of the night I can play my daily puzzle on Wordscapes without a care in the world.
Elvie has a valve that you can use to lessen the suction (or remove suction completely) once the Curve is attached. Honestly, I have never used it to reduce suction because the suction doesn’t bother me, but if you’re sensitive this might be helpful.
Cons for Elvie Curve
It’s a bit difficult to read the ounces on the silicone container, which becomes pretty annoying when going from the Elvie Curve to the storage bag because I’m not confident in the amount of milk I’m storing.
It’s harder to see how much milk you have when you’re in the middle of nursing because the silicone container is in an opaque cover. I look through the top of the Elvie Curve where the valve is and I can get a good idea if I need to add additional suction or not, but it is a little more of a guess than the Haakaa.
Elvie Curve is more expensive, priced at $50. This doesn’t bother me much because I know if I’m increasing my milk stash I would eventually save $50 on the formula I didn’t have to buy.
Haakaa
Overview of Haakaa
Haakaa is a manual silicone breastpump that uses the power of suction to collect milk. It’s shaped like a glass with a funnel on top.
Pros for Haakaa
At any point while pumping, you can easily how much milk you have collected and if you need to apply more suction or not.
When you’re done pumping, it’s easy to read the side of the Haakaa so you can accurately label your storage bag with how much milk you collected.
Haakaa is very reasonably priced. Depending on the model, I have seen it less than $20!
Cons for Haakaa
The Haakaa is great when you’re in the privacy of your home and not around other people, but because of it’s shape and the way it attaches to your breast it’s pretty impossible to use when you’re out and about or in front of others unless you want to be completely undressed on the top. There probably are women comfortable with that, but I’m not.
The biggest con for the Haakaa is that you have to babysit it while it’s on your breast. I got the hang of attaching the Haakaa quickly, but even when I did everything correctly, I still didn’t feel confident leaving my hands off the Haakaa for fear of it losing suction and spilling milk everywhere.
When your little one becomes bigger and they start to move around, kick, etc. while nursing, it’s really easy for the Haakaa to get knocked off.
Elvie Curve vs. Haakaa — which do you recommend?
I think the Elvie Curve and Haakaa are both amazing products and you would be happy with either. But if I had to spend money on buying a new manual pump, I would buy the Elvie Curve over the Haakaa. The Elvie Curve is hands-free, discrete, effective, and unlikely to fall off.
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p.s. you might like to read these blogs next, take a look!
Elvie Pump Review — Everything You Need to Know
How to Get a Free Breast Pump with Insurance
All productivity blogs (because if you like Elvie, I’m going to guess you’re down with all thing multi-tasking and time-saving).
You should update this with the haakaa ladybug cups. They are very similar to the curve.
So cool! I’ll have to try that out to compare them if we have a third. Thank you for sharing!
Please do, I would love to know what you think of of Elbie Curve vs. The Haakaa ladybug.
I really want to give it a try, Kate! Unfortunately I’m not breastfeeding anymore so it’s tough to really give it a try. If we have another babe I will DEFINITELY put them to the test. If you end up trying the Haakaa ladybug let me know!