Pumping directly into bags - weighing milk?

agm04

I'm a lurker (FTM due in Feb, REALLY hoping to breastfeed) and have learned so much from you guys, so thank you!  I understand from my lurking that it's best to pump into a bottle and then pour into storage bags so you know exactly how much you're pumping/storing, as the bags aren't always accurate.  Can I use a food scale to weigh the milk instead?  Couldn't I just put an empty bag on there and zero the scale, then weigh my bag of pumped milk?  I use a food scale daily so this seems like an easy solution unless I'm missing something.  Thanks!

KayteeGee

You're missing something.
In the US there are two different units of measurement we call an ounce.
There's the "fluid ounce" which measures volume or capacity and the "avoirdupois ounce" which measures weight.
A fluid ounce is not related to the avoirdupois.
An example: fill a 12oz coke can with concrete - it's still 12 fluid ounces of concrete but it weighs much more than a 12oz can of coke.
In some cases I'm sure a fluid ounce is roughly the same as an avoirdupois ounce (and I have no clue if this is true for BM) but that's just coincidence.

jenn43

The other issue, besides the bags being inaccurate, is you usually don't pump exactly the portion you need to freeze.  E.g. my LO currently takes a 4oz bottle, so I freeze 4oz portions of milk.  But I usually get 2-3 oz from each side.  It's much easier to transfer from a bottle to a bag, than to try messing around topping off bags.  The bottles take so little time to wash, it's just not worth the hassle.  Otherwise you would be digging through your stash trying to find the right combination of bags for the amount of milk you need that day.

agm04

ok that makes sense.  my scale has a fl oz setting but i definitely see the point/which liquid matters.  and @jenn43 that makes sense too.  thanks!

agm04

more good advice...thank you!  i probably need to be told not to overthink things like 3x a day from now on.

KayteeGee

Lol it's so hard not to over think

As Amy suggested I serve what I pumped the day before (on Monday it's Fridays).

The bags thing was always tricky for me because of what PPs said - I didn't want to have to thaw more than I needed.

I wind up freezing in 1ounce sticks (sensible lines trays - I think that's what they're called) mostly that's because I've never had an abundance of milk and so I seriously freak out if I think I might have to "waste" any.

It can be stressful but all you can do is the best you can and that's got to be good enough, right?! Or at least that's what I tell myself

agm04

Thanks guys!!