Fresh or frozen first?

minilinzi

My husband and I are going out to dinner this weekend, so my LO will have his first bottle. I've been pumping to build up my freezer stash and wasn't sure if I should freeze what I pump this week in order to use the oldest milk first or just use the fresh milk that I've pumped during the week. Any suggestions? Also, on average, how many ounces does a 7 week old take? Thanks!

christina4436

It doesn't matter what you use, I have been using fresh just Bc I'm lazy to thaw frozen but mines in a deep freezer so good for a year so just depends if you think you need to start using up. My 7 week old takes around 3oz. I have been putting 4 oz in just in case but she usually stops at about 3.

tracij12

I would probably use fresh as well b/c it's just easier. I have read that technically the make-up of the milk changes as baby ages and seen some ladies advocate for using the older milk first but I never really worried to much about it and DD1 (almost 4 now) never had an issue.

randa923

It doesn't really matter what you use first just make sure when you use it more frequently you rotate so it doesn't go bad. I see a lot of people give frozen milk on Mondays then freeze Fridays milk. I work Saturday and Sunday so I give frozen Saturday the he gets what I pumped Saturday on Sunday and I freeze what I pump on Sunday. My little guy is 4 months. He takes 3-3.5 oz. a breastfed baby should never need more than 4-5 ounces because the milk changes to meet their needs. I'd start with two ounces and see if baby seems satisfied. Make sure to pace feed (have your sitter pace feed). You can google a video on YouTube. And if this will be baby's first bottle don't be surprised if it's a challenge. My little guy never had problems switching from breast to bottle but a lot of babies do.

nianicho777

christina4436 said:

It doesn't matter what you use, I have been using fresh just Bc I'm lazy to thaw frozen but mines in a deep freezer so good for a year so just depends if you think you need to start using up. My 7 week old takes around 3oz. I have been putting 4 oz in just in case but she usually stops at about 3.

Just out of curiosity where did you hear that frozen was good for a year? I was told by my ped and a lc that frozen was good for 6 months, but I've read conflicting information so I was just wondering

tracij12

nianicho777 said:

christina4436 said:

It doesn't matter what you use, I have been using fresh just Bc I'm lazy to thaw frozen but mines in a deep freezer so good for a year so just depends if you think you need to start using up. My 7 week old takes around 3oz. I have been putting 4 oz in just in case but she usually stops at about 3.

Just out of curiosity where did you hear that frozen was good for a year? I was told by my ped and a lc that frozen was good for 6 months, but I've read conflicting information so I was just wondering

I know the question wasn't for me, but here's the CDC link. In a normal freezer it is 6 mo, but stored appropriately in a deep freezer it can be up to a year.
https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm

minilinzi

Thanks for all of the information ladies! That was very helpful!!

nianicho777

tracij12 said:

nianicho777 said:

christina4436 said:

It doesn't matter what you use, I have been using fresh just Bc I'm lazy to thaw frozen but mines in a deep freezer so good for a year so just depends if you think you need to start using up. My 7 week old takes around 3oz. I have been putting 4 oz in just in case but she usually stops at about 3.

Just out of curiosity where did you hear that frozen was good for a year? I was told by my ped and a lc that frozen was good for 6 months, but I've read conflicting information so I was just wondering

I know the question wasn't for me, but here's the CDC link. In a normal freezer it is 6 mo, but stored appropriately in a deep freezer it can be up to a year.
https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm

Thank you!!