Using frozen milk

eayode

Do you keep your freezer stash for emergencies only? Right now I'm able to pump enough while I'm at work to make bottles for daycare the next day, and I've also been able to build up my freezer stash. But what do I need to stash for? Should I use frozen milk and fresh in the same bottle? I read somewhere that some of the enzymes are killed off when you freeze milk, so it's not as good as fresh... which is why I thought of mixing the frozen with the fresh. I don't want the frozen to go to waste.

 

How do you use your frozen milk?

HikerBride07

I don't use my frozen stash and I am about to run out of freezer space, actually I'm looking into donating some.  I gave my DCP a few bags just in case they need extra if DD decides she wants more than what I give them in bottles but they haven't used any so far.  

I read on kellymom.com (I think it was there) that you should be careful and not use it to supplement your supply because your body needs to increase/decrease supply on demand and using it will mess that up.

I plan to use it only when I stop BFing and possibly if I need it to add to pureed food I prepare once we start solids.

northernvabride

Around 6 months, DD started to take more milk at daycare and my supply started to decrease (with same # of daily pumps, nursing on demand on the weekends and AM/PM during the week).  So I started to use my stash to supplement what I pumped during the day for her daycare bottles.  DD is almost 13 months and I just used the last of the frozen BM last week.  I stopped pumping at work about a month ago. 

suecadence

I've only recently had to dip into my freezer stash.  When I was on vacation for a week and didn't pump at all, I didn't have fresh milk for his first day back at day care.  And, now that he is eating cereal, I need extra milk to mix with it and so I find I need extra every now and then.

emack

Hi! I used mine in a couple of ways. In order to keep my stash "current", whatever I pumped at work at the end of the week went into the freezer, and I pulled out older stuff from the freezer for Monday to keep it rotated.

I'm so glad I have the freezer stash now because I have stopped pumping/nursing in the evenings and am down to 1 pumping at work which will soon stop. I am using the stash to supplement now and that gave us time to find a formula that worked. It also is saving us a ton of money on formula. Even though she will be mostly weaned (still nursing morning, late afternoon, and through the night) in the next couple of weeks, we may only use one formula bottle a day for the next month or so, at which point she'll be taking in more solids and will be taking in fewer ounces a day anyway. I ended up with about a 400 oz stash and now have probably gotten to about 300-350 after supplementing in this way.

Artslvr

I had almost 200 bags in my freezer stash at one point. 

With DD #1 my supply plummetted when I went back to work, and I had really wished I'd built up a stash so I could give her BM longer.

So with DD #2, when I was home for three months, I built a ridiculous stash because I knew once I went back to work my supply would go down.  And it did.  But I was able to use that stash to give her BM until she was past six months old.  Not too shabby.