pumping and freezer stash ?'s

beckysuejune07

 I wont be going back to work for 2 more months. I started pumping a few weeks a go to introduce the bottle. We dont give the bottle everyday, so I am freezing the milk on the days that we dont use it. Some of the stash will get used for when I am out and DH is watching the LO, or when we have a babysitter or emergency.

 I know breastmilk is "customized" for the stage of growth the baby is in so I am wondering if the rest of what we dont use is worthwhile to store for when I return to work?

On days when I know I wont be needing a bottle should I still pump?

Bethbsn06

Your body adjusts to a routine. So, I would pick a time of day and pump consistently.

The milk will be fine, but the majority of baby's milk should be fresh. So if you can use fresh in 1/2 the bottles for daycare and frozen for 1/2, then feed when you are together, everything will balance out.

PAmiler82

I agree that it's best to pump at the same time every day, even if you're going to use a bottle that day.  You should get more milk that way.

Most people come up with a system for rotating milk in and out of their freezer stash.  I've actually changed my system about three times already, haha.  I keep trying to find a more efficient way.  The general idea is just to use the oldest frozen milk first  

mrs. sage

What I do to deal with the "customization" you mention is I take whatever I pump at work on Friday, use half of that for his Monday bottles and freeze the other half.  Then, I take the other half needed from the oldest of my freezer stash and once defrosted mix with the fresh.  This way I keep the stash rotating and still get him some relatively fresh milk.

jrlandrigan

mrs. sage:

What I do to deal with the "customization" you mention is I take whatever I pump at work on Friday, use half of that for his Monday bottles and freeze the other half.  Then, I take the other half needed from the oldest of my freezer stash and once defrosted mix with the fresh.  This way I keep the stash rotating and still get him some relatively fresh milk.

This is what I do for Monday bottles or if I don't get enough for his bottles for the following day.