How do you know when you have enough to stop pumping?
steph20830
member
We are exclusively pumping & giving DD a bottle. Right now, she is 1 month, 3 days old & eats approx. 3 oz. every 3 hours during the day then 4-5 hours at night, so max 20 oz. per day. I have an over supply of milk, so I have been storing in bags & freezing. I am wondering if I may reach a point in a few months where I have enough frozen milk stored up to last DD through her first year, but how do I know? I would hate to stop & then not have enough. Anyone have any experience wih this & could offer so advice? I'm hoping to keep giving her breastmilk for her first year.
Also I know that the frozen milk only lasts approx. 6 mos in the freezer in the side by side fridge/freezer, I would hate to waste any that I've already frozen! I have some stored in my mother in law's stand up freezer, which I'm assuming that will last closer to 10-12 mos. My grandparents offered us some space in a spare fridge/freezer (freezer on top, fridge on bottom) they have that they really only use the fridge portion. I'm thinking it will last longer than our side by side bc it is not being opened frequently, which I'm assuming is why milk in a stand up or deep freezer lasts longer. I appreciate the input!
Re: How do you know when you have enough to stop pumping?
Most babies will take 24-30 oz/day for the first 1-6 months, then slowly taper downward as they start taking more solids. So your baby is still gearing up - she will take more probably over the next few weeks.
If you want to stop as soon as you can, I would estimate 25 oz/day for the rest of the year. It will probably be too little in the beginning and too much near the end, but it would average out.
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I agree with PPs.
Standalone freezers can often go to lower temps than fridge/freezer combos, in addition to staying colder because they are opened less frequently. The colder it is, the longer the milk will last.
Also, make sure you would be ok with feeding formula if your freezer stash suddenly went bad (such as extended power outage, freezer being left open or dying, etc.).
To rotate a feezer stash, use your oldest frozen milk 1 day a week, or 1 bottle a day, or something like that, and freeze the same amount of fresh milk. This keeps the frozen stuff from getting too old since you use the old and make new. You do want to keep feeding fresh most of the time because it's better for your baby (has current antibodies to help fight infections/viruses), although it's noting that frozen milk is still better than formula. Fresh is just the best you can get.
Excess lipase will make your milk smell sour very quickly. Good way to tell is to defrost a bag you have frozen now and bottle feed it to your LO. If your LO will eat it, you shouldn't have a problem. More info on that issue here. https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/lipase-expressedmilk.html