Breastmilk storage - mason jars?

TheBuddha · July 2010

I have read that glass containers are best for freezing breastmilk, second best is a plastic container and then the storage bags. Bottles made for breastmilk storage are expensive (I registered for and received 2 packages of the Ameda storage bottles they were like $14 for a pack of 4). I bought some mason jars and a funnel (because mason jars are hard to pour out of) and plan to put a sticker on top of the mason jar with the date and freeze my milk that way. My mom freezes chicken broth and other liquids in mason jars.

Think this will work?

TheBuddha · July 2010

heckysue:

I can't speak for the jars themselves but you might run in to issues when it comes to portioning the milk. I have heard a lot of women say it's depressing to defrost too much and wind up having to waste it since it doesn't last long. That's why some people use those ice cube tray things to defrost 1 oz. servings.

My BFing friends swear by the plastic bags, that's what I'm using. I won't be freezing it for months at a time or anything, just a couple weeks on average most likely.

Hm, this is a good point you make. Perhaps I can task DH with putting 1 oz marks on the jars with a sharpie? This is just the type of job he would take very seriously

SarahTx5701 · July 2010

yeah I would say the portioning would be hard. Thats why the bags or so nice with the measurements on them. Or freezing in ice cube trays.

You will HATE wasting BM. hate it. I once pumped like 2 oz which was huge for me...and knocked over the damn bottle. I was on the floor like a baby trying to save it. (i didn't btw)

MrsSR · July 2010

If you are building a stash, I think the jars would take up a lot of space. I'm using the bags.

HBaylies · July 2010

I can't say for sure, but I would imagine that they would be effective for storage. They all have those special seals on the lid, right? It should be good.

niccole_e · July 2010

Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of space they will take up, I had a freezer full of milk, and thankfully b/c of the bags was able to store it. I ended having so much b/c what I was pumping each day at work was good enough for my son the next day at daycare, then I'd have another pumping session that would go into the freezer.

emriley84 · July 2010

I don't know what kind of space you have, but it seems like Mason jars would take up a ton of freezer space. Especially since you will probably only be putting a few ounces in each. If you have the space, seems like a good idea to me.

TheBuddha · July 2010

I bought the small mason jars. I think they are each a pint (so 16 ounces?) Also, we have a deep freezer in the garage we plan on using for storage. I don't think we'll have tons in storage, I will pump at work and send that milk with the baby the next day to my mothers.

Perhaps I should use something smaller in the beginning when they are only eating a couple ounces?

If I am only feeding him 2 ounces, can I only thaw 2 ounces at a time? I can't thaw 6 and put the rest in the fridge?

anmorgan32 · July 2010

I'm doing the ice cube tray thing and am actually kind of excited about it in some weird way lol I think it's a really great idea that will work out perfectly for portioning out breast milk and not wasting 1oz!

(After the breast milk freezes in the trays you can just pop them out and add them to a ziploc freezer bag where you can remove however many cubes you need at a time and keep adding to the collection as you make more cubes).

august282005 · July 2010

TheBuddha:

If I am only feeding him 2 ounces, can I only thaw 2 ounces at a time? I can't thaw 6 and put the rest in the fridge?

I don't think using mason jars is a good idea. The whole key to freezing your milk is that you want to be able to have it stored in smaller amounts such that you can only thaw out what you need - hence the plastic storage bags make sense b/c then you can easily do 2 oz at a time.

You must use all frozen milk within 24 hours of it being defrosted. Anything beyond that time frame will have to be tossed.

I'd return the jars and get the plastic bags, I believe all of the major brands are made out of "safe" plastic and you never microwave breast milk, so there isn't a concern about heating up the bags. When I pumped I just let the milk defrost in the bag in the fridge, then poured it into the bottle and stuck the bottle in a cup of hot water to bring it up to temperature quickly.

Dobie_Mama · July 2010

Ditto on the freezing in ice cube trays. That's what we did. One cube generally = one ounce. We froze the cubes in giant ziplocks, but I suppose you could freeze the cubes together in mason jars. It would be easier to portion that way.

Daisy22 · July 2010

Frozen BM onlys lasts 24hrs once thawed in the refrigerator. So if you can't use that whole 6oz in 24 hours you're waste it which as others have said is heart breaking.

By 12wks I had 500oz in our freezer in 1, 3, and 4oz portions. I learned the hard way by wasting some to not freeze more then 4oz at a time. It broke up better and was way easier to portion out in the smaller amounts.

check out https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html it's a guideline for milk storage.

mrs.mickulz · July 2010

Kellymom.com says that you should use previously frozen breastmilk within 24 hours of thawing. If you're EPing, then I wouldn't see a problem, however, if you're using it only to supplement while your'e at work, I would worry about the waste. It really is liquid gold.

krm0129 · July 2010

I am sticking with the bags. I wouldnt want a freezer full of jars

TheBuddha · July 2010

Daisy - thank you for the link!

I do need to send enough for him to eat for the day when I go back to work, so I will need slightly larger amounts. I like the idea of putting cubes in the jars and then sending it to my mother's house that way.

However, I have pint glasses at home, and these jars that I bought are not that big, they are very small, so I think they might be 6 ounce jars. If my baby is eating 6 ounces during the day, these would be perfect to send to my mom's with him for the workday. Then I will use the ice cube tray/zip-loc plan for at home when I only need a couple ounces at a time!

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate all the opinions and advice...who knows how much milk I would have wasted without it!

c1kaestner · July 2010

Check out the jam jar size. They should be out now. They are only about 4 ounces. It might be good for just starting out.

And it if you thaw a jar and store it in the fridge and use it within a day or so you should be fine. I remember doing that when I would babysit my little brother. Especially if it's slow thawed in the fridge overnight. Oh and don't forget that the milk will expand a little as it freezes so don't over fill your jars

This might be helpful to

The following are some general breast milk storage guidelines:

At room temperature (less than 77?F) for 4 to 8 hours
At the back of a refrigerator for 3 to 8 days
At the back of a freezer for up to 3 months

https://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/birth/828.html

That's where I got my info.

rnmom4 · July 2010

I am pregnant with my 4th...for all three of my previous kids I have used sterile specimen containers (like the cups you pee in at the dr). They come sterile so they dont have to be washed first. They only hold 4 oz so they are pretty small, they stack easily, are easier to pour breastmilk into, you can write the date on them and you can put them in the dishwasher to reuse them. Plus they are pretty cheap. My dad is a vet so he just ordered them for me, but I am pretty sure you could order some online from a medical supply store. My second spent a few weeks in the nicu and this is what they were using at the hospital so i know that it is safe.

Daisy22 · July 2010

rnmom4:
I am pregnant with my 4th...for all three of my previous kids I have used sterile specimen containers (like the cups you pee in at the dr). They come sterile so they dont have to be washed first. They only hold 4 oz so they are pretty small, they stack easily, are easier to pour breastmilk into, you can write the date on them and you can put them in the dishwasher to reuse them. Plus they are pretty cheap. My dad is a vet so he just ordered them for me, but I am pretty sure you could order some online from a medical supply store. My second spent a few weeks in the nicu and this is what they were using at the hospital so i know that it is safe.

Huh thats actually a great idea.

TheBuddha · July 2010

Daisy22:

rnmom4:
I am pregnant with my 4th...for all three of my previous kids I have used sterile specimen containers (like the cups you pee in at the dr). They come sterile so they dont have to be washed first. They only hold 4 oz so they are pretty small, they stack easily, are easier to pour breastmilk into, you can write the date on them and you can put them in the dishwasher to reuse them. Plus they are pretty cheap. My dad is a vet so he just ordered them for me, but I am pretty sure you could order some online from a medical supply store. My second spent a few weeks in the nicu and this is what they were using at the hospital so i know that it is safe.

Huh thats actually a great idea.

I second that! I am going to order some! Thanks!

aldyn · July 2010

I used the plastic bags and my freezer was full of milk. There was no way it would've fit if we'd used mason jars!

What mason jars were great for - short term refrigerator storage of homemade baby food! I made all of DD's baby food (cereal, veggies, etc.) from scratch and stored it in the jars in the fridge. Usually I'd make a batch of cereal and then drop in a frozen cube of carrot, sweet potato or whatever veggie I had on hand frozen and warm it all up and have a meal for DD. I'd send her off to daycare with breastmilk bottles and mason jars with meals. Her afternoon daycare snacks were usually yogurt or applesauce in a mason jar too. Those worked great for us when she was on purees.

TheBuddha · July 2010

Daisy22:
rnmom4:
I am pregnant with my 4th...for all three of my previous kids I have used sterile specimen containers (like the cups you pee in at the dr). They come sterile so they dont have to be washed first. They only hold 4 oz so they are pretty small, they stack easily, are easier to pour breastmilk into, you can write the date on them and you can put them in the dishwasher to reuse them. Plus they are pretty cheap. My dad is a vet so he just ordered them for me, but I am pretty sure you could order some online from a medical supply store. My second spent a few weeks in the nicu and this is what they were using at the hospital so i know that it is safe.

Huh thats actually a great idea.

happy-honey · July 2010

I'm not sure I see any downside to the bags from my reading. Seem to work the same as plastic containers. The one upside I can say is that I would pull bags at night to put in the fridge to thaw. By morning many days they were still a bit frozen so the bag was flexible so I could break the frozen part up enough to go into a bottle in the morning to take to daycare. The other thing I did with the bags was use scissors to cut a corner of the bag creating a spout, leaving the top zipper sealed, allowed for controlled pouring of the milk into bottles.

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