November 2011 Moms

Freezer Stash?

How is everyone's freezer stash so far? I kind of let time get away from me, and I go back to work on Wednesday. I only have 39 ounces saved as of right now, and I'm thinking I'll have about 50 by Wed. :( I'm nervous about not having enough, but hopefully I can build it up as I go. (I'm lucky to work from home, so I can pump whenever I need to or can.) I really don't want to have to supplement. How is everyone else doing?
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Re: Freezer Stash?

  • Mine is ok, but I definitely need to work on it.  I'm going back in about a month so I need to get my act together and start pumping after my morning feedings.  Thanks for the reminder... I need to stop being so lazy in the mornings.
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  • I have about 7 ozs. Pumping right noe to try to add to it! I go back to work in a month.
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  • Can I ask a stupid question?  Are you only building a stash because you have to go back to work or is there another reason?  I am taking a few months off before I go back since I am freelance and didn't think I needed to stock up. But I produce a lot so I could pump an extra 4 oz, otherwise it would just end up soaking a nursing pad!
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  • imagebaileyrayvalentine:

    Can I ask a stupid question?  Are you only building a stash because you have to go back to work or is there another reason?  I am taking a few months off before I go back since I am freelance and didn't think I needed to stock up. But I produce a lot so I could pump an extra 4 oz, otherwise it would just end up soaking a nursing pad!

    I'm not going back to work until summer at the earliest, but I'm trying to build a stash for date nights and enough for a major emergency. I've had two friends have appendectomies a few months after their babies were born (apparently it's a risk factor??) and I don't want to have to supplement if something crazy happens.



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  • I don't know how you manage to get even 39 oz! I don't produce much (she's gaining, but slowly) and I definitely don't have enough extra to stash away so much. After three weeks of saving I had 12 oz for a date night, and I was SO excited about that. I feel like I really need to get diligent so I'll have enough when I do go back to work in March.
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  • I have a little over 400 oz, but I go back to work Tuesday so I'm also out of time.  I became a bit obsessed with the stash. I ended up EPing after I went back to work last time and my supply wouldn't keep up.  I had 0 freezer stash and by the time we got to 1 year I was pumping 7 times a day to get 15 oz and giving about 50% formula.  I am not repeating that.  I'm pumping both to purposely create an oversupply and to create a cushion.  Both are to diminish some stress about keeping up.  If my supply keeps up and the stash doesn't shrink, well I can start dropping pumping sessions earlier than planned
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  • imagebaileyrayvalentine:

    Can I ask a stupid question?  Are you only building a stash because you have to go back to work or is there another reason?  I am taking a few months off before I go back since I am freelance and didn't think I needed to stock up. But I produce a lot so I could pump an extra 4 oz, otherwise it would just end up soaking a nursing pad!

    I have been stashing small amounts from the beginning for things like Christmas parties and other events I knew we had where we were around people. That way LO could take a bottle if he was with us, or I sent it with him if one of our parents were watching him for a few hours. Also, it has come in handy for when I have a glass of wine or two and he gets hungry when there's alcohol in my system. (I use the test strips to check if I have more than 1 drink.)

    So, my stash is kind of an emergency stash. As far as using it solely for daycare, I am lucky that I can go to LO's daycare and feed him on my lunch breaks too. He is only like 3 minutes away from me. I just need to learn to be consistent on taking lunch at the same time! 

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  • imagelittlewinnie15:
    imagebaileyrayvalentine:

    Can I ask a stupid question?  Are you only building a stash because you have to go back to work or is there another reason?  I am taking a few months off before I go back since I am freelance and didn't think I needed to stock up. But I produce a lot so I could pump an extra 4 oz, otherwise it would just end up soaking a nursing pad!

    (I use the test strips to check if I have more than 1 drink.)

    test strips?? 

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  • imageACAsomeday:
    imagelittlewinnie15:
    imagebaileyrayvalentine:

    Can I ask a stupid question?  Are you only building a stash because you have to go back to work or is there another reason?  I am taking a few months off before I go back since I am freelance and didn't think I needed to stock up. But I produce a lot so I could pump an extra 4 oz, otherwise it would just end up soaking a nursing pad!

    (I use the test strips to check if I have more than 1 drink.)

    test strips?? 

    Yeah you can get them at BRU or on Amazon. You put a few drops of your milk on them, and if there is more than .02% in it, they turn purple. They are pretty expensive, but worth it for me because I was having a hard time gauging how much alcohol I thought was in my bloodstream after going 10 months without drinking. (Like, feeling buzzed after 1 glass of wine but then testing and my milk didn't turn the strip purple.)

    Some people might not think they are worth it, but they give me peace of mind on the rare occasions when I have more than one drink. If it turns purple, I don't feed him and pull from the stash.

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  • I've got about 50oz.  I've been trying not to over-pump since I don't want to be engorged and I'm hoping my boobs will shrink a little (currently a 36-I cup).

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  • I have about 50oz in the freezer and 10 in the refrigerator. I was barely able to pump any extra until saturday. I started taking fenugreek and its really helping. I pumped those 10oz between saturday night and sunday!
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  • I have about 250oz in my stash.  I go back to work on January 17th, but I'm using my stash for alone time, if I feel like drinking, in case I get sick, etc.  I started pumping right when I got home from the hospital to help get my supply going and now I'm just pumping a few times a day but will start up again once I'm back to work to be able to feed LO everyday at daycare!
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  • Well I've got over 100 ounces and don't go back to work till April.  But, you shouldn't need to use your freezer stash for day to day feedings. Pump and then only serve what you pumped the day before.  So like if you pump 4 ounces at the first pump serve 4 ounces in the first bottle, if you pump 2.5 ounces the third pump, serve 2.5 ounces in the third bottle.  All the bottles don't need to have the same amount in them, some feedings are complete meals and others are just snacks. Nif you do this you won't have to tap your freezer stash and you can save it for dates, spilled milk, stuff like that.
    Mama to Lucy (7/06), Lexi (5/09), and Max (11/11) M/C 12/17/10
  • imageMrs.Greeko:
    Well I've got over 100 ounces and don't go back to work till April.  But, you shouldn't need to use your freezer stash for day to day feedings. Pump and then only serve what you pumped the day before.  So like if you pump 4 ounces at the first pump serve 4 ounces in the first bottle, if you pump 2.5 ounces the third pump, serve 2.5 ounces in the third bottle.  All the bottles don't need to have the same amount in them, some feedings are complete meals and others are just snacks. Nif you do this you won't have to tap your freezer stash and you can save it for dates, spilled milk, stuff like that.

    a couple questions:

    how do you rotate your stash fast enough this way?  if you are only using it for date nights and such 100 oz is a really big stash. seems like at the most you'd use 4 oz per week

    how do you add to your stash?  what's in there now will need to be used w/in 6 months, right?  So, you'll want some newer stock for when LO is 9 months or 10 months.  do you pump on nights or weekends to add?

    what if you can't pump as many times as LO eats?  in the beginning G#1 ate 4 times a day at daycare and I expect G#2 to do the same.  Finding time for 3 pumps is challenging enough and I really don't think I can do 4.

    image

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  • I've got about 75oz in my freezer.  I go back to work Feb. 1st.  I'm really starting to get a little OCD with my stash and panic a little about having enough when I go back to work.  I don't get nearly enough for LO's feedings from pumping.  
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  • I don't go back to work until Feb 20th so I just started my freezer stash.  So far I've got 8 oz in there!  Woo hoo!  lol  I'm hoping to be able to add about 4oz per day to the stash.  Every third day or so I also plan to pump about 2 oz for DH to give to DS in a bottle so that he can get used to the bottle before daycare starts.  So far so good with that!  Once I'm working I hope to be able to pump enough at work to bring to daycare the next day.  The freezer stash will be more for date nights and emergencies.  Good luck everyone!
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  • imagesmilelari:

    imageMrs.Greeko:
    Well I've got over 100 ounces and don't go back to work till April.  But, you shouldn't need to use your freezer stash for day to day feedings. Pump and then only serve what you pumped the day before.  So like if you pump 4 ounces at the first pump serve 4 ounces in the first bottle, if you pump 2.5 ounces the third pump, serve 2.5 ounces in the third bottle.  All the bottles don't need to have the same amount in them, some feedings are complete meals and others are just snacks. Nif you do this you won't have to tap your freezer stash and you can save it for dates, spilled milk, stuff like that.

    a couple questions:

    how do you rotate your stash fast enough this way?  if you are only using it for date nights and such 100 oz is a really big stash. seems like at the most you'd use 4 oz per week

    how do you add to your stash?  what's in there now will need to be used w/in 6 months, right?  So, you'll want some newer stock for when LO is 9 months or 10 months.  do you pump on nights or weekends to add?

    what if you can't pump as many times as LO eats?  in the beginning G#1 ate 4 times a day at daycare and I expect G#2 to do the same.  Finding time for 3 pumps is challenging enough and I really don't think I can do 4.

     

    Last time I donated almost my entire stash.  I expect to do the same this time, but I like having it just in case.  So I don't rotate through it.  It's in a chest freezer so it's good for a year so what I did last time was donate what I could and then DD got what was left in a sippy cup at daycare after I stopped pumping at work when she turned 1.  She didn't get cow's milk till she was 13 months.   I don't really add to my stash once I'm back at work.  I refuse to pump at home when I've been pumping at work all day/week.  :). But I have over 4 months off so when I go back he'll be almost 5 months old and I should have a good sized stash at that point.  As far as not pumping as many times s the baby is eating... Well that's a problem because in order to keep supply you really need to do that.  My employer is undrstanding so I've never had a problem pumping.  My daycare is also awesome at not over feeding, which can be a Huge problem.  Since I go back full time at 5 months the baby is usually only eating 2-3 times a day.  If I needed nothr session i'd do it before bed.

    Mama to Lucy (7/06), Lexi (5/09), and Max (11/11) M/C 12/17/10
  • i have about 150 oz in the freezer. I only get 5 or 6 oz a day, which sucks. I pump twice, once when the baby wakes up at 5 am and once at 10 am when i'm at work (i work half days). so far i've been giving him formula while he's at my MIL, but now that i have enough to fill my freezer i'm going to start sending 6 oz with him for his morning feeding. I nurse the rest of the time but I'll still have to supplement formula during the afternoon and evening. At least we can cut the formula feeding while he's at my MIL's.

    I should also say that i'm saving as much of it as i can so that i'll have some for when my supply starts to tank. I've already gotten my period and my supply seems to be slipping. I'm hoping that if I end up losing it i'll be able to feed him at least a little bit of breast milk a day for a month or so before i run out. 

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