Ok, can someone explain the whole storing aspect of pumped milk to me?

OUKatie · May 2012

I feel like I'm missing something with this.

When I pump, I pump into bottles that come with the pump (or in the extra kit). Is that correct? Then pour the milk into bags for storage, freeze it, thaw it, and pour it into bottles to feed?

There has to be a better way. Is there a way to pump directly into bags that I'm missing?

CopsGirl11103 · May 2012

When I BF'ed DD, I had an Avent pump that did one boob at a time and was either manual or run by batteries (ss, I can't remember the name). With that system you pumped directly into the milk storage containers. They could go in either the freezer for long term or in the fridge for short term. If I ran out of the containers I did just pour the milk into bags that had a clip thingy on the top (those were also easier to stack in the freezer).

I'm sure Avent makes a double pump system, I was a SAHM, so I didn't need a double.

ashleyann331 · May 2012

I haven't seen one, but I'm sure something like that might exist. The one I registered for (yes, some people think that is tacky but I don't) is a Medela, its the fancy schmancy automatic double one and it pumps directly into the bottle that I will pour into the bags. I had just figured that was how it worked and plan on just putting it into the bags for refrigerating storing, then pouring it into bottles for feeding. Time consuming yes, but just one of the things that needs to be done lol.

SallySunrise · May 2012

You can pump into whatever the heck you want to. It's really hard to pump straight into the bags, because they don't stand on their own. You'd have to be able to hold them upright as you pump, which I never had a free hand to do. If you find a way, more power to ya! I pumped into plastic containers, poured it into bags for freezing, then thawed the bags and used them in place of the Drop-in Liners with the Play-tex Drop-in bottles.

christina06 · May 2012

I used the medela bags with the freestyle and they have a paper tab that loops over the "horn" and tapes to the other side and hangs on to the pump. Still able to pump handsfree. This was useful when traveling and as long as you aren't bending or moving around too much there isn't any spillage.

I normally would pump directly into the medela bottles and use them to store. When it was ready to feed, caretaker would attach a nipple and reheat. If I pumped more than a bottle could contain - then I would use a bag to store the extra.

There are adapters for the different types of bottles like Avent so you can pump directly into the same container that you will be feeding from.

DeniseRN · May 2012

How often are you planning to pump? Exclusively pump? Pump at work? Pump for the occasional bottle while you're out of the house? With my last DS, I pumped 3x/day while at work from 3mon-12mon. This was really to maintain my supply. DS wouldn't drink 1/4 of what I pumped. Side note, introduce a bottle at 3 weeks and give a bottle daily if possible, then maybe you can avoid a reverse cycling baby like mine was. Anywho, I have the PIS and would pump into the little bottles. The cooler that comes with pump holds 4 of the little bottles. When I got home I would either just keep them in the fridge or put them in the medela/lansinoh bags and freeze. Now, I had a few sets of pump parts and little bottles. Oh, my DS would only take the Dr brown bottles so the babysitter would pour milk into those bottles at feeding time. This system worked, but does make a ton of dishes. Next time, I am planning on using the playte I hope that baby takes the playtex bottles because this will mean a lot fewer dishes.x adapter and pumping directly into the drop-in.

Ltlsktl30 · May 2012

I have the medela pisa and we used tommee tippee bottles. There is a bottle adapter that TT sells that you can pump right into the bottles. I would generally keep two bottles of milk and then freeze the rest in bags. Keep in mind, if u plan to pump a lot to rotate your freezer stash as your milk changes as the baby gets older.

jlsimon56 · May 2012

I'm from July 2011 and accidentally clicked on 2012. :-)

I pump at work. I pump into the little bottles with the small necks (I have some that came with my Ameda pump, but I bought more generic ones that also fit). I keep them in the little cooler that came with my pump until I get home. Then I make her bottles for the next day in the Avent bottles (wide necks, so not compatible with my pump, but wide necks are good b/c the nipples are more "realistic" whatever that means, haha).

On Fridays, I freeze everything in the Lansinoh bags (6oz per bag).

On Mondays, I thaw 2 bags (12oz) and make three 4oz bottles. I send a fourth 4oz "extra" bottle of freshly pumped milk just in case.

So Mondays, LO gets frozen milk. All the other days, she gets milk I pumped the day before.

Thawed milk is only good for 24 hours but fresh milk is good for 8 days.

I like LO to get mostly fresh milk so she's getting antibodies that she needs right then, and so the milk is what her body needs. My milk is creamier now, more caloric, I can see the difference. On Mondays, when she gets milk from 3-4 months ago, she is hungrier. I can see that milk looks more like skim milk.

Hope this helps. Sorry to intrude!

luvlss1 · May 2012

Just an FYI that another mother shared with me....when thawing the bags (or doing any transferring between containers), make sure you have the bag in a bowl in case the bag leaks when thawing. This way you don't lose any milk. You may have thought of this already but I wanted to share!

BetsyDavis · May 2012

Medela offers bags that hook right onto the pump so you can pump directly into the bags.

jlthompson19 · May 2012

BetsyDavis:
Medela offers bags that hook right onto the pump so you can pump directly into the bags.

This, but you'll see that they are far more expensive than the Lansinoh bags, and like another poster stated, it may be hard to pump into a bag since it's not a hard, stable surface.

It's all very overwhelming at first, but you'll find what works for you and get into a groove and it'll all be second nature.

sarahandeddiejune212008 · May 2012

Its best to give baby fresh milk, so you probably won't need to freeze a ton. I pumped into the Medela bottles that came with my pump. When I got home from work I transferred the milk into her bottles. DD took 3 -3oz bottles a day. If there was extra I'd store it in one of the 8oz bottles. I did this everyday and just added the extra to the 8oz bottle, that way DH had extra if he needed it. You can combine milk from different pumping sessions so long as it as at the same temp when you do it. When Friday rolled around I would make sure she had enough for 4 bottles for Monday and then froze any left overs. Most bottles and pump parts are dishwasher safe, which saved some time. I learned that I didn't like using the dishwasher for the actual bottles, but the nipples, rings, ext were fine. Just make a little routine for yourself and it won't take long. I also organized my frozen milk by month, so if we needed to pull some out we could easily find the oldest to rotate the stash. You can store milk in a regular freezer for up to 6 months and in a deep freeze for up to 12 months.

OUKatie · May 2012

Lots of good info, thanks! (And thanks to our visiting July 2011 mom...jump in anytime!)

I'm going to be a SAHM but I do want to be able to leave her with DH, my mom, etc., plus she'll be starting Mother's Day Out at 5-6 months so she will need to drink pumped milk there.

Want a personalized experience?

Ok, can someone explain the whole storing aspect of pumped milk to me?

Re: Ok, can someone explain the whole storing aspect of pumped milk to me?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards