Freezing milk

samm1983 · June 2012

If you freeze BM, how much do you freeze at a time? LO takes 5 oz. at a time, so I have always froze 5 oz. bags. I've had a few that have had holes in them, so I threw them away and this got me thinking maybe I should have froze them in smaller amounts (so I don't waste as much when I have to throw out a bag like that). It only took me 8.5 months to figure this out. Sad

WWYD?

leneae10 · June 2012

I would just get new bags and continue 5 oz. Or you could do a bunch of 3 oz knowing he will work his way to 6 oz? I hated the Medela bags.

awesnap · June 2012

I only have like 10oz frozen because I have never had enough to do more. However, I keep my two bags of 5 oz in their storage bags but also in a ziplock Tupperware like container so when my DH goes digging for steaks or what not they are safe in something hard. You could do 2 - 3 oz bags if that works for you I don't think it makes a difference size wise. At least in my very limited experience.

samm1983 · June 2012

It just suddenly hit me today that maybe I was doing it wrong. I don't know why I even started freezing 5 oz. at a time. I guess I just did since the first bags (Medela) could hold that much and kept doing it because that is how much he takes at a time.

LottaLattes · June 2012

I have always (and am currently!) frozen milk in ice cube trays. Each cube is an ounce and you can dump them into a Ziploc and always get just what you need for that bottle. Plus it is hella cheap!

leneae10 · June 2012

LottaLattes:
I have always (and am currently!) frozen milk in ice cube trays. Each cube is an ounce and you can dump them into a Ziploc and always get just what you need for that bottle. Plus it is hella cheap!

Now that's smart!

Karen1998 · June 2012

I've frozen a lot of milk. Lasinoh bags freeze flat, but you'll have leakers. Honestly, you'll have leakers with any bag. It's the nature of the beast.

You can double bag them, or you can do what I did. It's not a perfect system, but it works better than tossing the milk. It also took me about 7 months to get there, sigh. I also had a batch of shiiiity bags where I had about 1 in 5 leak. Now that I'm finally through that frozen milk, my loss ratio is much lower.

I've only frozen up to 4.5oz in a bag. I don't go over as I've read enough reviews about the bags consistently leaking if you go over 6oz. DS also rarely eats over 4.5oz at a feeding, so there's no point in me freezing more in a bag.

Freeze your bags flat. Once they're frozen, put them into gallon Ziplock bags. This gives them an added layer of protection from getting the corners and edges hit and nicked open. When you want to defrost them, put them into a clean storage container (I just use a Tupperware-like container) in the fridge. That way, if they leak, the container catches the milk and you can use it.

Let them defrost in the fridge. Then, you have 24 hours to use the milk. It also follows the normal BM rules, so it's good for up to 6-8 hours at room temperature, assuming you didn't heat it up. I don't remember the bottle warming rules for milk timing as my kid takes it fresh from the fridge.

If your bag has already melted enough to have liquid in the bottom and is not leaking, then you can pull it out of the reuseable container and lay it flat on the fridge shelf. It'll defrost a bit faster this way. You can also put it onto the counter for about 20 minutes once it's a proven non-leaker. Mine are usually completely defrosted in that time. I've done that when I needed it ready in a hurry. You can also put it into warm water to defrost it faster, but since we don't heat bottles anymore, I haven't done that in a long time.

Also make sure to rotate your stash. It lasts for an unagreed upon amount of time. Some say 3-6 months, some say up to 8 months. I've used 6 month milk with no issues. I do always smell it first. Oddly enough, the crappy bags always had a freezer-burned smell regardless of age (the kid never cared), but the non-crappy batch doesn't, despite being 6 months old.

samm1983 · June 2012

LottaLattes:
I have always (and am currently!) frozen milk in ice cube trays. Each cube is an ounce and you can dump them into a Ziploc and always get just what you need for that bottle. Plus it is hella cheap!

I always assumed this would lead to more freezer burn. No? I have froze a few like that to have a little bit to mix with cereal, but mainly do the big bags.

samm1983 · June 2012

Karen -

Thanks for all the info! I've got 1000+ oz. in Lasinoh bags and have been using the gift bag system, so hopefully they haven't been getting to bumped around.

Another stupid question. I assumed I had to throw the milk out if it was leaky. I don't? Whoa....I really should have figured this stuff out by now.

Oatoa · June 2012

I agree with everything Karen1998 said except I freeze 6 oz in a bag. Because it is good for 24 hours after thawing, I use the amount for multiple feedings if needed. DD is also eating 7 oz or more at a time though so it isn't a big deal for us. I found that freezing the milk in small cubes took up too much space in my freezer where the bags are easily stored flat.

magdalina.h · June 2012

When he was just on bm I would freeze the amounts he was eating. When we added in formula, I would freeze that amount. So he would get 2 oz of formula and 4 oz of bm so I froze 4 oz.

luvmyducks · June 2012

I froze what I could pump. My supply regulated super quickly, so I would pump pretty much exactly what she ate at the time. Between 3-4oz usually. Here and there I will have a 2.5 or a 5oz bag. I only had 1 bag leak on me and I have over 200oz in my stash.

LottaLattes · June 2012

samm1983:

LottaLattes:
I have always (and am currently!) frozen milk in ice cube trays. Each cube is an ounce and you can dump them into a Ziploc and always get just what you need for that bottle. Plus it is hella cheap!

I always assumed this would lead to more freezer burn. No? I have froze a few like that to have a little bit to mix with cereal, but mainly do the big bags.

I had the Ziploc bags in a chest freezer with my second son and had about 5-months saved up when we moved to WA and never had freezer burn. If you have a freezer that isn't opened as often you'll have less of this in general though.

BritanyV · June 2012

With DS#1, I would freeze 10 ounces in a bag. I had a few leakers no matter how much I put in. I always thawed in the fridge in a clean container so I didn't loose any milk.

When I was pumping for DS#2, I bought some milk trays (like ice trays but the trays are more of a cylinder shape to fit in a bottle opening) after getting tired of purchasing milk bags. I would freeze the milk in the trays then put in large ziplock bags that you could remove all the air from with a pump (totally forgetting the name of this system LOL) so you don't get the freezer burn.

Izabella22 · June 2012

Oatoa:
I agree with everything Karen1998 said except I freeze 6 oz in a bag. Because it is good for 24 hours after thawing, I use the amount for multiple feedings if needed. DD is also eating 7 oz or more at a time though so it isn't a big deal for us. I found that freezing the milk in small cubes took up too much space in my freezer where the bags are easily stored flat.

I'm glad I read this post... and glad DS isn't the only one who takes more than 4 oz... I give him that and he's hungry again in 2 hrs. Sometimes less. I keep worrying about what to give him for DC for amounts but I keep hearing 4oz or less.

Karen1998 · June 2012

Izabella22:
Oatoa:
I agree with everything Karen1998 said except I freeze 6 oz in a bag. Because it is good for 24 hours after thawing, I use the amount for multiple feedings if needed. DD is also eating 7 oz or more at a time though so it isn't a big deal for us. I found that freezing the milk in small cubes took up too much space in my freezer where the bags are easily stored flat.
I'm glad I read this post... and glad DS isn't the only one who takes more than 4 oz... I give him that and he's hungry again in 2 hrs. Sometimes less. I keep worrying about what to give him for DC for amounts but I keep hearing 4oz or less.

Give him what works for him, but expect that he may eat a different amount (at least for a while) at DC. Every kid is different on this, so, really, do what works for you and your child. Also, talk to them about how you want your milk handled, as some will toss your bottles after X amount of time, regardless of if they're still good.

I also froze in the amounts he ate. So, I started freezing in 2oz and then moved to 3oz and then moved to 4oz. I had to periodically supplement my pumping from my stash early on, so this came in handy. Now that I'm working directly from my stash (since I've been gradually weaning from the pump), the 4oz size works really well for me as that's the max of what he generally eats. He still eats every 2-3 hours when he's awake. If he ate 6oz at a sitting, then that would be a better number for us.

I use "spilled" milk if it spills into a clean container. If it's all over the fridge shelf or counter, it's trash.

Samm - that's a heck of a stash! It's way more than I ever had. I was pumped to have nearly 700oz in my freezer. If you're not already, you need to be rotating it, or it'll go bad before you use it. I rotated mine by switching out frozen for a few bottles a day and then freezing my fresh that he would have gotten. I flipped out about 1/3 of the fresh daily for frozen until I'd rotated enough. That was the amount that I was comfortable with and that I knew he would get through without me stressing out about the 24 hour window. Also, if you want to donate it, you can google around for places as there are plenty of mothers that would love to use it.

samm1983 · June 2012

Karen1998:
Samm - that's a heck of a stash! It's way more than I ever had. I was pumped to have nearly 700oz in my freezer. If you're not already, you need to be rotating it, or it'll go bad before you use it. I rotated mine by switching out frozen for a few bottles a day and then freezing my fresh that he would have gotten. I flipped out about 1/3 of the fresh daily for frozen until I'd rotated enough. That was the amount that I was comfortable with and that I knew he would get through without me stressing out about the 24 hour window. Also, if you want to donate it, you can google around for places as there are plenty of mothers that would love to use it.

The plan for me was to stop BFing/pumping before I have to go back to work (teaching) in August and then use my stash until it runs out. I was rotating the stash until about a month ago. I'm home with him now so I haven't used much of it. I need to rotate it more though. :-( The oldest milk is from January, so it's coming up on 6 months. I hope it will still be good.

Freezing milk

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