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Home from the NICU - what to do with all this frozen breast milk??

jennbentjennbent member
in Preemies

Hi Ladies!

After 85 loooong days in the NICU, DS came home last week, 5 days after my due date.  We are so thrilled to have him home!

I have been graced (cursed?) with a huge oversupply of breast milk.  I regularly pump 65-75 oz a day ... obviously way more than DS would ever drink.  He's still tiny so he's only drinking about 12 oz a day.  I have two freezers full of milk.  I'd like to use some of it up, but stupidly didn't realize until recently that fresh milk should be given in lieu of frozen whenever possible.  Since I don't work, that's something I can certainly provide.  So what then is the plan for all of this frozen milk?  And what about all of the excess that I'm still making?  Should I start dropping pumps? (currently at 7 a day)  We've tried breast feeding and DS isn't really getting the hang of it. Not sure that he ever will.

The lactation consultant for the NICU was talking to me awhile back about donating to a milk bank.  For some reason I'm paranoid about giving away my huge stash.  I'm worried my milk will suddenly dry up and I will regret it. 

I had dreams of being able to wean in just a few months and finish out DS's first year using the frozen breast milk, but again, that was when I didn't realize fresh should be always be provided over frozen if possible. 

Any suggestions?

 

 

 

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Re: Home from the NICU - what to do with all this frozen breast milk??

  • SBBBESBBBE member
    That is awesome.If it was me I would probably donate half of it and or drop a pump session or 2. Frozen breastmilk is only good for 6 months in a deep freezer although some say you can get away with a year.
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  • nicole0066nicole0066 member
    What about alternating bottles...fresh, frozen, fresh, frozen, or doing a couple bottles a day and the rest fresh?
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  • SBBBESBBBE member
    Ohh and keep in mind he will be drinking more down the road but not nearly as much as you are making.
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  • Mrs. AliceMrs. Alice member
    I had a huge stash too and since I was mostly EBF and pumping once a day I was barely ever using my frozen.  I was considering donating it too but I am glad I kept it because I did eventually use it when they started having to get fortified bottles twice a day because of slow weight gain.  I really did push the limit of how long it's good for because it was 6 months old by that time.  We kept our freezer super cold and they drank it without issues.  If you get a deep freeze it's supposed to be good up to a year.  I would probably give him a mixture of fresh and frozen and continue freezing some of your fresh milk.  Like others said, there will come a time when he will be eating waaay more.
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  • haziedazehaziedaze member
    I bought a separate chest freezer and kept mine. I had over 300 ozs. My plan was donate at some point but I was also paranoid about my supply esp. with going back to work. We used a little bit each week to rotate my stash and freeze more. I was looking into donating but it was more involved than I realized (blood tests, etc.) and hadn't finished the process when I lost my whole stash to a freezer malfunction. Not sure what happened, and I wouldn't really have done anything different (except maybe check on it every few days so maybe some of it could have been salvaged).
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  • kck329kck329 member

    I donated some of mine to a milk bank and I'm so glad I did. It has put me in connection with a whole network of moms that are part of the milk bank's program. So I'd highly recommend that as an option.

    Then keep the rest in a deep freeze so it lasts longer. Once he starts eating more, you'll be surprised how much you go through. We did one bottle a day (mixed with meds) and easily went through my stash by the time she turned one. 

     

    Good luck! 

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  • jennbentjennbent member

    Thank you all so much for your responses!  I agree, I really should look into donating.  We have two different freezers that are already full!!! :-) 

    I guess in the meantime, I will just rotate in some freezer milk once a day or so.  I can't wait till he starts eating more.  He just took 20 mls and then completely zonked on me! 

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  • iristonyiristony member
    I would definitely start doing one frozen bottle a day to rotate.  Also, personally, if I was making that much I would drop pumps.  I was down to 6 pumps a day when son came home (74 days old), and down to 4 pumps by the time he was 4.5 months and I was back in office. It was nice to only have to pump when I woke up, before bed and twice a day.  My supply did not drop from 6 to 5 pumps, but did drop 5 to 4 pumps.  If you dont mind pumping 7 times a day than why not donate- but I bet you would like life a lot more at 5 pumps a day!
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  • jennbentjennbent member
    imageiristony:
    I would definitely start doing one frozen bottle a day to rotate.nbsp; Also, personally, if I was making that much I would drop pumps.nbsp; I was down to 6 pumps a day when son came home 74 days old, and down to 4 pumps by the time he was 4.5 months and I was back in office.nbsp;It was nice to only have to pump when I woke up, before bed and twice a day.nbsp; My supply did not drop from 6 to 5 pumps, but did drop 5 to 4 pumps.nbsp; If you dont mind pumping 7 times a day than why not donate but I bet you would like life a lot more at 5 pumps a day!


    You are so right. I would love life with less pumping. I hated pumping before but I hate it even more now that DS is home!!
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  • WannaBAmamaWannaBAmama member
    As a mom who can't breastfeed, I pump .5 oz combined in each 20 minute pumping session, I say donate it! I'm soooo jealous of that supply and that stash! I'm still pumping and save up my .5oz from each session so LO gets 1 bottle of BM a day. Rediculious, right?! donate it! Moms like me could really use it!
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