breastmilk storage/amount during NICU stay?

madeintheusa81 · December 2012

Hi,

I'm new to this board as I don't have a preemie, but I am expecting a baby in a few weeks who will have a lengthy NICU stay. I am planning to pump for the months she's in the NICU, but I don't have any idea how much milk that will equal/how much storage space I will need! She's my first baby and I just have no concept of how much milk I will be producing!

Any experience/advice on how much storage space in a freezer I should plan for? I'd like to invest in a chest freezer but don't want to go too small or too expensive!

Thank you!

Pips09 · December 2012

I took my pumped milk into the NICU everyday, and they stored it there. I had a low supply though, and never produced as much as she was eating, so they used all of it each day. So basically, I never had to store much at home. I would suggest you play it by ear and see how it goes. You definitely don't need something extra to stress about. Good luck!

Mrs. Alice · December 2012

Ditto BostonK2. Plus it depends on how much your LO will be needing right away. Since I had 28 weekers they only got a few ml at first and then gradually moved up over several weeks. I had a good supply so I easily filled over half of our side by side refrigerator's freezer. The NICU will store some milk for you but typically they have limited space so you can plan on storing much of it at home. I recommend the Lansinoh bags for storage since they hold the most and take up less space.

SBBBE · December 2012

Our NICU stored our milk for us and they provided Snappies for the milk. We also bought a deep freezer which really came in handy once the twins came home along with two coolers of extra milk they didn't drink in the NICU. The milk also keeps longer in the deep freeze like PP mentioned.

Cst2CstBride · December 2012

Yes to what has been said. If your baby isn't eating much and you have a good to fair supply, you will likely have excess to store. I bought a chest freezer from Sears and keep it in the garage. The only thing I have to add is that when the rns ask if you need more storage bottles the answer is always yes, regardless of how many you have. Once you go home they won't be giving them to you for storage so stock up on them when you can. Good luck with your LO and NICU stay.

thishappyhouse · December 2012

Our NICU supplied all bottles, labels, etc for pumped milk as well as unlimited freezer space. Check with the NICU to see if they provide the same.

With that said, we bought a chest freezer while I was on bedrest for the freezer meals that people were sending us. It was filled to the brim with frozen BM when my daughter was discharged. Because our hospital supplied 2 & 4 oz storage bottles it took up much more room than storage bags would have. The milk would have never fit in our regular freezer.

If your hospital stores your milk, you can just assess things after the first few weeks and switch from bottle storage to bags.

madeintheusa81 · December 2012

Wow, thank you so much for all the input, ladies!! So I will check with the children's hospital to see how much they'll store and what containers they will want me to use, and then I will evaluate chest freezers and possibly wait to see my supply. Thank you for making this easier!

I wish all of you and your little ones a wonderful Christmas!

cfitz16 · December 2012

The NICU will take your milk. When you are away or when you get done pumping, you give it to the nurse and they log it and either freeze it or put it in the fridge, depending on how much you have built up. Then, when baby needs to be fed, they pull from that supply. Believe it or not, it is hard to keep up because newborns eat so frequently, around the clock. Every time I thought I had "a ton extra", by the time I got back to the NICU, he had just eaten the last bit and I was just getting there in time.

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