Speaking of Frozen BM...

skidderdo · September 2013

So I have been pumping since week 3 since I had to finish my semester and had a short maternity leave. I have about 8 zillion ounces and rarely use it. We are getting to a point where some of that early frozen milk will hit the 6 month mark (I use a freezer above the fridge, which is basically only used for milk since we don't eat frozen foods a lot). Do I really have to throw it away after 6 months? Did anyone keep it a little longer? The thought of throwing away all that milk makes my heart sink....

Kate_C · September 2013

Try using the frozen stuff for a while and freeze the freshly pumped stuff. Then get in a routine of using frozen stuff once a week so you don't end up with an old stash problem like this. I think the problem is that the milk degrades over time in the freezer so it isn't ideal to use past 6 months. I doubt it will actually be dangerous in any respect though. But you're the doctor.

ToAoShesha · September 2013

Depends on how cold your freezer goes.... Kellymom.com has great guidelines....
I just donated my May stash to a family in need.... You could look into that. It was super easy. On Facebook look for your local Eats on Feets or Human milk 4 human babies.

You can read people's stories & choose who to donate too. I too have a very large stash and some of this stories make me want to donate it all!

cheesecakerunner · September 2013

Donate it! Look for a Human milk 4 Human babies group on Facebook for your area.

Edit: I have got to read other replies first

pinottoparenthood · September 2013

Try using the frozen stuff for a while and freeze the freshly pumped stuff. Then get in a routine of using frozen stuff once a week so you don't end up with an old stash problem like this. I think the problem is that the milk degrades over time in the freezer so it isn't ideal to use past 6 months. I doubt it will actually be dangerous in any respect though. But you're the doctor.

Agree with all of this and LoL. Smell it when it's thawed, and as long as it smells okay,it's not going to hurt anything... It's just not going to have all f those healthy antibodies and etc that it used to. I send frozen milk on Mondays and freeze Friday's milk to rotate my stash.

kreeper611 · September 2013

Personally, I would rotate it out. Although if it is a deep freeze, I think you can go longer than 6 months.

I'm going OOT next month for a long weekend and I figured quite a bit of my early stuff will be used. I do like the idea of swapping out frozen milk Monday to keep a good rotation.

asc34 · September 2013

I rotate so that I keep the stash fresh. I use frozen when I start work after a day off (my schedule is weird so I can't say Monday). Then I freeze what I have pumped at the end of my stretch of shifts. Of course lately I can't keep up so not a lot is going back in the freezer.

hatroopes · September 2013

Another vote for rotate it out. I personally try to never let my frozen stash go longer than 2 months (we have a double door refrigerator/freezer). We will use up the stash from June this week