BFing Moms...Breastmilk Storage Question

ElTrain5 · February 2014

So my FTM is totally showing here, but I plan on BFing and pumping. What are your best recommendations for storing breast milk? From what I've read there seems to be three popular options, 1) Storing it in the bottles you pump into, 2) Pouring it from the pump bottles into storage bags, and 3) Using those "bar" or "cube" trays to freeze it in ounce-specific portions. What is the easiest, most idiot proof method? Also, what's the easiest and fastest for thawing? I feel like bags seem to be the most popular and cost efficient, but isn't it a pain in the ass to have to pour into the bag, wash the pump bottle, thaw the bag, pour into a new bottle, and then wash that bottle?

Mztwilson · February 2014

Storable bags are much more freezer friendly. I pumped then poured it into those lansinoh bags and stored them flat. Everyone used to joke about them being my milk cards. They are much easier to warm up then the bottles. I had a bottle fall out of the freezer a break!

Mztwilson · February 2014

Washing the bottles didn't seem like a huge pain in the butt but waiting for a bottle to thaw versus a bag was huge. The bag literally took 5 mins a bottle was 20 mins or more depending in how much milk was in it.

Eta you can't microwave breast milk so you have to thaw it with warm water. It's only good in the fridge for 48 hrs. And it's good at room temp for 8 hrs.

rainbowdashh · February 2014

I used the storage bags because they can be frozen and not take up too much space. You can store it in a bottle in the fridge if you plan on using it quickly. And if you use storage bags don't forget to date them all! It can only stay in the freezer for so long too.

snowpants · February 2014

I EPed so a little different, but here's how it worked best for me:

If I needed the milk within a couple hours of when I pumped I put it directly into a bottle for DD and left it on the counter until I needed it. Extra milk went into other bottles in the fridge, divided out into appropriate number of ounces depending on her age and what she was normally eating per feeding at that time. I wanted to have a few back up bottles in the fridge at a time but obviously those got used and rotated out regularly.

Once I had a fridge stash going I started putting extra milk into bags in the freezer. They were all labeled and used oldest first. For thawing and for warming up cold bottles, I simply heated up a glass measuring dish of water in the microwave and put the frozen bag or bottle in the water. Some people had issues with bags leaking but I never did.

I built up quite a freezer supply at times. When she went through a growth spurt I'd dig into my supply more often while I waited for my milk to catch up. Once I started to wean from the pump I obviously used the freezer stash more and more until it was gone.

Is it a lot of bottle washing to transfer the milk to freezer bags each time? Yup. But as an EPer it's just what worked. If you only occasionally pump and want to have just a little stored up in the fridge for a few days at a time then you might be able to just use bottles. (I did not use the same bottles for pumping as I did for feeding though, so it still required a transfer of milk when I put it in the fridge.)

pcourtade · February 2014

I actually just pumped straight into a bag. I'd see if you can do that with your pump cause it's really convient. I had a Medella pump, not sure i that matters.
I froze them and then my husband would put them in hot water from tap and they would be warm in no time.

MamaTree17 · February 2014

I started with freezing in bottles but half way thru I switched to bags and wished I had done that from the start. They take up so much less room and are just easier. My daughter also weaned and I had a ton of frozen stash still that I donated. It would have been nice to have everything in bags bc I just had to give the bottles away since you obviously couldn't unfreeze it and transfer.

Savvy122 · February 2014

Yeah, it sucks to have to repeatedly wash all the parts but unless you plan on stocking up on a ton of bottles (and devoting a ton of freezer space to them), storage bags are probably the way to go if you plan on having a decent size freezer stash. You can freeze them flat and they take up very little space. It's also pretty easy to thaw them (I just threw them into a bowl of warm-ish water). I would imagine a bottle of frozen milk would take quite some time to thaw too.

owlcup · February 2014

Use bags. Its so much easier and space saving. I normally stored in 3-4oz increments.

I also only rinsed my pump parts after use and then stored them in the fridge until my next pumping session. I washed every night though. I usually only pumped twice per day.

hollygb22 · February 2014

I pumped into the bottles that DD ate from. This was for accurate measurement..different bags measured differently and I found it easier to pump right into the bottles we used so I knew exactly that it was 4 oz etc.

I stored frozen milk in the Target Up and Up BM storage bags. They were priced well and I liked them better than Medela (only a single zip) and the Lanisoh ones that were a double ziploc.they leaked on me on more than one occasion.

Someone had recommended buying the ice cube trays and freezing one oz cubes..it was a hassle and so much easier (for me) to use a bag.

I took frozen milk and put it in a mug of hot water or ran it under hot water until it thawed enough to be put into a bottle.

KeyLime81 · February 2014

Storing in bags was the way to go for me. The bags lay flat in the freezer, and because of that they don't take up as much space as bottles, and they defrost quickly.

As for defrosting, I'd usually take the bags out of the freezer at dinner time and let them defrost in the fridge overnight. Then, in the morning, I'd fill bottles for the babysitter. I ALWAYS put the bags in a container of some sort to defrost them. A few times, my bags leaked, and the clean up was much easier because they just leaked into the tupperware container. (I had problems with the Target Up&Up bags. I wouldn't recommend them. I loved the Honeysuckle brand bags!)

FWIW, I used gift bags to store all of my frozen milk, and I could just pull the oldest bag out from the bottom (like THIS)

gregsgurl81304 · February 2014

I always used the bottles I pumped into. It definately was a pain to remember to take a bottle out in time to defrost, or wait 20 mins for it to thaw in hot water, but I really didn't have to pump very often. I did more pumping when DS was older to have milk to mix his solid foods with. At that time I continued to use the bottles but I only needed to pump once a day, to have enough to mix with his food.

lifeisbetteronthered · February 2014

I pumped into bottles and then divided it into bags, usually in 2 & 3 oz portions to "customize" how much I'd thaw later. I returned to work and knew I needed a huge stash to get by as I wasn't able to consistently pump at work. At max I had >900 oz in my freezer. I would have never fit that in bottles. Washing bottles, when you pump, becomes just part of life. We used the walmart brand as it was double zippered and better priced then the others.

VeniVidiScripsi · February 2014

I didn't read what everyone else wrote, but for my daughter, I pumped and dumped into snack size freezer bags (which held the 5oz - 8oz no problem). Then I would lay them flat into a big freezer bag labeled with the month I pumped it in. I also would pump some into bottles to be used that day or the next day. To thaw them, I boiled the water and sat the bag into a mug where I poured the water. Or would lay it into a Tupperware flat and cover it completely with boiled water. It didn't take too long to warm it.

hollygb22 · February 2014

mrsdbc said:

Stupid question, we did formula with DS since my supply never came in since he was super early. So if I pump into the Medela bottles, then put into freezer bags and then thaw in the bags then put into the bottle to feed (which when I type it out seems like a lot to do) that shouldn't cause any problems with the milk right?
Holy run on sentence Batman, sorry

I don't see any issues. I used Dr. Browns bottles..I was pumping into medela containers, putting n a freezer bag and I just found it a hassle when I thawed milk...what medela said was 4 oz, it measured 3 oz in a Dr. Browns bottle. Maybe not a huge deal to some..but I had a huge freezer stash and found it so much easier to pump into the bottle we used. It went in a freezer bag and then I knew if I grabbed the bag labeled 4 oz, it would measure to a Dr. brown's 4 oz.

sorry if that's confusing..when I first went back to work it drove me nutty to grab a bag labeled 3oz and it thawed out to 2oz because of the differing measurements on different brands

snowpants · February 2014

mrsdbc said:

Stupid question, we did formula with DS since my supply never came in since he was super early. So if I pump into the Medela bottles, then put into freezer bags and then thaw in the bags then put into the bottle to feed (which when I type it out seems like a lot to do) that shouldn't cause any problems with the milk right?
Holy run on sentence Batman, sorry

Yes, your milk should be just fine.

And yes, it's a lot to do. If you're going to use the milk in the next few hours just leave it on the counter. If you're going to use it in the next few days just leave it in the fridge. It's only the milk you need to store for longer that needs to be frozen.

Mztwilson · February 2014

I'm not sure. I didn't have a problem before just laying them flat. A storage rack might make organizing easier.

hollygb22 · February 2014

Honestly..I think the storage system and the link to the one posted above would have been a waste. The bags freeze flat. I just used a large freezer gallon sized ziploc. I put the frozen bags in it each day and then when the bag was full, I wrote with a sharpie the dates (January 2013) etc. It then went in our chest freezer. When I went back to work I grabbed the oldest large ziplocs that contained all the bm storage bags and that went into our freezer and I took out of it each night to defrost for bottles the next day.

bags to bottle to freezer to ziploc was my method. I don't think I have room between food and BM for little storage trays. I was also freezing daily to build up a stash...so that little rack would'nt have been to much help

snowpants · February 2014

What @hollygb22 said.

rourkiesgirl · February 2014

so no one ever seems to know about this but it is what i used with both of my daughters:

https://www.toysrus.com/buy/accessories/playtex-breast-milk-storage-set-06572-2969614

basically it has an adapter which connects to any pump, then you pump straight into the playtex drop in liners. then, you put a cap on the liner and can freeze or refrigerate that. then, you just put the liner in the bottle and baby drinks from the sterile liner that you pumped directly into.

obviously this will only work if you're okay with using playtex drop-ins, and my babies were fine with them. lots of people like them and you can mechanically push out the air so that they swallow less air when sucking.

there is still some washing of the little adapters and caps, but much less than having to wash bottles.

it worked super well for me and i highly recommend it. also it's nice and easy for other caregivers or your husband to figure out.

good luck!

ElTrain5 · February 2014

rourkiesgirl said:

so no one ever seems to know about this but it is what i used with both of my daughters:
https://www.toysrus.com/buy/accessories/playtex-breast-milk-storage-set-06572-2969614

basically it has an adapter which connects to any pump, then you pump straight into the playtex drop in liners. then, you put a cap on the liner and can freeze or refrigerate that. then, you just put the liner in the bottle and baby drinks from the sterile liner that you pumped directly into.

obviously this will only work if you're okay with using playtex drop-ins, and my babies were fine with them. lots of people like them and you can mechanically push out the air so that they swallow less air when sucking.

there is still some washing of the little adapters and caps, but much less than having to wash bottles.

it worked super well for me and i highly recommend it. also it's nice and easy for other caregivers or your husband to figure out.

good luck!

This looks interesting...but if you are pumping into the platex liners, how do you know how much you've pumped? I don't see a measure on the bag...

stephpaez · February 2014

@rourkiesgirl
Those are the bottles I used for my older son and plan to use with the baby too. I had no idea about the adaptor for those! Thanks for posting the link!

SecondTimeinMSU · February 2014

I pumped for daycare so the bags worked the best since I needed large quantities and could always mix in some fresh stuff to get me to the levels I needed. Daycare would toss the un-used milk (*sniff*) so I was fine with mixing it. Lots of great advice on here only I would add is don't get lulled into a false sense of security on your stash. I built up what I thought was a lot but when my supply tanked I was burning through those bags. I wish I won't have occasionally skipped a session when the milk flowed so freely in the beginning and DS barely ate anything.

amwangel · February 2014

I used this method: https://greenlitebites.com/2011/06/02/breast-milk-storage/ for storing breastmilk in the fridge - it's awesome because you ensure that it's organized and that you use the oldest first!

Mztwilson · February 2014

amwangel said:
I used this method: https://greenlitebites.com/2011/06/02/breast-milk-storage/ for storing breastmilk in the fridge - it's awesome because you ensure that it's organized and that you use the oldest first!

I'm not sure why but the link isn't working

Unknown · February 2014

This content has been removed.

Sareynoo · February 2014

I froze it in bags and kept a rotation going. There are some bags that you can pump into directly or you can pump into bottles and store in bags. Storing in the refrigerator is great if you are going to use the milk shortly after.

milomia · February 2014

Anyone have experience with the Kiinde storage system?

rourkiesgirl · February 2014

ElTrain5 said:

rourkiesgirl said:

so no one ever seems to know about this but it is what i used with both of my daughters:
https://www.toysrus.com/buy/accessories/playtex-breast-milk-storage-set-06572-2969614

basically it has an adapter which connects to any pump, then you pump straight into the playtex drop in liners. then, you put a cap on the liner and can freeze or refrigerate that. then, you just put the liner in the bottle and baby drinks from the sterile liner that you pumped directly into.

obviously this will only work if you're okay with using playtex drop-ins, and my babies were fine with them. lots of people like them and you can mechanically push out the air so that they swallow less air when sucking.

there is still some washing of the little adapters and caps, but much less than having to wash bottles.

it worked super well for me and i highly recommend it. also it's nice and easy for other caregivers or your husband to figure out.

good luck!
This looks interesting...but if you are pumping into the platex liners, how do you know how much you've pumped? I don't see a measure on the bag...

They do have measurements finely imprinted on the side for that purpose. But, when you store the milk you actually store it upside down with the caps on the bottom (if you look closely at the pics it might make sense). Because of that it's hard to tell how much frozen milk is stuck upside down. I typically would put a little white sticker on the cap which said the date and how many ounces were in that bottle.

Mztwilson · February 2014

rourkiesgirl said:

ElTrain5 said:

rourkiesgirl said:

so no one ever seems to know about this but it is what i used with both of my daughters:
https://www.toysrus.com/buy/accessories/playtex-breast-milk-storage-set-06572-2969614

basically it has an adapter which connects to any pump, then you pump straight into the playtex drop in liners. then, you put a cap on the liner and can freeze or refrigerate that. then, you just put the liner in the bottle and baby drinks from the sterile liner that you pumped directly into.

obviously this will only work if you're okay with using playtex drop-ins, and my babies were fine with them. lots of people like them and you can mechanically push out the air so that they swallow less air when sucking.

there is still some washing of the little adapters and caps, but much less than having to wash bottles.

it worked super well for me and i highly recommend it. also it's nice and easy for other caregivers or your husband to figure out.

good luck!
This looks interesting...but if you are pumping into the platex liners, how do you know how much you've pumped? I don't see a measure on the bag...

They do have measurements finely imprinted on the side for that purpose. But, when you store the milk you actually store it upside down with the caps on the bottom (if you look closely at the pics it might make sense). Because of that it's hard to tell how much frozen milk is stuck upside down. I typically would put a little white sticker on the cap which said the date and how many ounces were in that bottle.

Regardless of what you pump into you should always label how much milk is it it. Because if you store milk bags flat you can't tell him much is in there until they are thawed as well.

Mrs_D_in_KY · February 2014

I EPed and used a lot of BM storage bags to hold my large stash. I would pump into whatever bottle I could find (most standard sized bottles screw right until the Medela flanges. Pumping into the bottles gave me a more accurate measurement so I could properly label the storage bags.

I always put the date I pumped the milk and how many ounces on each and every bag. Then I would group so many together and fill a gallon sized bag. I also went a little crazy with a spreadsheet so I knew how much I had at all times.

hollygb22 · February 2014

hampire said:

Honestly..I think the storage system and the link to the one posted above would have been a waste. The bags freeze flat. I just used a large freezer gallon sized ziploc. I put the frozen bags in it each day and then when the bag was full, I wrote with a sharpie the dates (January 2013) etc. It then went in our chest freezer. When I went back to work I grabbed the oldest large ziplocs that contained all the bm storage bags and that went into our freezer and I took out of it each night to defrost for bottles the next day.

bags to bottle to freezer to ziploc was my method. I don't think I have room between food and BM for little storage trays. I was also freezing daily to build up a stash...so that little rack would'nt have been to much help
If you're referring to my link it was less about the rack and more about the measured bags you could pump directly into and click into bottle. I was advocating bags and my laziness of going from pumping bottle to bag and back to bottle. I concede your point on space.

Just giving my 2 cents. If you find this method works for you go nuts. I was just making a point that just because that storage system says 3 oz and measures out it might measure differently in the particular bottle you're using. I found that when a lanisoh bag measured 3oz, a medela container 2.5 and then once you put it in the actual bottle the baby drinks out of, it's another measurement. So, to get accurate measurements, i pumped into the bottle we fed. It eliminated a the guess work since it was frustrating to defrost a bag of milk and find that the measurement of the container I pumped into didn't match the bottle we used. I know it might sound silly, but I found that there really was a discrepancy between all brands of bags, bottles etc.

ElTrain5 · February 2014

Thanks ladies! You guys rock

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