To stash or not to stash...

RingOfFire11 · March 2014

...that is the question. DD2 is 7w.

Is a large freezer stash really necessary? From what I've read, it seems most are giving fresh milk from the previous day when returning to work. How often do you dip into a stash then?

I've just started the MSPI diet and all the pumped milk in my freezer isn't usable now. So, I need to start over but even then, I'll eventually be experimenting with deleting and adding back foods to pinpoint the culprit. The milk I could pump over the next several weeks/months could be iffy if I add back the wrong thing. Any recommendations on number of ounces for a stash because I'm not sure when to start back up? I will probably need to wait until she shows more improvement first but I also don't want to wait too long (I return to work in about 5 weeks and am away for 10ish hours). TIA!!

mommatotwo2 · March 2014

I really wish I'd have pumped a larger stash. It would have been much less stressful. My supply was great, LO gained at or above average, but unless you have a great setup at work for pumping, there might be days where you don't get to pump as often or for as long as you should. Also, some women don't respond great to the pump, so supply is lower. I'm at almost 10 months and I think I'll make the year, but there have been so many times where we were this close to supplementing.

cinderin · March 2014

I have about 100 oz. it is nice to have some in case of emergency. I have had to go to the emergency room (for example) and dh could use it to feed DS.

TheBorg7of9 · March 2014

I pumped a very large stash with my first son and I am doing it again on maternity leave with my second.
I only give frozen milk to the baby instead of rotating in fresh. Every day I came home and added the new milk into a jug in the refrigerator, and then at the end of the week on Friday nights I took all the milk from the jug and froze it.
Having a stash allowed me to pump less at work, and also stop pumping altogether when the baby was about 10 months old.

TheBorg7of9 · March 2014

This is just what works best for me. Maybe it's because I have really good supply. I know most people only use frozen once a week and thats fine too. If I didn't just use frozen, then my frozen milk would expire because i have so much. Using just frozen allows my stash to last longer. baby still gets fresh milk from my breasts 3-4 times a day, so i am not worried about antibodies. I never have to make bottles -- the dcp just uses my frozen bags and I am able to provide a week's worth of milk and just leave it with them. I only have to deal with milk storage once a week.

It's my understanding that if you give fresh, you have to make bottles everyday. You would also have to worry about how much you are pumping on any particular day?

Again, this is just what works for me. Just sharing my experience. using frozen prevents my milk from expiring, which allowed me to quit pumping all together at 10 months with hundreds of ounces in the freezer. It also saves time since I only deal with milk when I freeze it on Friday nights.

RingOfFire11 · March 2014

Thanks so much for everyone's advice and experiences. It helps so much to have all the help during this process!

Juliebird8307 · March 2014

I have quite a large freezer stash (guessing around 500oz) and my LO is 6 months old. While I have not had to suppliment, it makes me a lot less stressed knowing that it's there if I ever need it. I usually am able to freeze 20-25 ounces a week. I think that if you aren't planning a trip, having a freezer stash of about 100 ounces is plenty. If you need to suppliment, or if someone needs to give a bottle for whatever reason, you'll be covered and can worry about replacing it later.

RootBeer29 · March 2014

There's always the possibility that I will have to travel with work, so I needed at least 300 oz in the freezer in the event of an extended work trip. That trip never happened so now I have about 500 oz in the freezer and I plan to stop pumping at work altogether in a few weeks. I'm so excited.

drowe214 · March 2014

I hear you on the allergy thing but hold onto what you've frozen bc I eliminated dairy for 3 weeks and it turns out it didn't make a difference so I could use that milk after all. I use mostly fresh milk for bottled but occasionally go through periods of using the frozen to rotate my stash so that it doesn't get too old.

DahliaFlower · March 2014

I also eliminated dairy for several months. I ended up discarding some of my older stash - it wouldn't have been usable for donation since I have had to take some meds while BF. I recently started rotating in some of my stash pumped while on dairy, as I am trying to reintroduce dairy into my diet. LO seems to be doing OK with it.

I will note I find frozen much more difficult to use than fresh or refrigerated. It definitely needs to be used promptly after thawing. I've had LO reject milk that was in refrigerator just barely 12 hours after thawing. For me, it's kind of a pain to orchestrate the thawing and consumption. I try my best to keep a good refrigerated supply.

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