breastfeeding/storage

Belovedvirgo0209 · March 2014

Sorry if this has been asked but I'm planning on breastfeeding Averie and wanted to know what the best way of storing milk was? At first I was just going to buy a lot of bottles and just freeze the milk like that but I got to thinking about freezer space and would it get freezer burn?So I started thinking about the playtex bottles with the drop ins and wanted to know if the plastic storage bags will fit in a playtex drop ins bottle?We used born free with Adasyn but they were a pain in the middle of the night to fight with.Basically I dont want to waste money on products I wont need or use and I plan on only pumping a few times a day while I'm at work so I just really need to know the most cost efficient way of pumping and storing.I dont want to have to pump and then transfer the milk to a storage bag then have to transfer back to a bottle that just seems like a waste of time since you pump straight into a bottle any advice would be appreciated.I dont mind spending more money if it is a better way in the long run.Thanks guys

ATXmommas · March 2014

I never pumped directly into a bag because I found the measurements on the bag to be unreliable. I needed to measure in a bottle first to know how much I was transferring to the bag. I have Ameda bags, so maybe others have used a different brand that measures better.

I would not recommend freezing in bottles. From what I understand, you want to limit the amount of air that comes into contact with the milk when freezing. That said, I know that there are some people who prefer not to use plastic (either bottles or storage bags) and freeze in glass containers - I think @jazibel does this? Mayber she can give you some tips.

Lastly, I only have about 20oz or so frozen. You really don't need a large stash. I stored some up in case I needed some when he first started day care and it came in handy when I spilled some of my freshly expressed milk. Otherwise, we haven't touched the frozen stuff. I send 3 bottles of fresh milk (pumped the day before) to day care and When we're together, he BFs.

Hope that helps a little!

Belovedvirgo0209 · March 2014

Ok thanks guys ya'll make it sound like I shouldn't really have to worry about freezing it

I don't know anything about it yet just trying to be as prepared as possible. I know breastfed babies tend to eat more often than formula fed ones or so I have been told.Plus I wanted atleast two or three bottles on hand in case Heather wants to feed her .

valeriegp · March 2014

I agree that you can't trust the bag measurements. I pumped into bottles and then poured whatever amount I wanted to freeze into a milk storage bag. I used than lanisoh ones. I never had a leak, and they are great because you can freeze them flat, which is very economical with space. In the early days when my son was taking a bottle often, I would keep some in bottles in the fridge. Check out kellymom.com. It is a great site and they have a printable chart that gives storage information. I had it on the fridge.

valeriegp · March 2014

Here's the chart (PDF): https://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/milkstorage01.pdf

JGY · March 2014

Ahhh, so much to say here ... firstly, I would gently caution about making too hard and fast of a "Plan" ahead of time. Babies can be really fussy about what type or style of bottle they prefer. And I wouldn't want you to drop a lot of $$ on a whole system of products just to find out that it's not a good match for your kiddo.

Unlike most of the other BFing parents here, I rarely actually nurse Gabe (sniff sniff). So pumping/freezing/thawing/serving is kind of our life. I don't know if my system is the best, but here's what I do:

I pump 3 times a day now. I pump directly into the plastic Madela bottles that came with my pump. At the end of the day, I transfer the milk into freezer storage bags divided out by the amount of milk he takes per serving. As PP mentioned, there are Madela bags that you can pump directly into, but I have yet to see a bag that allows for an accurate reading on the volume and that's quite important. Each night, I pull out the 4 bags that G will drink the following day, and in the morning I grab 3 of those bags and bring them with me to daycare and throw them in the fridge there. Our DCP makes the bottles for us.

Unlike most PP, I always rotate through my freezer stash rather than using fresh milk. I don't have a huge stash, only about 3 day's worth at this point, but since the composition of milk changes as your baby grows I like to keep things current so if I reach for a bag at 11 months, he's not getting 8 month milk. I have no idea if that matters or if I'm being a freak about it.

As for the type of bags I use, I generally just order whatever is cheapest on Amazon at the time. I will say that I've had a number of instances of leaky bags with the Lansinoh brand. The NUK brand seem pretty sturdy.

I also have a breastmilk organizer for the freezer, but you can just make one yourself for free. Take a small gift bag, and cut a slit on one bottom side corner. Drop the bags in flat, and always pull from the slit to make sure you're using the oldest milk (first in, first out system).

Hope some/ANY of that was helpful. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Belovedvirgo0209 · March 2014

Thanks again that was most helpful.I am really trying to avoid having to transfer so many times we don't have a dish washer and it just seems tiresome to have to wash twice as many bottles if not needed.Glad to know you can pump straight into a bag.As for the bottles yes I know we got like 4 kinds with Adasyn but sadly not because of her it was because of us we realized early on the ones that require assembly each time were a pain so mainly stuck to the playtex ones they were much easier to clean and we didnt have to worry about milk being left behind in the bottom.

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