Pump, freeze, thaw, feed

ztkyx · August 2014

In preperation for pumping for my LO when I return to work, I am trying to figure out what the easiest method to pump, freeze, thaw and feed breast milk.

I read that the lansinoh bad can fit into the origional playtex drop-in nursers, with this I would only be dirtying 1 bottle and 1 bag. Unfortunatley I can't find anywhere that sill sells these.

Are there any other methods that make the whole process easier?

Lena122 · August 2014

Pumping into a bottle and then transferring to a bag to freeze is better for keeping track of how much you pump and freeze. The measuring lines on the bags aren't accurate and if you pump a random # like 1.7 oz then you'd be freezing that random number and wasting bag space. When it came time to thaw you'd have to thaw a bunch of different sized bags to get the amount you need. I've found it easy to freeze 2 or 4 oz bags so I can just grab 4 bags for the day and have enough.

ztkyx · August 2014

I didn't think of that, thank you!

Are there ay other bags/bottles that you can feed from?

The new playtex drop-in system seems expensive as you have to buy lids for eash one and they don't store flat.

ErinO21 · August 2014

If you have the medela Pisa you can buy bottles along with nipples that fit those. Chances are you will have to pour milk from one bottle to another since you most likely won't pump enough for an entire bottle in every pump. Hopefully that makes sense.

BootsOrHearts · August 2014

I just pump into bags (medela or target or lansinoh, whatever is on sale or I can find) freeze (add a date with a marker) and then thaw in a cup of warm water and pour into a regular bottle. But we have at-home childcare so we don't have to transport the milk, it makes it a bit easier.

Unknown · August 2014

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BootsOrHearts · August 2014

Oh I forgot to add - I know there are different opinions on it, but I pump straight into bags and it's fine. I use a bottle on one side and a bag on the other and pour the bottle side into the bag side and that is usually 3-4 ounces which is perfect for one bottle. You can use the medela adaptors and just cut holes into the tops of the target or lansinoh (or any brand) bags because the medela bags are really spendy.

vvvvvfee · August 2014

it's hard to totally avoid pouring milk back and forth. bear in mind, though, that you won't have to defrost milk every day. most people just freeze what they pump on friday, and give frozen milk on monday to rotate through their stash. so the other days, you could be pumping directly into the bottles that your LO will be fed from.

like you said, the disposable pump/nurse bags get expensive. think about 3 of those per day for months and months.

to thaw a frozen bag of BM, the night before i ran it under warm water while massaging the bag to break the milk up into chunks. then i dumped the chunks into a bottle and put it in the fridge. it's defrosted by the next morning.

radiohd18 · August 2014

I pump into medela bottles at work and then immediately start transferring into tomorrows DC bottled (which happen to be Avent). I am going to get a converter so I can start pumping directly into the DC bottles-- which will save some washing time later. If I have extra, I accumulate the surplus in the fridge until I have at least 4 oz. For every 4 oz I freeze, I then break the next 4 oz into two 2 oz bags. Also, whatever I pump on Friday gets held in the back of my 38F degree fridge until Monday. I try not to bottle feed on the weekends, if possible.

I've heard about using the freezer stash first and then freezing what you pump at work-- but so far it's too many steps for me to defrost some milk and bag/label/freeze the fresh milk. I have limited time as it is (which sounds crazy, but it's true). Right now I'm hoping to use my freezer stash to help wean (down the road) or for emergency situations.

When I was on maternity leave, I pumped once a day in the morning and tried to get 4 oz each time.

edited for some grammar

laura3462 · August 2014

I wish I had this for my first but I have been using the Kiinde system. you pump into the bags and just have to wash the nipple. My LO is difficult and did not like the nipples but I was able to use the attachment pieces and still use the system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVFr608lUmk I got mine on Zulily at a discount (every few months it is on there). Also Babies RUS and amazon carries it.

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