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Storage options

AC901AC901 member
in Breastfeeding
I am a first time mom planning to go back to work soon after birth. I plan to pump at work, and I am wondering about storage options. I see so many options. Can I not just pump straight into bottles that will be used later though? 

Advice/resources on storage greatly appreciated.
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Re: Storage options

  • meggymemeggyme member
    AC901 said:
    I am a first time mom planning to go back to work soon after birth. I plan to pump at work, and I am wondering about storage options. I see so many options. Can I not just pump straight into bottles that will be used later though? 

    Advice/resources on storage greatly appreciated.
    I pump twice a day, so I bring 3 bottles and lids. The first time I pump I transfer into one of the two bottles and use a dry erase marker to put the date.  I then rinse and store my pump parts and the used bottle in the fridge for next time. Second pump I use the 1 rinsed bottle and a fresh bottle and do the same thing. Then I'll bring my stuff home and store in the fridge overnight to take to daycare/back to work. On Fridays I pump directly into bags (I'll share a cool trick in a minute) and then freeze those when I get home. Sunday night I pull 2 bags of previously frozen milk out to thaw in my fridge and then put them in bottles in the morning for daycare. This helps me rotate through my freezer stash and keeps any of them from expiring.

    When I pump directly into bags I take one bottle, one bag and a rubber band. I use the rubber band to hold the bag in place directly on my pump connector, being careful not to let it touch the valve membrane (or it won't work). Then I pour the bottle into the bag and mark the date and amount. They also make special bags with an adaptor to let you pump directly, but they're expensive and that's too many extra steps. Plus I always keep extra bags on hand in case I forget to pack bottles.

    Good luck!
    DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
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  • lm45678lm45678 member
    meggyme said:
    AC901 said:
    I am a first time mom planning to go back to work soon after birth. I plan to pump at work, and I am wondering about storage options. I see so many options. Can I not just pump straight into bottles that will be used later though? 

    Advice/resources on storage greatly appreciated.
    I pump twice a day, so I bring 3 bottles and lids. The first time I pump I transfer into one of the two bottles and use a dry erase marker to put the date.  I then rinse and store my pump parts and the used bottle in the fridge for next time. Second pump I use the 1 rinsed bottle and a fresh bottle and do the same thing. Then I'll bring my stuff home and store in the fridge overnight to take to daycare/back to work. On Fridays I pump directly into bags (I'll share a cool trick in a minute) and then freeze those when I get home. Sunday night I pull 2 bags of previously frozen milk out to thaw in my fridge and then put them in bottles in the morning for daycare. This helps me rotate through my freezer stash and keeps any of them from expiring.

    When I pump directly into bags I take one bottle, one bag and a rubber band. I use the rubber band to hold the bag in place directly on my pump connector, being careful not to let it touch the valve membrane (or it won't work). Then I pour the bottle into the bag and mark the date and amount. They also make special bags with an adaptor to let you pump directly, but they're expensive and that's too many extra steps. Plus I always keep extra bags on hand in case I forget to pack bottles.

    Good luck!
    ^^WSS

    I tried so many different things and this was the best system. I used really tiny labels on the bottle tops with the date and time though.
    Me (31) & DH (32)
    Married 9/27/2014
    DD Born 6/23/16
    Baby #2 Due 3/7/20
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  • WishilivedinfloridaWishilivedinflorida member
    Medela makes a pretty decent storage system with bottle caps that have a spinning dial to say which day/time the milk is from. It comes with a tray as well. I would recommend having two. I only registered for one but my MIL bought me a second one and it lessens the time I spend washing bottles and lids. DS uses Tommee Tippee bottles, so I can't directly pump (I do think they make an adapter), but I have oversupply and I have extra from almost every pumping session anyway. I don't think it's a big deal to prepare bottles and I do this the night before I work so DH doesn't have to worry about it before he does the drop off to childcare. I also freeze my excess at least every other day so it doesn't go bad. I prefer the Lansinoh or Target brand bags over Medela as they freeze flatter and thus thaw faster and store better. 

    I dont currently work M-F but soon will be. I periodically send frozen milk to rotate through my stash. You don't want to be giving your baby old milk (though it stays good for months) because their nutritional needs change so rapidly. We try to keep with the current month's milk stash at all times and I donate the rest.

    Another tip would be to introduce a bottle early on and use very slow flow nipples. We started DS on a bottle before bed at three weeks. I would thaw a bag of frozen milk for DH to feed him and then pump to replace it after he was in bed. He never had any issues taking a bottle once I was back to work. 
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