storing breast milk?

[SW]

I just started pumping this week...and I only pumped 2oz of breast milk the other day and today I made more..so my question is ..If you have breast milk stored in the refigerator for a few days can you add newly pumped breast milk to that same container? Or can you only add to it to the same container if it is over the course of the same day? I know you can add cold breast milk to frozen which is older. Also, if i have pumped out breast milk and the baby decides to want more milk from my breast will my breast produce milk quick enough to feed him? I am not pumping every day right now..just when i think i will need it for a feeding that i will not be home for. Should i pump everyday to build a reserve in the freezer? thanks

[minamorin]

i remember when i first started pumping, i didn't get much at one pumping session, either. but i always went ahead and froze my milk immediately, so i didn't have the issue you have.

you should probably talk to a lactation consultant or someone from La Leche League for expert input -- look them up in yellow pages. since food safety is a concern, you really should hear from someone who knows what she is talking about.

good luck!

[jenneric_2000]

Well, about the adding of newly expressed BM, here's what I do (far from an expert though!)..I cool the newly EBM before adding it to the refrigerated EBM. I read some where that as long as the new/warm BM is less quantity than the chilled EBM, you're fine, but I still chill it first. I store EBM for no more than a week in the fridge, so although the milk doesn't have to all be pumped the same day, I do make sure that none of the milk is more than a week old.

About pumping, give yourself some time..it gets easier!!! You'll find you get more comfy with the process over time so I would recommend you pump when you can to build a freezer stash. It can really come in handy! Good luck!

[sophiesmom]

I would defintely chill the milk before adding even to the refrig. milk. I'm not so sure about keeping it for up to a week. Everything I've read says up to 3 days. I would definitely check w/ LaLeche about that.
For building a reserve, I usually only had a few bags in the freezer. If I needed a bottle, i would pump the day before or morning of (morning was the best time for me). I even pumped milk for when she started her cereal at 5 months. As she got older (6 mos), I started supplementing w/ formula, only when she needed a bottle, which was very occasionaly. I also use the formula for her cereal. I was against doing that for a while, but talked to my dr., and it definitely doesn't hurt her and it's much easier than pumping a lot! I also found that sometimes she wouldn't finish a bottle, so some got wasted, and I HATED wasting my breastmilk!
Good luck!
stay at home mom, breastfeeding for 10 months... :-)

[jenneric_2000]

http://breastfeed.com/experts/answers/127.htm
http://www.parentsplace.com/features/primer/qas/0,10338,258693_115330,00.html
http://breastfeed.com/experts/answers/145.htm

these might be helpful...