Freezing EBM in ice trays???

[amyjean13]

My LC said I could freeze EBM in ice cube trays and them put them in ziplock freezer bags. She said then you would know each cube equals about 1oz. Has anyone tried this? Also, has anyone used the Day and Night Bottle Warmer? Should I invest in a bottle warmer of just warm with water? I plan on pumping most of the time and bottle feeding with the EBM.

[Momof3Labs]

The problem with freezing EBM in an ice cube tray is that the blocks take a long time to thaw. I prefer freezing in Gerber bags by laying them flat, so they thaw pretty quickly.

Anyways, if you are pumping and bottle feeding, you will probably be using fresh (refrigerated) EBM most of the time. Since the pump isn't as efficient as the baby, you'll have to work hard to keep up with him/her and probably won't have a lot of excess EBM to freeze.

Finally, you don't necessarily need a bottle warmer. Colin always took his EBM bottles cold, and for a younger baby, you can run the bottle under the faucet to warm it up.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I agree with Lori, if you are planning to pump most of the time, you won't have time to freeze any.

Start out with just 2 oz in each bottle until you see how much the baby takes at one time, then increase it. You can just store in the refrigerator in the same bottles you pumped into. Or just feed the baby the freshly pumped milk while still warm from you.

Can I ask why you plan to pump and feed with bottles? That is a lot of extra work.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[amyjean13]

Thanks for the info. Before I got pregnant I was never intending on breast feeding. Now that the time has come, I have changed my mind. I went to the breast feeding class and got very discouraged.The LC made it sound like all I would be doing all day and night is nursing. The whole idea of having the baby basically hooked to your boob around the clock doesn't sound to pleasing! I thought if I mostly pump, I can share that feeding responsibility with my husband!I will probably see how easy it is to breastfeed and only pump when I go back to work, once again changing my mind.

[Momof3Labs]

If you pump and bottle feed, then you spend so much time hooked to a pump - it is much nicer to be hooked to your baby! And once you are through the first few weeks or so, except for a few days around growth spurts, you definitely aren't spending all day and night nursing.

Plus, when you pump and bottlefeed, you spend time keeping everything clean, warming up EBM, filling bottles, etc. And when you are alone, you have to pump and then feed baby - it's like feeding two babies. It is definitely more work to pump and bottlefeed than it is to just nurse, and not as enjoyable for you!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

again I agree with Lori. You will spend more time hooked to a pump than you would hooked to the baby, because the pump is not as efficient as the baby at getting the milk out.

It gets much easier as the baby gets older. Put in the time when baby is small and when your baby is a few months older, breastfeeding only takes a few minutes. In the time it takes other people to mix up formula and heat up the bottle, you would already be done feeding.

Why not try breastfeeding first and see how it is? Honestly it is a great excuse to get your rest. You sit down and feed the baby and daddy brings you drinks and snacks, and takes care of changing the baby and bringing her to you. It's an awesome deal. :)

If you are pumping, then your husband will be doing all the feeding because you won't have time. You'll be spending your time pumping and washing and putting nipples on bottles. Honestly I wouldn't have been able to be on my feet that much right after delivery. It was so refreshing to just sit down and nurse the baby for an hour and rest.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[amyjean13]

I feel soooo much better now! I will definately try nursing first, at least for the first few months. I don't know why I got so discouraged after the BF class. I guess I don't have anything else to stress over so I was stressing for no reason. Thanks for all the input!!!

[ethansmom]

The others gave you great advice!

My 2 cents: in the long-run BF is WAY easier than bottle feeding, and certainly far less work than pumping and then feeding.

Due to my preemie not wanting to eat, I had to BF, pump, then bottle feed what was pumped. Can we say no time for sleep? And that was with DH giving the bottles...

Anyhow, IF you do find BF difficult in the beginning, HANG IN THERE! And, see your LC! Also, if things don't get better, don't hesitate to see another LC. I've heard of people seeing 3 or 4 before things worked out.

The point of this long post is really just to let you know no matter how difficult if MIGHT be in the beginning, the payoff is worth it!

[lizajane]

please please please come back and talk to us if breastfeeding is rough at first!! it was really rough for me, but SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it!!!!!!!! i can't emphasis enough i VERY GLAD i am that i was able to stick wtih breastfeeding.

you may feel hooked to your baby all day, yes. BUT NOT FOR A YEAR! after a few weeks (and they may sounds like a long time right now, but it goes really quickly, i swear!!!) your baby will eat in 10 minutes, every 4 hours. (less at night) SO much easier than buying formula, preparing bottles, feeding, washing bottles, putting bottles away... and you have to pack bottles when you go out. you don't have to pack boobs!!

i think it is a nice idea to pump every now and then so that dh can share the feeding. maybe you could BF the first 2-4 weeks and then pump a bottle a day for DH. that would allow you to get a milk supply going, let baby learn to latch on well and then you can start messing with the pump.

whatever you decide, giving your baby any breastmilk is a wonderful thing to do for your child. i am glad you are considering breastfeeding and i hope it turns out to the as great for you as it did for me. :)

[wagner36]

Edited to say: Oops, I didn't realize that you were planning to EP (exclusively pump). Another great source for moms who choose (or more likely, have to EP due to medical issues with the baby's latch) is a yahoo group called pumpmoms - there are a ton of Moms who EP, and other (like me) who just pump at work.


I just want to agree with everyone that has posted - the first 6 weeks or so can be really hard! But, then again, you're recovering from childbirth, which makes everything really hard. If you want to BF, make sure that you have plenty of snacks and fluids, comfortable pillows (or a Boppy - we loved our Boppy when Charlie was a newborn) and access to the remote while you're nursing - think of it as your time to relax! Babies are just learning to suck in the beginning, it can take awhile, so having movies (we got netflix - it was great) and food accessible makes a big difference.

If your hospital has a BFing class, then they probably have lactation consultants too - I definitely recommend seeing one, or at least calling, if you have any problems whatsoever. LC's go through pretty extensive training. I also recommend the book "So that's what they're there for" - which gives a pretty humorous, but accurate, account of breastfeeding issues and problems.
There are a ton of great websites too - my favorite is www.kellymom.com - it has everything you'd ever want to know about breastfeeding.

I thought that I would BF for 12 weeks (just until I went back to work), but now DS is 8 months old and he nurses in the mornings and at night and I pump for him at work.

Like Lori, I also freeze in the Gerber bags. I tried the ice cube method, but it was a huge hassle. Unless your baby is a preemie, or has latch problems for other health reasons, you probably won't be pumping much until he or she is about 6 weeks old (at least for storage purposes - you could definitely pump before that to get a little break), because your milk supply is still regulating at that time. So, don't worry about freezing for awhile!

Good luck!

[sarahfran]

Amyjean,
I don't have any great wisdom to add, just one more voice to say that BFing ends up being more emotionally fulfilling than I ever would have imagined when I was pregnant. When I look back at the first few weeks of having this new little creature in our lives, I find that many of my fondest memories are linked to BFing. Dylan got this wonderful drunk-as-a-skunk look after a good feeding, and he and I both regularly fell asleep while he was nursing. I'd wake up in the rocking chair with him asleep in my arms--at those moments, it was like time was suspended and the two of us were the only ones in the world. It really was beautiful.

AND it was hard work. But that tough time quickly fades... and having a place like these boards to come for support will make it much easier. As you can see, there are lots of parents here who want to help support you through the tough times. I wish I'd found these boards sooner!

One last note: I highly recommend telling your DH that all women who are BFing need to have regular foot massages. My sweet DH massaged while I was feeding--a lovely distraction!

Enjoy welcoming your little one into your life!
-Sarah
Mom to Dylan, 8/18/03

Motherhood is such a joy!

[nitaghei]

Amyjean,

The others gave you excellent advice - and they are absolutely right. Take it from someone who's been there. I had to exclusively pump for the first 8 weeks because DS had nipple confusion - and it was hell, and definitely twice the work. I felt like I was hooked to that d*mn machine all the time, and everyone else got to have the fun of feeding my baby. I was never so miserable in my life. BF'g is much, much easier than exclusive pumping - especially in the beginning when you have to pump around the clock to establish your supply.

Nita (who is still BF'g)
mom to Neel 01/05/03
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[sntm]

ditto - feel free to come back when the baby is here -- i am indebted to these women for my continued breastfeeding and i love it! also had to exclusively pump for a while and it is some work!

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[houseof3boys]

Amyjean I just wanted to chime in on the breastfeeding bandwagon and agree with everyone else. It is hard work (for most) in the beginning and there are rough patches that you wonder how you will get over....but you do!!! It is really helpful to have some help lined up before you have the baby too. I have only been to one La Leche meeting but there were 2 pregnant girls in the meeting so that they could learn from the discussions and meet the leaders for when and if they did have questions. LC's at your hospital will be of a huge help too and don't be embarassed to see different ones since they all offer differing points of view. I saw 4 different ones before I even left the hospital and each taught me something different. These boards have been my lifeline when I wondered when it was going to get better since we had such a horrible start. I would cry at how overwhelming it was and these boards helped me when I thought no one would understand. At almost 8 months of exclusively breastfeeding, it is a wonderful gift that you can give your baby and you will look back on all of the awkwardness of the beginning (again...for most but not everyone) and it will be a distant memory.

Get some good breastfeeding books as a reference or bookmark some sites for you to refer to online. DH and I took a breastfeeding class at the hospital too and I thought it was wonderful, but that one on one help of an LC in the beginning cannot be replaced!!

www.kellymom.com is my fav site and I refer to it anytime I have a question about anything (last week, I looked up a medicine and the week before I looked up biting) even at 8 months.

Good luck to you. I highly recommend reading through the threads here so you are familiar with the common challenges.

Breastfeeding might be a breeze for you and you may be one of those gals that I am jealous of, but just in case you need it you have tons of support here. :)