Frozen EBM questions--a bit long, sorry!!

[aliceinwonderland]

Can someone give me the authoritative amount of time one can SAFELY keep EBM frozen in a regular, refrigerator freezer?? I've heard 3 months, 6 months, and even less than 3 months. Any experinced moms who do this out there??

I'll be at home till the bean is 4 months old, during which time I plan to build my stash. Will continue pumping/breastfeeding after that, but I want my insurance policy in the freezer, LOL.

Also, how often does a 4-month old nurse?? Even after school starts I can nurse morning, evening, and possibly afternoon depending how the class schedule works out. I wonder how much pumping is in my future...

Lastly, do you reccomend investing in one of those freezer things(forget the name) that would exclusively be for EBM?? What's a good one...

Thanks so much!!

eri and the bean due next month :)

[mharling]

Here is a site that talks about handling and storage of breastmilk:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBJulAug98p109.html

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[stillplayswithbarbies]

it really depends on how well your freezer works, how often you open the door, how you handled the milk before it was frozn, etc. That is why you hear a range of times.

You should rotate your milk, using the oldest first and adding the new to the back. You won't want to start pumping for 6 weeks or so anyway, so by the time you go back the milk will still be good.

You might not need to pump with your schedule, especially if you already have a lot in the freezer. At 4 months is when Logan started at the babysitters 3 days a week, and from 7:30 AM until 6:30 PM, she was drinking 22oz of EBM split up into 4 feedings.

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

[hez]

You've already got the answers on the freezer stash aging question.

Totally understand on wanting a freezer stash. I bet I relax more when pumping because I know I don't HAVE to get a certain amount each day-- so I end up getting as much as he takes at the sitter's, if not more and life is good.

When I went back to work, DS was nursing 7-8 times a day. We've always nursed on demand, so I haven't been worring about the exact number too much as of late but I'll admit to writing it all down the first couple months. He did do a slight bit of reverse-cycling when he started at the sitter's, but we co-sleep, so it doesn't bother me that he still wakes up a couple times at night.

I didn't know how long we'd keep this up, so I didn't invest in any systems for freezer storage. At this point I'm in a routine :) I bring the EBM home in the bottles that go with my pump, transfer it to the ones he'll take the next day, then put any remainder in the Gerber bags & freeze. If I'd get off my lazy duff I'd find the adapters so I could pump straight into the bottles he takes at the sitter's, but it's not a big deal really. I do rotate at least one "frozen" bottle into the mix per day now since my stash was starting to age and logic finally caught up with me.

ETA: OT, but I thought about you Wednesday when I found out a friend is running the Boston Marathon!