Help. I go back to work Monday--have storage questions

[infocrazy]

Questions regarding breastmilk storage. I am trying to use as much fresh milk for my DS as I can but have some questions:

1. How long is refrigerated fresh breastmilk good for? I have heard anywhere from 24 hours to 8 days. (I have been doing 5 and checking the smell).

2. If I don't use it for a few days, is it safe to freeze it then or does it need to be frozen the day of pumping?

3. In looking around for answers, I read you should chill breastmilk before freezing. I have just been pumping into bags and putting in the freezer, is that okay?

4. Can you mix refrigerated breastmilk from different days?

5. I have a 12 week old, I have been freezing 3 oz bags, is that too little? I am going to work through this with the daycare but...just curious.

6. How many bottles of how many ounces do you usually send to daycare? They will only reuse a bottle up to 50 minutes after they start using it so I want to make sure we can use as much of the milk as possible.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Jen

[juliasmom05]

I've tried to answer some of your questions but here is a good link for how to store breastmilk
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html



>1. How long is refrigerated fresh breastmilk good for? I
>have heard anywhere from 24 hours to 8 days. (I have been
>doing 5 and checking the smell).


Although I have never had breastmilk in the fridge for 8 days since I pump just enough for the next at daycare, based upon what I have read it is good up to 8 days. Smelling it is probably a good idea if you are concerned.

>2. If I don't use it for a few days, is it safe to freeze it
>then or does it need to be frozen the day of pumping?


I've always frozen it the day I pump it, but I think I have read that you don't have to. Hopefully someone else can answer this question for you.

>3. In looking around for answers, I read you should chill
>breastmilk before freezing. I have just been pumping into
>bags and putting in the freezer, is that okay?

Although I have read the same thing, I don't chill it before freezing and it has been fine.


>4. Can you mix refrigerated breastmilk from different days?

Yes, I do this all the time.


>5. I have a 12 week old, I have been freezing 3 oz bags, is
>that too little? I am going to work through this with the
>daycare but...just curious.

I don't think you can ever freeze too small amount, because you can always mix bags of frozen milk for a single bottle. DD usually takes between 4-6 oz at a time, but this varies. I try to pump enough for the next day, so she usually is taking fresh milk. But somedays I don't quite get enough, so that is when I will supplement with frozen. So I usually freeze the milk in 2 oz bags and that way I can either combine bags for a bottle or supplement fresh with a small amount of frozen. Because DD takes 4-6 oz, this way, it takes 2 or 3 bags to make a bottle, and I don't have an odd amount left over. I even freeze some in 1 oz. bags because alot of times that is all I need to supplement a bottle. I would rather store more bags in smaller amounts than freeze less bags in larger bags. You will get a feel for this once DS starts daycare.


6. How many bottles of how many ounces do you usually send to
>daycare? They will only reuse a bottle up to 50 minutes after
>they start using it so I want to make sure we can use as much
>of the milk as possible.

This has varied for us. DD is 6 months old now, so right now she almost always will drink at least 4 oz and sometimes she will drink 6 oz at a feeding. She will usually drink 3-4 bottles a day. I don't send 6 oz in a bottle because I don't want them to waste it. So usually I will send 4, 4 oz. bottles and a couple of bags of 2 oz. frozen milk. That way, if she is still hungry after her 4 oz. bottle they can thaw another 2 oz. Because I usually bring freshly pumped milk, if she doesn't drink one of the bottles, they can use it the next day. If I have to supplement with frozen, I make sure that they use that bottle first. Otherwise, that bottle would only be good for 24 h since it has thawed milk in it. Our daycare is pretty lenient about how we can bring milk. They will thaw milk for us and put it in bottles. This helps us prevent waste.

How much is DS taking in a bottle now at one feeding? I would use this amount to start out with and see how it goes.

HTH



Marci

Mom to Julia 4/05

[loewymartin]

1. How long is refrigerated fresh breastmilk good for? I have heard anywhere from 24 hours to 8 days. (I have been doing 5 and checking the smell).

I keep it in the fridge for 4 days, and if not used I freeze it.

2. If I don't use it for a few days, is it safe to freeze it then or does it need to be frozen the day of pumping?

Yes, as I mentioned above I'll freeze milk after 4 days if it hasn't been used (but that was only an issue once when our nanny had vacation for a few days and I was nursing instead of giving Kira pumped milk).

3. In looking around for answers, I read you should chill breastmilk before freezing. I have just been pumping into bags and putting in the freezer, is that okay?

I tend to chill it just because I'm pumping at work and bringing it home.

4. Can you mix refrigerated breastmilk from different days?

Yes! It would count as the "oldest" date then. I store in the fridge in the 4 ounce MilkMate system. And one day I may get an extra 2 ounces in a pumping session. The next day I'll add 2 more ounces to that bottle (once it has cooled) and consider it the date from the day before.

5. I have a 12 week old, I have been freezing 3 oz bags, is that too little? I am going to work through this with the daycare but...just curious.

I think 3 ounce bags are perfect. If you plan on giving fresh milk for the most part then the freezer stash is "extra". You want the extra to be in small enough batches that you can pull one out and supplement the fresh. Too big of a bag won't allow you to do that and you may waste it.

6. How many bottles of how many ounces do you usually send to daycare? They will only reuse a bottle up to 50 minutes after they start using it so I want to make sure we can use as much of the milk as possible.

I have a nanny, but DD is 11 weeks and drinks about 15 ounces from 8:30am until 5pm. I tend to pump 16-18 ounces at work, so I'm able to keep up with her demand (whew!) and can sometimes freeze some extra. Especially if the daycare will only use a bottle 50 minutes after the start of a feeding I'd use smaller stashes and smaller bottles so you don't end up with waste. It's hard enough to pump and nurse without having some of that effort thrown away! I guess I'd do 3 or 4 ounce bottles and just send more of them.

And, take it easy Monday. It will be a hard day, but you'll get through it. Good luck!

Michelle
Mom to Alia born 5/16/02 and Kira born 7/30/05