Pumped breast milk

Posted: Wed, Oct 28 2009, 11:59 pm Post subject: pumped breast milk

What do you freeze your pumped milk in? I used to have playtex bags that came on a roll, but I can't seem to find them anymore - I'll look in a few more stores. I've just seen the madella ones, but they're very expensive.
Also how much expressed milk is a meal for a newborn (she's not yet a week) and when do they start taking more in a feeding - so I know what amounts to freeze.

Silver Member Joined: May 05 2008 Posts: 725

I freeze in small ziploc bags. the really small ones, like smaller than sandwich. and I freeze 4 oz in each bag usually. I have a few which are only 2 oz in case the 4 oz was not enough and another 4 oz will be too much.
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Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 3:30 am Post subject: re: pumped breast milk

I have lansinoh storage bags but they are really expensive in Israel, my parents brought them from the US. Aside from ziploc bags, I've seen people use sandwich bags with twist ties or rubberbands to close them.

Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 3:40 am Post subject: re: pumped breast milk

The bags I saw were 80 shekels for 20 bags, that's 4 shekels for a bag!!!!

Gold Member Joined: Sep 22 2009 Posts: 1745

I use lansinoh bags I got from the u.s my friend uses little plastic cups with covers, maybe I'll use that when I run out.

Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 4:09 am Post subject:

You shouldn't be freezing in anything not sterile for any baby who you/ your doctor thinks should be having their bottles sterilized.

I think there is another make other than Playtex of disposable bottles.
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Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 4:22 am Post subject:

I also use the Playtex inserts. They're all over the place; I'm sure I've seen them in SuperPharm. And the first box I had was from either Baby Michel or Bazaar Strauss...don't remember. I know they're trying to move everyone to the Drop-Ins, which are not good for freezing, but they should still have them. A friend of mine just used the sandwich baggies, and used them doubled up. Her LC said that this was OK, and she had preemies.
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Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:53 am Post subject: re: pumped breast milk

Not sure if they sell it in Israel/how expensive if available, but I used the plastic bags from Avant. It's sturdier/thicker than a ziplock bag, and comes with a wire ties on the top where you roll up.

Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 7:28 am Post subject:

I used the Avent bags exactly once. They are very expensive (especially compared to the Playtex), and the wire ties didn't stay closed and also trapped in a LOT of air.

Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 7:59 am Post subject: re: pumped breast milk

Is it OK to freeze in the 4-oz. bottles themselves? I got back my stash of baby stuff I lent to my SIL and don't know if she included the storage bags, but I have more bottles (including regular lids) than I know what to do with...
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Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 8:24 am Post subject:

Yes, if they're Avent bottles you can freeze directly in them. At least, that's what they advertise and I've done it successfully. (I move on to the bags when I only have 2 bottles left; I don't have a huge stash.)

Posted: Thu, Oct 29 2009, 9:46 am Post subject: re: pumped breast milk

I've frozen in 'craft bags' bought at Walmart. They are small (mini, tall but not that wide) ziplock bags. I double wrap each one to be on safe side, mark how many ounces are in the bag, and freeze. Place frozen bag directly into hot water cup to warm up. Has worked for me as well as friends.

This time round the hospital gave me a TON of small plastic bottles (hold a max of 2.5 oz) made by Madella and have a screw cover. I freeze/or save in fridge 2 oz. at a time. (I pump, and get about 2 ounces each time I pump....)

My baby is now 12 weeks old and eats 4 oz a feeding.

Moderator Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 18318

Just a note that my mother in law is a hospital based LC and says ziplocs are just fine (if they weren't sterile, you should never freeze meat, etc in them!) -- double bag them to be on the safe side, especially if they're cheaper, but they're just as fine as the ones marketed exclusively for this.
Freeze in small amounts, like 2 ounces, so you're less likely to waste.
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Gold Member Joined: May 09 2007 Posts: 1360

You can definitely freeze in bottles. I bought a set of 12 small Medelas (hold c. 2.7 ounces) that I used a lot when DS2 was much littler; I ended up with a whole bunch of the 5 ounce bottles as well and froze many of those. That was mostly day-to-day, though, like if baby didn't finish on Tuesday what I pumped on Monday, I'd freeze one of the Tuesday bottles because there would be enough for Wednesday without it. Or Friday's milk I'd sometimes freeze for the next week, esp. if htere was a holiday. When I was just building up a stash to have for emergencies or backup, such as wehn baby starts nursing more but your pumping hasn't caught up, I did that in bags.