Freezing Breastmilk - Tempe,AZ

I did combinations of 2 oz and 4 oz for freezing. I usually used the 4 oz - 4 oz was the most either of my kids ever took in a bottle. And I used the 2 oz ones later to top off fresh bottles when I wasn't pumping as much in the later months. Daycare also kept a few 2 oz ones in their freezer in case the baby had a hungier-than-usual day.

Oh, and you didn't ask this, but this is the best freezing advice I got: use the plastic bags, put the milk in, label, and freeze flat. Then get a plastic shoebox and put in the freezer. You can put all the flat milk bags in like cards in date order - always just put new ones at the back. Then it's easy to find the oldest ones to use first - just use from the front. I started pumping once per day right from the beginning with my second, in addition to exclusively nursing, and it was a Godsend when I had been back at work for 8+ months, it was getting harder to pump enough, and I had a great freezer stash to go back to.

I'm a childcare provider and a lot of my Mom's breastfeed at least for a while. I would suggest not more than 4 oz in a package. Also, don't forget to leave just a little air in the package to allow for expansion of the liquid when it freezes. I can't tell you how many times I've set out a package to thaw and come back to breast milk all over the counter!!

M

My 3.5 month old takes 7-8 oz in a feeding, so I'd say do 4 oz then double up if necessary. Or, do a variety so you can mix and match as necessary.

I never put more than four together, and sometimes I would do only two or three ounces. Once you defrost the milk, you have to use it right away, so it's not good to freeze too much together. You can always defrost a second, smaller bag if you need more.

Two ounces can also be nice to use when your baby starts solids, if you want to mix it with oatmeal or rice cereal.

What I did was keep a cooler (made for bottles, but any small cooler will do) by my desk. I kept it with me so as to not forget it at the end of the day. I was told NOT to freeze anytime I was going to use the milk within the next 5 days. Just keep it in the fridge. My DD never took more than 5.5 oz per feeding, even at 6mo. Remember that your milk gets fattier as baby grows. If you do freeze, freeze in meal-sized portions and remember to label them before you freeze. Deceptive when frozen! I found that out the hard way. :( I did keep one frozen meal at daycare for emergencies. I generally used the bottles when I did not freeze. I had a combination of small bottles and rotated about 10 of them. 4-5 for pumping and the rest for storage/daycare.