Pumping and Returing to Work

I would only freeze in 2 oz. portions. The best way to determine how much he eats per feed and how much milk you need to leave him is take his weight and multiply it by 2.5. Then divide that by how many times he eats in 24 hours. For example: 12 lbs. * 2.5 = 30/10 feeds per 24 hours = 3 oz per feed. Give or take. Try that and see how he does, then adjust based on how much he eats. But 2 oz. portions are great because if he needs a little more and doesnt finish it, the waste is minimal. Good luck and congrats!

~Tara Breastfeeding Counselor Buffalo NY

Hi D.!
Your body has a funny way of only supplying you with what your baby needs in a feeding. It is possible that the baby may be taking a bit more, but you are right with your intuituion to freeze in 2 oz increments. This will prevent waste, prevent overfeeding the baby (baby's drink more than they need with a regular bottle-second nature makes bottles that are self controlled. it works like your breast, so your baby will have to actually manipulate it to get the milk. I would reccommend these when others are feeding, so they don't give the baby too much). Baby's only need a certain amount of milk in a 24 hour period. What often happens when mom goes back to work, is reverse cycling. Baby will actually nurse more frequently when you are home to make up for the time you are at work. To keep up your supply, feed on demand at night (co-sleeping will make that a whole lot easier). If you feed on demand at night, you can get away with only pumping 2 times at work, and still have enough milk for your baby.
The Birth Boutique in Denville carries second nature bottles. There is a wealth of information there! I don't know if you are in NJ-but it is worth the trip! The owner is a Nurse Midwife and Lactation consultant. She has a "Pumping and Returning to Work" Class that you will benefit from a great deal!! Check out www.birthboutique.com for a class schedule.

Congratulations on your baby! When I was still home with my son, I was only pumping about 2 oz at a time, too. I had hardly anything in the freezer, and I figured we would be supplementing with formula within a week. I could not believe how much I was able to pump while I was at work! I would get 5 or 6 oz from each side! I am fortunate enough to work for very understanding and flexible bosses. They allowed me to leave my desk twice a day to pump. Since Christmas I have been pumping once at work, and once at night after the baby is sleeping. He is now 9 mos old and I still haven't had to buy any formula!! (I get very excited about saving money!) He has 3 solid meals a day now, but I'm still breastfeeding when I'm home with him, and I'm still pumping enough for him to have while I'm at work. It takes a little extra effort, but it's worth it. Right now it is probably a good idea to freeze the milk in small amounts. I tend to freak out if we have to dump a bottle of breast milk out. (thawed milk lasts only 24 hours). I also keep extra frozen bags of milk in my parents freezer in case I don't give him enough bottles one day. It's normal for the milk to separate and look weird (human milk isn't homogenized, so the fat from the milk separates and floats to the top... I think that is what I read). Just make sure that you label the frozen milk and rotate the stock. I don't let it sit in the freezer for more than 3 or 4 months. I hope that you have found this to be helpful. Best of luck to you when you return to work - don't feel bad if you cry the whole way to work - I think that most of us working moms have done that!

I pump and freeze milk too for my baby, and I have to say that the bags (I've used the ones from Lansinoh and Medela) work great and I would expect must be easier to use that the bottles. Plus you can throw out the bags when you are done. My baby is almost 7 months old and she drinks about 6 oz at a meal. She does NOT get this much from me when she nurses. At 5 weeks she was probably drinking 3 or 4 oz. Freezing 2 oz at a time is good, but they will soon have to use multiple bags. When they are mixing the milk with cereal, that is probably the right amount.

I think Tara's reply (breastfeeding counselor in Buffalo) is an excellent suggestion. It's a great way to get started. Have your parents write down how much he ate and when. You'll see see how much he needs. When he starts to slug it down, you might want to add an ounce and see. As for another poster's reply to demand feed him at night to play catch up...well, if you have the stamina, by all means. Not me. :) After a full day of work and commuting, I needed my sleep and I wanted my daughter to sleep at night too, not eat at night. I would second what another post said about introducing a bottle. I think it's a good idea. It will help him get used to it before you back to work, and you can gauge how much he is taking in.

Well, you know I had a similar situation a few months ago, but you may not even have to freeze it since your baby will drink it the next day. Can you just pump the night before, and at work, then carry it in a cooler made for breastmilk and then store it for the next day. Thats what I did and I was able to breastfeed my son until he was 1 year old. Good luck!

Gerber makes these great zip-lock bags that are specifically for freezing milk. I would continue to freeze milk in 2 oz lots so you can unfreeze only what you need. But make sure that you label and date everything you freeze.

I hate to be the downer, but I pumped lots of milk when my 1 month old had to have surgery. I froze it in the gerber freezer bags and when i thawed them, the milk was sour!! I was very upset! I don't know what went wrong, but the milk was horrible. It separated sort of curd-like and smelled terrible. I ended up having to throw it all out! So my suggestion would be to unfreeze a bottle after a week (before you're back to work) and make sure the milk is fine. My sister froze in bottles and she said that she had never encountered what i did. Hopefully all will be well for you.

You might try to go to a breastfeeding support group before you head back to work, I know of some in Manhattan if you want to email me. They will weigh the baby pre and post feeding which will help you understand how much he eats. You can also talk to the lactation consultant (who runs the group) about any pumping/feeding concerns.
Don't know if you are already doing this, but start trying a bottle with your son now so he takes it when you go back. We did one a day at the same time and try to do it before the baby is really hungry (just ahead of the feeding).
Good luck with the return to work.