Breast milk what do I do with it!!!

[nickilubs]

Planning on breast feeding but because I'm a florist I have said I will go back to work in time for Christmas so I don't leave my boss in poo! So I will get around 3months off and then be back and my OH will be staying at home and looking after the Pip.

I will then need to express milk so he can feed her through the day when Im at work but what the fook do I do with the stuff! Do I put it in the fridge or the freezer? Does it need warming up in the microwave?

 

[LisaJ1986]

You can put it in the fridge for 72 hours, or you can freeze it for 3 months. I put mine in those milk bags. It says not to heat it in the microwave so i do the boiling hot water and putting the bottle in it til it heats up.

 

[kalia]

What she said

You'll need a fridge to store it in at work as unless you live near enough to nip home and express at lunch time you will have to express throughout the day and store it somewhere. If you don't express throughout the day (and by that I mean if you are going to work, say from 9-5 plus travelling time so you wouldn't be expressing between 8am and 6 pm) your breasts will feel like they need to explode and then you will start to produce less milk. It can happen alarmingly quickly - not expressing as much for a weekend meant spending quite a few days trying to build back up my supply! It's taken a week to get back to what it was.

 

[LisaJ1986]

If i remember correctly, if you need to express during work time, your work need to provide you with a private room to express. They cannot deny you of that!

 

[Sherlock]

You can freeze it in a sterile ice cube tray also. Wrap in a plastic bag for storage then to keep cubes clean in the freezer. Just make sure you know how much volume each cube is so you can take out the right amount for each feed.

Don't thaw or reheat in the microwave. Defrost in the fridge or at room temp. If you freeze the same day you express, take a few lots out at the same time to defrost to use that day.

And ditto what others have said about expressing during the day. Then keeping it chilled take it home and freeze.

Or express each day at work etc then use it the next day. Just put a few back up lots in the freezer just in case of growth spurt or hungry day etc.

 

[flowergirl]

Search out your local breast feeding network support group. They will show you how to hand express or will advise you on the best electronic pump to buy or rent. THey will also give you advice on storing breast milk- it can be kept in a fridge that is constantly under 4 degrees C for up to 8 days or it can be frozen for up to 6 months. It is really important that you express at regular intervals to keep your supply up though- I had 1 day away from my LO and the next few days there was a real dip in my supply. I went from feeding her off just 1 boob each feed to her needing to drain both for a few days. Back to normal now though. It's hard work expressing if you do not have an abundant suypply so the more advice and support you get, the better. Good luck hun, and good on you for being so forward thinking!