expressing & storage tips anyone?

[greengables]

hi there - i'm bf my 7wk old son and have had a go at expressing/freezing mmilk (in icecube trays transfered to ziplock bags)

i am going back 2 work in 3mths time (away from baby mondays and wednesdays) and want to keep bf - does n e 1 have n e clever expressing & storage tips to help make life easier? (i have a portable electric medela pump that seems pretty good)...

how do i do this? pls n e advice appreci8ed

[draught]

I have just returned to work and am expressing for DS. I have a mini-medela and love it. I take an insulated bag with bottles and pump in it with me, then express (in the first aid room) twice a day at roughly the times he would be feeding if I were at home. I then put it in the fridge. (I have emailed my office to warn them that it wouldn't be a good idea to add it to their coffee.)

When the weather is warm I will carry a frozen ice brick in the bag with the milk for the trip home (I catch the bus). I did this when I went back to work afte DD2 and it worked fine.

I didn't have a particularly large supply built up in the freezer before starting work - I always like to have a couple of bottles in there for emergencies and that si about it.

Oh - i should add that I store my frozen milk in baby bottles - I have bought a collection of cheap ones and pump directly into them, then freeze them and then for de frosting our nanny sticks the bottle directly into a bowl of hot water when she needs it.

Goodluck with it all!

[~Emmylou~]

I'm expressing for DS now three days a week that I'm back at work.

I've been pretty lucky as where is work is very family friendly and they have a special room set up especially for breastfeeding and expressing. So I just go there at about lunch time when DS would normally have a feed, express my milk and put it in a little insulated lunch box with an ice brick.

I leave work at 3pm so I only need to keep it cool for a few hours. There is a fridge in the room but I've left the milk behind a few times so it works better to do it this way for me.

Ive got an Avent manual pump.

[shed]

when I was working I had a medela pump as well, I thought it was pretty good.

I used the Avent cups to store it in, in the freezer. I would put it in 120ml lots and put the lid on and then the daycare lady just added the teat to the top, she didn't have to change the milk over to another container.

Also, I would leave my carkeys in the bag with it in the fridge, so I didn't forget it.

[greengables]

brilliant advice ladies - love those tips - helps set my mind at ease a bit more

[greengables]

n e 1 else?? :)

[Toffee apple]

i find the breast milk bags really handy , the milk defrosts quicker & they don't take up as much room in the freezer, i get mine from the chemist (more$$$$ in the long run though) & i have noticed different brands on ebay , maybe that is the way to go.