Freezing and storing Breastmilk?

[treightonsmum]

I am just wondering if any one out there knows how long you can store frozen Breastmilk???

I am going to leave my little man for the first time on Sunday to go out for approx 6 hours...Im a little apprehensive about it all. I have only left him for short times up until now. I dont even know how much milk I should leave for my friend to give to him as I have always demand fed him. I have no idea how much he gets and I have only bottle fed him about 5 times since birth.

I have 4 bags of frozen milk in the freezer- 2x60ml, 95ml, and a 50ml. One is from late April and the others are from May, June and tonight. I dont know how long the milk is good for.

Also when is the best time to express, before or after a feed??? Just in case this milk I have is too old and I need to express more.

He will have formula if need be but I prefer he had my milk. So ladies any info would be much appreciated...lol.......Kathy.

[veve]

ok .. a few answers (there is always the aust breastfeeding association website..) I think it is one month in a normal freezer (as in a fridge freezer) and 3 months in a DEEP freezer... hopefully someone else can either agree with me .. or prove me wrong :)

I have heard that it is better to express after the feed./?? as the early milk is more 'snack' like/? thirst quenching.. while the other milk is better for satisfying hunger..

oh .. and after freezing.. the milk may be a slightly different colour.. and even smell slightly different.. but it is still ok as long as you follow the general guidelines..

I didn't look at how old your little guy is.. but by 3 months .. my son was drinking 250- 250mls at a sitting... (before that it was 150ml- pretty much from birth) - oooh and make sure he CAN drink from a bottle .. before leaving him with someone else... lol .. (sorry .. that may sound stupid.. but I just wanted to check!!!!)

xxx

[mamachops]

Try this link to the ABA. There's a great table at the bottom of the page.

http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/express.html

For amounts try this formula
If 0-3 months amount should be 150ml x weight in kg then divide by number of feeds you normally give a day
If 3-6 months amount should be 120ml x weight kg divided by number of feeds.

Hope this helps:D

[treightonsmum]

Thanks a million ladies!:D You would think I would know all this the third time around! Been a few years(7) and a many sleepless night since my last little one.

He is 6 months old, does take a bottle well and loooves his food weighing in at
9kg. I think hes a bit of a mummas boy though so it will be interesting to see how he fares without me or will it be me without him?:o

Ok thanks again for the spot on info....:hugs: .............Kathy.

[meme]

i'm sure it says on the ABA site, but i think that it's 3mths in the freezer and 6-12mths in the deep freeze.:)

also in the booklet i have for expressing milk it mentions that breastfed bubba's mik intake is fairly constant over the first 6mths and that formulas using weight to work out mls may not be accurate. - i have never done it though.:confused:

instead it mentions that on average babies drink 8oomls over 24hrs, some more some less (it's an average:thumbsup: ) and to divide this by how many feeds your baby has over twenty four hours, it also mentions that some feeds may be longer feeds and some more like snacks, so it can help to have small amounts stored, and then you can always give more if needed, rather than waste any that bubs doesn't want.

i hope you enjoy your time out.:thumbsup:

[maartysmum]

I just fed my son EBM which had been frozen for 3 months and he gobbled it up. It does smell different - make sure you only keep it for 24 hours after it has defrosted though.

Best time to express is the morning before you give the first feed, this way you will express off all the fore milk and your son will drink the hind milk - therefore filling up quicker and taking in less. Be careful not to express too much though - you can usually get away with expressing a full side.

My 6 month old (also 9kg and a huge food lover) takes about 220ml of EBM at night but I am sure that during the day he takes much less when I am breastfeeding - it only takes him about 5 minutes to have his full feed!!

Goodluck and enjoy your time out.