Breast Milk Storage/Freezer Space Rental?
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PrinceHumperdinck
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Long time listener. First time DCUM poster.
I was tasked with finding a solution for storing breast milk and I've put-off the task until the last minute. We live in the typical DC condo and have maxed out our kitchen freezer. Renting a freezer is not an option as we have no place to put it. The rugrat is 7-weeks old so we have a lot of pumping/storing ahead of us. Have any of you discovered freezer rental space or similar/better solutions for storing breast milk? |
Anonymous
| What storage methods are you currently using? Bags or bottles? |
Anonymous
| Damn, how much do you need? Those bags take little room. |
Anonymous
| Bags. Filled/dated and then frozen while flat. This seems to be the most space-efficient method. Yeah? |
Anonymous
| No one in your home will like this answer...but you’ll either need to use what space you have in current freezer and rotate the stash, or buy a separate apartment sized upright freezer. They come in mini fridge sizes. |
Anonymous
| Buy a mini freezer. |
Anonymous
| You don’t want to keep loads of breast milk around for months on end. Try using a rack or bin in your freezer to hold frozen flat bags. You can stand them up like books. If it’s critical for you to freeze as much as possible eliminate frozen foods and ice in current set up. |
PrinceHumperdinck
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How much we need is over my pay-grade. More apparantly?
Worst case, we have way too much and end up donating it. Renting/buying a freezer seems to be the only real option I've been able to find ... I'm hoping one of you can prove me wrong though. |
Anonymous
| We had one of those mini dorm sized freezers and kept it in our bedroom. The6 are ~$50. |
Anonymous
| I'm someone who had to donate her entire freezer stash when she went back to work, discovered the reheated milk had high lipase, and the baby wouldn't drink it. I now have only enough pumped for a couple days ahead. Do you really NEED more? If so, make sure the baby will drink it. |
Anonymous
PS donation required a phone screening, paper application, medical records, and bloodwork. Frankly, during a pandemic it was a lot. Just FYI. |
Anonymous
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There are also a lot of variables. I started back to work with more than 200 ounces in the fridge (between 40 and 50 bags). But between finding time to pump, illness, and many other things, I used it. Then I was able to build back up again. Then I presented at a week long conference and DH used all that was frozen. So at times we were overflowing and at other times we were scraping by.
So, how much you need to store might change over time. If the mom is going back to work (assuming people go back to offices) and baby goes to daycare, she may find it a pain, she may miss sessions, and her supply may drop. So you will start to slowly use what you have stored - one bottle a day or something - and not need extra room. You may also be using / replacing meaning she uses frozen and puts her "new" milk in the freezer (since you don't want it to be too old when you use frozen) and so you are at net zero for needing space. If she is home and this is just so she can sleep longer while you feed, go out with friends for a few hours (if that is ever a thing again), or have some just in case, I think you don't need to buy extra storage. Just rotate through what you have and replace with pumped milk. But, if she wants to make sure she can go 4 months into feeding without having to pump any more, then you should buy another mini freezer. having 300 ounces or 400 ounces sounds like a ton but is only like two weeks of milk if you stopped pumping completely. |
Anonymous
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Even if it existed, I would not want to rent storage space. Having to go get it from somewhere, worrying if the door was left open or someone was putting something else in the fridge. And if you mean rent a freezer short term, you are better off buying one and then selling it later. You will for sure end up using it and rates will be better over the course of many months.
As baby gets older, you will start to store in large sizes - so instead of two 3 ounce bags, you will store one 6 ounce bag. That saves some room - but not much. |
Anonymous
I'm not following. Why do you feel the need to pump so much extra milk? Are you unable to nurse on demand? Are you going on medication soon? Keep in mind, your baby will become a more efficient eater so he or she will be getting enough out of the nursing session and will start to go longer between feedings. In addition, you can start introducing light solids as early as 4 months so even though solids don't replace nursing it is helpful to have a bit of a filler. Having said that, I think buying or renting a freezer is waste of time and money. |
Anonymous
It’s the partner not nursing parent that’s posting. |