[Doodlebug06]

Ok.
I'm strictly pumping. Dd has not nursed.
She is 1 week old.

I can get more than 5 oz per side each pump.
I just keep producing so much.
I tried to just stop at 2.5 oz per side so my production would slack off but all that has done is made my breasts hard , hot, heavy, and painful and leaky.
I just pumped again and needed relief so I pumped 5 oz per side and could have seriously kept going!
I still had a strong flow on each side when the bottles got too full.
What should I do? I'm miserable.

Which brings me to freezing.
I see a lot of ppl saying they freeze only enough for a Boyle per bag?
Like if they expect baby to take 3 oz bottles, they freeze 3 oz per bag?
I've been freezing 10 to 13 oz per bag since I know she will use all of it in 24 hours once it's thawed.
I'm figuring 13 ounces in a bag is enough for a few small bottles or two large bottles.
Why do ppl freeze the amount per bottle?
What's the pro And cons of freezing the amount per bottle vs the amount the bag will hold?
I thought id maximize my dollar use on the bags by freezing more per bag?

[katiep726]

I cannot pump that much and since I'm still BFing DS all say it can take me a whole day or 2 to get enough to freeze. So that is one reason I freeze small amounts. Also I may only need one bottle if we're heading Out somewhere. Also when I return to work I plan to use mostly fresh and save my freezer stash for if whoever is watching DS needs one more.

If I was exclusively pumping I'd definitely put as much as I could in one bag cause i know I'd use it. Although I have heard that the fuller they are they can leak easier when thawing. So just to be safe I would put the bags in a ziplock to make sure you don't lose any milk!

[Doodlebug06]

Originally Posted by katiep726

I cannot pump that much and since I'm still BFing DS all say it can take me a whole day or 2 to get enough to freeze. So that is one reason I freeze small amounts. Also I may only need one bottle if we're heading Out somewhere. Also when I return to work I plan to use mostly fresh and save my freezer stash for if whoever is watching DS needs one more.

If I was exclusively pumping I'd definitely put as much as I could in one bag cause i know I'd use it. Although I have heard that the fuller they are they can leak easier when thawing. So just to be safe I would put the bags in a ziplock to make sure you don't lose any milk!

Oh. So I had been putting about 13 oz in a bag since it fits. Maybe I can scale back to 10 and that's an even number too. So I can count stock easier.

I'm a stay at home mom and I have no idea what I'll do with all this extra milk!
I produce enough to freeze at least 20 to 30 ounces a day and still give her fresh milk.
I bought a small chest deep freezer yesterday for breast milk since I heard it last longer in the deep freeze and in a freezer that's not used like daily regular usage.

[Rae-of-Sunshine]

I think you are on the right track with freezing more if you know you are going to be thawing out enough for a days worth at a time. I tried to store it in bottle amounts just because it was easier to thaw out enough for a bottle if I had to supplement what I had pumped the day before (but I wans't pumping near what you are).

Definitely slowly back off the pumping to reduce the supply, but if she is only a week old it may take a long time. I know at the beginning I could never have gone all night like I do know without waking up with a soaked bed and painful hard lumpy breasts.

Also, if you have a great oversupply and a lot in the freezer, consider donating it. I can't think of the websites off the top of my head, but I know there are some out there where you can donate bm. Also, if you end up with a lot in the freezer, you can stop pumping towards the end (however long you plan to pump) and still feed bm for a while longer without the hassle of pumping every day. I know people who have stopped pumping at 11 months and still were able to use frozen bm through a year and then some.

[Doodlebug06]

Originally Posted by Rae-of-Sunshine

I think you are on the right track with freezing more if you know you are going to be thawing out enough for a days worth at a time. I tried to store it in bottle amounts just because it was easier to thaw out enough for a bottle if I had to supplement what I had pumped the day before (but I wans't pumping near what you are).

Definitely slowly back off the pumping to reduce the supply, but if she is only a week old it may take a long time. I know at the beginning I could never have gone all night like I do know without waking up with a soaked bed and painful hard lumpy breasts.

Also, if you have a great oversupply and a lot in the freezer, consider donating it. I can't think of the websites off the top of my head, but I know there are some out there where you can donate bm. Also, if you end up with a lot in the freezer, you can stop pumping towards the end (however long you plan to pump) and still feed bm for a while longer without the hassle of pumping every day. I know people who have stopped pumping at 11 months and still were able to use frozen bm through a year and then some.

I talked to the LC today and she was amazed at the volume I'm pumping.
She said its better to almost completely drain each breast so they are soft each time because if the milk gets backed up it can cause issues for me.
She also said since I'm using a deep freeze that the frozen should last up to 12 months.
I've definitely considered donating some of it. I've talked to my sil today about that. I'll have to find out how but I'm sure I'll have plenty.
I found out my insurance will cover the cost of a Medela symphony (hospital grade pump)
Which will help me pump quicker and more efficiently.
I've started my order on it.
I'm glad to know its ok to completely empty my breasts though. I'm hoping this alleviates some of my discomfort!
Oh p.s. I've got about 110 oz in the freezer as of today.

[TexasDreams]

Mothers milk bank will take donations. Google it and give them a call.

I was making milk like you and it finally slowed down around 2 months. Now i have enough to feed and enough to freeze.

[w292737]

You can also find human milk for human babies on facebook and coordinate with someone on there that might need the milk.


I did 3-5 ounce bags (as she got older) but she only did bottles at daycare, so doing a big bag was just a waste of milk for me

[eiramillek]

If your LO will use the milk you thaw in a day, then freeze it in larger quantities. I freeze it in bottle amounts because I don't thaw that much in one day. If I'm thawing milk, it's for 1-2 bottles at a time and I want to make sure none of the milk is wasted.

There is nothing wrong with producing that much! Since you are EPing, chances are your supply will go down somewhere around the 12 week mark when your supply adjusts to what baby needs so you will be very happy to have a nice freezer stash. I always have a lot of trouble during my period week too so I count on my back up freezer stash to get us through the week for daycare bottles if I can't pump enough.

Eats on Feets is another site on Facebook you can donate milk through

[Lsnmommy2011]

I am EBF as well. I pump between feedings and only get between 1-2 oz per session. So I only have small amounts at a time to freeze.