I am a stay at home mom and struggled with low breastmilk supply in the early months. Now I am doing well, but continue to pump once or twice at night when my son sleeps for a long stretch. Thus, I now have a lot of frozen breastmilk. I don't leave him long enough to miss many feedings and I hate the idea of throwing it away. Any ideas?
2006-11-29 17:24:52 · 14 answers · asked by C.D.N. 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
I would keep it around. It's good for when baby is teething, you can give him a cube of breastmilk in one of those feeder things to teeth on. Or mix it with pureed food when he starts solids. It's also good for diaper rash, cuts and scrapes, etc. so having some around is a good thing.
I would consider asking a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader about continuing to pump. I know that the more you pump the more you produce. Maybe try not pumping as much and letting your evening supply go down? Just a thought, it seems like you should probably have a regular production cycle by now.
2006-11-29 20:28:12 · answer #1 · answered by Ellie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From what I understand you can keep breastmilk frozen up to 6 months in a seperate deep freezer or 3-4 months in a freezer compartment with a seperate door. I got this information of the Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags. I'm breast feeding and I was hoping to build up a stupply of extra breastmilk so I could stop breastfeeding to get pregnate again and still feed my first breastmilk with the extra supply I built up in my freezer. If later you want a night out you can always leave frozen milk with the sitter.
You can also donate breastmilk to the milkbank. One site below. Good luck with whatever you do.
http://www.dietitian.com/milkbank.html
2006-11-30 00:50:08 · answer #2 · answered by Jennifer mother of one 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your supply and storage is ample, then why are you still pumping so often?
Breastmilk can be stored in the deep freeze for 6+ months, so your supply can be kept for some time.
You may or may not find a use for it, but knowing it is there in the case of need should put you at ease.
How long do you plan to breastfeed?
You may be able to stop pumping and wean, at some point, and still provide breastmilk from your supply.
You could consider to stop pumping all together at this point and just let your son nurse at demand, then your breast supply will produce at the rate your son is feeding.
2006-11-29 17:37:31 · answer #3 · answered by myristicablkbrn 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is not recommended to share breastmilk because of the different "germs" that are in your system and your babies that others might not have. You can freeze your breastmilk for quite awhile so you might as well hang on to it just in case you do need it for something at some point. If you do a little searching you will find groups that share/sell breastmilk but there are always doctor advisories against it.
2006-11-29 17:30:33 · answer #4 · answered by amy1419 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, in order to donate to a breastmilk bank you need to have screenings done before the milk is expressed, so that's out for the milk you have on hand. Another idea is to find a mother who is adopting or who has low supply that would like the milk. I found a baby who needed breastmilk through my midwife, but other places to look would be natural family living websites and adoption websites. Another option is to save it for after your child is older and give it in a cup (it's good for up to a year in a deep freezer).
I had a huge stash in the freezer and I am not allowed to donate to a milk bank (I lived overseas growing up and they wont' allow me to donate for that reason). I donated about half of it to a baby whose mother died in childbirth. The other half I used after I got pregnant again so my toddler could still have mama milk since my breasts were dry.
2006-11-29 18:00:37 · answer #5 · answered by I ♥ EC 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Believe it or not, there are such things as "milk banks" that will accept excess expressed breastmilk. I think (I don't KNOW) that it's used for babies in hospital wards or NICUs who cannot be breastfed but need the nutrition and antibodies that only breastmilk provides. I don't know if a donor undergoes testing before donating, or what the procedure is, but if there is one near you, that might be an option for you, if you're feeling generous. Talk to the Mat Ward at your local hospital.
2006-11-29 17:37:32 · answer #6 · answered by jeffs_wife_ali _&_adams_mom 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If/when he is old enough for starting solids, then you can use it to thin out homemade babyfood.
See if there is a milk bank near you to donate to.
Call your local La Leche League Leader. She may know a mom who is having supply problems and looking for mom to mom direct donations.
2006-11-29 23:53:33 · answer #7 · answered by momma2mingbu 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know you can freeze breast milk for up to 6 months? Keep it in your freezer with dates on it for a "just in case I go out drinking" night. Then you don't have to worry about feeding your baby alcohol. =)
2006-11-29 18:07:29 · answer #8 · answered by Nickey b 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Believe it or not, you can sell it. There is always a demand. Try ebay, if you need some extra cash - it's creepy but it's also valuable, and what else are you going to do with it?
Thin of it as his college fund.
Seriously,
Samlet
2006-11-29 17:28:55 · answer #9 · answered by Samlet 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can freeze the extra. It should then be thawed and consumed asap.. I think you can keep it frozen for about 2 months, so remember to date it.
2006-11-29 17:39:40 · answer #10 · answered by JNC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋