Dear Rando,
I’ve got some questions for you. I am preparing to go back to work and my plan is to pump while I am at work. I have a ton of questions on breast milk freezer storage – how to pump at work, how can I store it, can I freeze it?
Thanks,
Confused and Overwhelmed
Dear Confused and Overwhelmed,
First, thanks for writing to me. You are my official first write-in question posting here on the BreastfeedingPlace.com.
I’d love to talk to you about storing your pumped milk and what I am going to tell you is the process that I used myself to store my own.
A little back story for ya. I went back to work when my daughter was 8 weeks old. I was dead set on pumping, even though I could have just used formula. I mean, I am sure you are aware of all the benefits for breastfeeding, and that’s great, but I’ll tell you a secret to why I pumped. It was because I was able to take my breaks without interruption at work. Silly right? Well, in my job, I was always interrupted, so those 15 minute breaks behind a locked door were heaven.
The pump I used was a Medela Pump in Style Advance. I pumped into Dr. Brown’s bottles because they fit my pump attachments and were more than 6 oz., and I liked the leeway. Once I was done pumping, I would pour the milk into Playtex drop-in because those were the bottles my daughter liked.
When my break was over, I would put the bottles in my mini fridge at my desk, and put all my pump parts in a freezer zip lock bag and I would put all that in my fridge too so I wouldn’t have to wash my parts in between pumps.
Now on Friday, I would pump and pour my milk into Lansinoh milk bags. Everything went back into the fridge and when I got home, Friday’s milk would go in the freezer. My tip for freezing your milk is to lay it on its side in the back of your freezer. I recommend this way for a number of reasons. First, it stores better and you get more freezer space. And second, when you defrost it, it defrosts faster.
Well, Confused and Overwhelmed, I hope this helps. And I hope this works out for you. The only other suggestion I have for you: bring your kindle with you on your breaks so that you can catch up on your reading!
Happy pumping,
Rando, the boob whisperer
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