How to store breast milk?

I plan on breastfeeding but i’d eventually like to breastfeed AND pump to feed from the bottle so my hubby can do night duty when he is home on the weekends… I’m wondering if it would be easier to store my milk in like 2-4oz bags and just take out one at a time to thaw by running under warm water for each bottle feed? Idk how many ounces I should put in each bag! Also how would I go about introducing the bottle to my baby in a way that she will still breastfeed but also take the bottle?

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We waited until baby was 4 weeks old. Stored 5oz in a bottle in the fridge & any excess stored in 5oz bags in the freezer. The leftovers from
The bottle in the fridge the following day and it was ok since it was never frozen.

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Do not store in bulk! Storing in smaller amounts is perfect! I personally would do like 4 oz.

We did 2 oz per bag and then bumped up to 3 oz then bumped up to 4oz and now I’m doing 5 to 6 oz per bag. But 2-3 oz per bag for a 1 month old seems good. Just pay attention to how much they eat. If they are leaning more toward 3 oz start packing it as 3-4 oz baggies.

Very hard to pre plan. You never know how much your baby will drink. Some days they’ll want a little and some days they’ll be wanting to drink your whole supply. The only certainty is don’t thaw out too much breast milk, you’ll waste it. That stuff is Liquid Gold!!! Just check on habits of baby first :+1:

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You won’t really know till you know how much the baby eats. I mean I use to do 3oz at the beginning but my daughter is now 3 months and eats 5-6oz at a time so that’s how I store in the bags now at a time. Just depends on the child.

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The bags for storage are small for a reason, of you need more than one bad to the that’s fine but don’t over fill cause you don’t want it wasted.

I would definitely establish breastfeeding for several months before offering a bottle! The Brest flows much slower and baby has to form that perfect suck… a bottle flows very easily and baby hardly had to work at it… so baby becomes lazy and will prefer the bottle!

My sister breastfed twins… even at 3 months… when she went back to work… they wouldn’t take a bottle… so my mom had to console any way she could until she got home to give them the breast!! Lol… they literally waited for her to get home!!

It is ultimately your choice and how serious you are at breastfeeding… some women don’t need that closeness… so they just pump and give a bottle… don’t actually put the baby to breast!!

Good luck!!

I introduced a bottle to my son when he was a few weeks old. Some nights it felt as though my supply was low and I wanted to make sure he was going to bed with a full tummy. I’d pump earlier in the day and make a bottle for bedtime, then pump after he went to sleep. I ordered preemie size nipples to use on the bottle since they have a slower flow and he had to work to get the milk. He breastfeeds fine all day long and still gets a bottle every night.

I stored small and large amounts. I would always have one or two 4 oz bags or bottles in the fridge and freeze anything else. As long as the milk is not heated up defrosted I believe it’s still good for at least 24 hours, so you always have an opportunity to use it. Then if you don’t use the unfrozen bags just pop those in the freezer. It’s a lot to remember but it starts to become a cycle your get used too it.

2-4 oz is perfect! I would let your husband introduce the bottle after you are working. Baby will adjust to bottle with him!

I stored milk in bags anywhere from 1 oz to 5 oz. I’d have different amounts so that as little as possible got wasted.

Do it in small amounts up to 4 oz. once it’s defrosted you have to use it within 24 hours. Also you will have to find a nipple that your baby can tolerate. My 3 month old doesn’t like any bottle nipples I have found so far.

I store it as its pumped. If I pump only 1 oz I store that. Or if I pump 5oz I store that. :woman_shrugging: probably a good idea to stay on the smaller oz size for storing. Because then you’re not waisting anything. If you give baby 4 oz, and baby wants more, just take more out. But once you thaw frozen milk out, you shouldn’t refreeze it.

I pumped from the jump both times and just bottle fed. U hear about to many woman having their baby’s refuse a bottle and want the breast. Even my sister in law id having that problem. I buy the breast milk storage bags you find in baby section. Each bag holds 6oz. I just takr a bag out and let it defrost in fridge and use till empty. Only a freding or 2 to use the bag

I started introducing different things almost immediately. Bottle included! I store 5 or 6 oz for my 7 week old (mostly the ones I freeze) - he tends to eat more frequently with the bottle. He refuses to take the bottle from ME most the time… if I’m not around he’s fine. Just be patient with your baby as they try to figure out the latch! It took him 5 or 6 weeks to be able to tell which it was. also - lasinoh bags are my favorite so far! Never had any leaks or anything and sometimes I store a little more than 6 oz :sweat_smile::woman_facepalming:t3: good luck!