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How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Anyone have an opinion on how much breastmilk to freeze her breast milk bag? Right now she drinks around 3 ounces per bottle but in a few months when I go back to work and use this milk she may be drinking 4 ounces.
Also why would there be bottles that are 9 ounces? I assume that is for regular milk not breast milk right?
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Posted 8/14/15 9:55 AM  |
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Long Island Weddings
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Maybe-Baybe
My Sunshine
Member since 7/12 3415 total posts
Name:
My only Sunshine
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
I always found the storage bags to be inaccurate. If I filled it to let's say 3 oz and then poured it in a bottle it would only come out to about 2.75 oz. so keep that in mind.
I would fill the bags up to 4.5 oz. or 4 oz. if you're using bottles.
I never used the big bottles with DD. Breastmilk changes it's composition over time to fit the needs of your baby, so the amount you feed will not change that much over time. I think DD never had more than 5 oz. in a bottle.
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| Posted 8/14/15 10:09 AM |
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MrsB612
LIF Adolescent
Member since 12/12 784 total posts
Name:
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How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
I had a TON of milk to freeze which I stored to last him up to his 1st birthday. If you plan to freeze and feed over time I would start with a minimum of 4-5oz and work your way up if you keep on doing it over time. My son drank 5oz from 6-9 months at all his feedings. I eventually started freezing bags of 7-8oz towards the end of my pumping days. Now at 11 months he drinks 7.5 oz per feedings tops.
I agree with PP that the measurement in the bags aren't accurate. I would always just measure it in the bottles and then write that number down on the bags.
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| Posted 8/14/15 10:21 AM |
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PitterPatter11
Baby Boy is Here!
Member since 5/11 7634 total posts
Name:
Momma <3
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How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Most of what I froze was in 4-5 ounce increments. I measured them in the bottles and then poured them into the bags.
I will say that I never used any frozen milk until DS was over a year old. At 15 months, I'm still going through my pumped milk (and that doesn't count the 200+ ounces I donated in January).
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| Posted 8/14/15 11:45 AM |
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ANewDayHasCome
Love multiplies, not divides
Member since 11/12 14481 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
I do 4-5oz. You don't want to overfill then and risk them ripping or leaking during the thaw process. Also it's less waste.
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| Posted 8/14/15 11:54 AM |
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Mara1017
LIF Adolescent
Member since 5/11 696 total posts
Name:
Mara
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Posted by NearTheSea1025
Also why would there be bottles that are 9 ounces? I assume that is for regular milk not breast milk right?
There are bottles that are 9 ounces because they will be drinking 7-8 ounces at a sitting when they get older. My son did not move to milk until he was a year and was drinking 3 8 oz bottles a day prior.
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| Posted 8/14/15 12:29 PM |
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Posted by Maybe-Baybe
I always found the storage bags to be inaccurate. If I filled it to let's say 3 oz and then poured it in a bottle it would only come out to about 2.75 oz. so keep that in mind.
I would fill the bags up to 4.5 oz. or 4 oz. if you're using bottles.
I never used the big bottles with DD. Breastmilk changes it's composition over time to fit the needs of your baby, so the amount you feed will not change that much over time. I think DD never had more than 5 oz. in a bottle.
All great points!! Thanks again.
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| Posted 8/14/15 5:37 PM |
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Posted by MrsB612
I had a TON of milk to freeze which I stored to last him up to his 1st birthday. If you plan to freeze and feed over time I would start with a minimum of 4-5oz and work your way up if you keep on doing it over time. My son drank 5oz from 6-9 months at all his feedings. I eventually started freezing bags of 7-8oz towards the end of my pumping days. Now at 11 months he drinks 7.5 oz per feedings tops.
I agree with PP that the measurement in the bags aren't accurate. I would always just measure it in the bottles and then write that number down on the bags.
This is interesting because I would love to be able to have that much milk to freeze...however four 4oz bags per day for that many weeks/months seems impossible to accrue! I am going back to work when DD is 4 months old so would need to have milk frozen and ready for 4 days per week when I am working. How did you manage to feed them and then have that much extra to store for the remaining months? Anything you can share regarding the number of times you pumped per day, etc, would be great to hear if you have a sec! :)
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| Posted 8/14/15 5:40 PM |
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PitterPatter11
Baby Boy is Here!
Member since 5/11 7634 total posts
Name:
Momma <3
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Re: How many oz of breast milk to freeze?
Posted by NearTheSea1025
Posted by MrsB612
I had a TON of milk to freeze which I stored to last him up to his 1st birthday. If you plan to freeze and feed over time I would start with a minimum of 4-5oz and work your way up if you keep on doing it over time. My son drank 5oz from 6-9 months at all his feedings. I eventually started freezing bags of 7-8oz towards the end of my pumping days. Now at 11 months he drinks 7.5 oz per feedings tops.
I agree with PP that the measurement in the bags aren't accurate. I would always just measure it in the bottles and then write that number down on the bags.
This is interesting because I would love to be able to have that much milk to freeze...however four 4oz bags per day for that many weeks/months seems impossible to accrue! I am going back to work when DD is 4 months old so would need to have milk frozen and ready for 4 days per week when I am working. How did you manage to feed them and then have that much extra to store for the remaining months? Anything you can share regarding the number of times you pumped per day, etc, would be great to hear if you have a sec! :)
When I was pumping in the beginning, I would usually pump just enough for DS (16 ounces). I'd pump 2-3 times at work AND I'd always pump before work before DS nursed. I also pumped on weekend in the morning to ensure that I had a slight surplus to cover the days I only pumped 14 ounces at work. Around 7-8 months, my DS' BM intake dropped dramatically. He was taking in 6-10 ounces a day, but I was still pumping 14-16 ounces so I was able to freeze a decent amount of milk.
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| Posted 8/14/15 7:13 PM |
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