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Old October 1st 03, 03:17 PM
Kathy
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Default Storing Breast Milk

It wouldn't be a new day if I didn't stop in to ask yet another batch of
questions!

Yesterday I pumped for the second time (dd is 16 days old). The reason
I pumped is I was engorged and she was showing no signs of waking to
nurse soon. I was able to get 4 ounces which I was pretty happy
about...not bad for a second try.

I am going to be a stay at home Mom, so I won't have the need for a huge
supply of stored milk...but I would like to have some in the freezer for
a very occasional evening out and in case an emergency arises and I'm
unable to be with dd to feed, etc. I'm aware that I can't just skip
feedings with dd (I mean replace breast with bottle) without having to
pump in order to keep my supply going.

I put the milk in the refridgerator for 1/2 hour to cool and then put it
in 2 freezer safe Gerber "Seal 'n Go" Breast Milk Storage Bags...2
ounces in each bag. Then the bags went into the freezer, labeled with
the date.

I am getting a LOT of conflicting advice about milk storage, how long
milk is good in the fridge, how to thaw it, etc. Every book, pamphlet
or web site I read gives different advice...not just different, but WAY
different. For example, the info that came with my Isis Pump says to
refridgerate milk no longer than 3 days, while my "Complete Idiot's
Guide to Breastfeeding" says 5-7 days, etc.

My questions:

Can someone point me in the direction of the CORRECT guidelines for milk
storage, thawing, etc? I want to be sure that I handle the milk
safely...the last thing I want is to make dd sick!

When pumping milk, is it necessary to cool it in the fridge for 1/2 hour
before freezing? I did this yesterday because I read it in a couple of
my books, and yet other sources don't mention doing this at all.

What is the appropriate amount for me to store in each bag? I divided
the 4oz I got into two 2oz bags...I want to avoid wasting any until I
know how much dd would usually take at a feed.

DD is 16 days old. At what point can we try her on a bottle of breast
milk? We're not in a rush to do this, and I actually don't like the
idea of dd eating from a bottle...but we will want to try it eventually.
Is there an optimal time age-wise to do this? We most definitely don't
want to mess up bf'ing just because we'd eventually like to give dd a
bottle now and then.

Any other advice on this subject would be very much appreciated! Thanks
in advance (again)...
Kathy