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I've read in numerous places to NEVER refreeze previously thawed milk. http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html
I dumped my entire stash (250 oz or more - I couldn't count without breaking down) and started over. This is very hard while working full time. I am pumping right at her daily needs, so rebuilding my freezer stash is slow and go.
amy
Hi Amy,
So I am uncertain whether or not you are aware that your Prolactin levels build up during the night and are at their peak between 3-5 am? What I am saying is that if you are serious and totally dedicated to the idea that you want to increase your stash, wake up and pump. Seriously.
You only need to pump one side if you feel anxious about your supply and/or robbing your baby. Though Its my personal opinion that there is enough milk at this time of day for both pumping and nursing. Give yourself a week for your body to acclimate to the new demand ( you don't just change the amount of milk available overnight) and you may see an abundant change.
Studies have shown that the emptier you get your breast, the faster it will refill. A breast that isn't properly drained will have feedback inhibitors slowing milk production down.
I didn't know that! I do pump before I go to bed (around 11:30). I'm not worried about dd getting enough in the morning if I got up and pumped. I get about 6 hours of sleep and work full time M-F. I'm almost hesitant to type this b/c it sounds selfish and we've had that sting of posting re: selfish mothers, but if I cut into sleep to pump (it takes 45 minutes by the time I pump and clean up), I think I'd be worthless the next day. (dd is 7 months old - not a newborn anymore.) Maybe a quick pump is the solution. Usually, I pump for about 30 minutes (2 let downs). I could do a one let down 15 minute pump - I'm obviously thinking out loud, here. Oh, maybe I could do this on weekends! Now that's a good solution. I have no supply problems when I nurse (mornings, evenings and all weekend). I started fenugreek and I noticed a pretty significant increase in pumping quantity already. I'm hoping I can get extra out every other day to build up supply - then I also freeze Friday's pumpings for Monday.
Thanks for the info - I'm going to try it this weekend, I think.
Amy
Madeline,
We bought a deep freezer... I think it was in the $400 range from Lowe's. It's a chest freezer probably about 4 feet wide and 3 feet high and the thought was to buy it specifically to put milk in there. We did, we have, but honestly I think we only gave our LO frozen milk like twice. Now I have a lot of it still there. We're talking probably 80+ bags with at least 4 oz in each one. For a while I made oatmeal with it. I tried making yogurt with it... didn't work b/c the proteins aren't long enough I suppose. I could cook with I heard some people used it for pancakes for the babes but DS is not a big pancake eater and is totally into finger foods so I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with it. My supply has been fine and I recovered from the initial dump of the "bad" milk back in the day. DS is almost 16 months now... I guess whether or not to buy it depends on what your plans are. We like having it so we can stock up on frozen foods that go on sale. But I am not sure what we'll end up doing with all the milk.
Caroline
Well, looks like I get to join the club.
Boo Lipase! :(
Welcome and I'm sorry :(
Amy
I'm here too! What a shock after nearly 3 months of doing just fine with LO at daycare. I loved the pumping routine I had going! Now it seems those easy days are down the drain, along with about 100 ounces from my freezer stash...
I'd like to register another big thank you for this thread! I figured out last week that the soapy quality I noticed once in my milk WASN'T a one-time thing caused by my failure to rinse my pump horns properly, and that excess lipase was probably the reason my 3-month-old daughter was having so much trouble transitioning to bottles at day care. Thanks in large part to this thread, I was quickly able to determine that my milk will be okay until I get home from work, and I bought a Munchkin bottle warmer--a life saver as I was dreading the thought of having to scald the milk every night on the stove.
I do have some follow-up questions. My warmer doesn't seem to stop on its own when I'm scalding (though it does when I do it the "right" way for just warming a bottle). I think I'm putting too much water; how much water do you all put in yours? Also, the milk I've scalded doesn't taste the way my milk does when it's fresh; it actually tastes more like half and half. Creamy, but less sweet. Am I cooking it for too long or at too high a temperature?
Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all you've taught me already!
Welcome Jessicaem!
I add maybe an inch to an inch and a half or so of water to my Munchkin warmer... mine does not stop either. I dump out the extra water. (Well it would stop if I waited long enough - the water evporates then the warmer beeps - I just don't wait that long).
Are you using a thermometer too? If not, it's probably a good purchase. I have a digital thermometer - I think it was originally for meat. I bought it in the kitchen section of my local Target. It has an L shaped probe and a long wire because you could supposedly stick it in something like turkey and have that in your oven and then the readout could be outside your stove. Anyway, this works for me. Everytime I scald in the warmer I eventually put the probe in my milk to check the temperature.
With scalding you want your milk to get to either 145 for a minute, or 160 for 15 seconds. I do the 145 because it's quicker and I think the milk tasted a little less cooked this way (but it's been so long ago that I started the 145 I don't really remember). So... I have my milk in the bottle in the warmer - first I have a cap on there like 1/4 turn (just so the milk heats a little quicker). The water bubbles, after a little bit I remove the cap and put in the thermometer. I see where I am, maybe I stir it once or twice. It gets to about 145ish. I take the bottle out (keep the thermometer in) the temp. keeps climbing. If I have another bottle I repeat the process. If not, I keep cleaning up the other stuff. When I am done with the scalding I dump out the remaining water from the warmer and then go about my day. I usually put the scalded/still hot bottles in a container of cold water in the fridge. (So I have some containers with water... I add the scalded bottles there... at the end of the day I put my bottles in my ice pak cooler thing and go home. The water stays in the fridge). I figure this way the milk is cooling down faster than it would be if it were just in the fridge. I used to put it in a container of ice/water but now it's a little harder to get ice at work so I don't bother with that.
My milk tastes a little cooked when scalded - slightly different than fresh expressed. (But way better than stovetop scalded which tasted scorched).
If you have any other questions, please ask. We're happy to help.
Thanks for that additional info! I bought a digital thermometer this weekend but haven't used it yet. Last week I used a mercury candy thermometer (except do they really still have mercury? You know what I mean!). I should have better luck with the digital.
Another question: I pump into those 5-ounce bottles, so I usually have three or four to scald. Do I need to do anything differently if I put the milk into one or two 9-ounce bottles to quicken the scalding process?