How much milk to leave with sitter?

[@llli*avoune]

My husband and I are going out without baby for the first time this evening, and I'm wondering how much milk to leave with the sitter. He is 4 months old and has only had bottles of expressed milk a couple of times before (it's been at least 2 months, though). I pumped 3 ounces this morning - should I try to pump more so that I ca n leave more than that? We'll be out for about 4 hours and the sitter will be feeding him at his bedtime (when he typically nurses for 20-30 minutes).
Thanks for any tips!

[@llli*juno]

I would think that if you nurse right before you leave, that would probably be enough. Your baby might not go to sleep without you being there to do the night time nurse, though. How long after you leave is bedtime? Is there a possibility that you can put baby down to sleep before you leave? Then leave the bottle for just in case?

[@llli*jenna562]

I agree I'd nurse right before you leave and have that one bottle for the sitting to feed while rocking him to sleep or whatever she does.

[@llli*avoune]

Thanks for the replies! I'm planning to nurse just before I leave, and his usual bedtime is about 2.5 hours afterwards so I know he'll be hungry. I'm hoping the 3 oz. will be enough, at least to keep him satisifed until I get home if he doesn't fall asleep with the sitter. I did take another 2 oz. out of the freezer, just in case he wants more though. Like I said before, he hasn't had a bottle in at least 2 months, so I'm not even sure how it's going to go!

I would think that if you nurse right before you leave, that would probably be enough. Your baby might not go to sleep without you being there to do the night time nurse, though. How long after you leave is bedtime? Is there a possibility that you can put baby down to sleep before you leave? Then leave the bottle for just in case?

[@llli*jenna562]

I wouldn't take 2 oz out of the freezer because if she doesn't use it you have to toss it. 3 oz bottles are really the norm for a baby that age so in essence you are leaving a bottle for a missed feed.

[@llli*auderey]

how did it work out?

[@llli*avoune]

It went great! Thanks for the tips again, everyone. He took the bottle without any issues, and his bedtime routine went on without a hitch. He was sleeping soundly when I got home.

I wish I hadn't taken the additional 2 oz. out of the freezer, though, because the sitter didn't need to give it to him. I know I can't re-freeze it, but how long will it last in the fridge after being thawed? I'd hate to throw it out -- and while I prefer not to give him another bottle today, I'd rather do that than throw the milk out.

how did it work out?

[@llli*auderey]

awesome!

technically the recommendations are 24 hours. but i have used milk the following day, too - just test it to make sure it's still good. it'll be obvious if it's bad.

[@llli*maddieb]

The official guidelines say not to refreeze, but FYI, somone actually studied the results of thawing breastmilk to fridge temp and refreezing it, and tested the bacterial content and vitamin content at final thaw compared to always frozen milk. This could be important info for places where, for example, power outages are common and a mom may feel forced to toss her entire freezer stash. For two ounces you proably will not want to take the risk, but basically the studies found breastmilk stood up well even to multiple defrostings (to fridge temp) and refreezings without issue. And yes, spoilage is obvious. PU.

IIRC , for future reference, it is pretty easy & quick to defrost a small bag of frozen milk under some running water.

I hope you guys had a fun date night!