Best system for freezing milk

[@llli*tallmadre]

Hi,

I work full time, so I send my 5 MO daughter to daycare with pumped milk, and I also freeze whatever I pump that she doesn't eat. I've been using the medela freezer bags, which seem to be acceptable but not stellar. It seems like there's a lot of spillage when I pour the milk into her bottle for daycare, even when I use a funnel. Is there a better brand for freezing breast milk, that pours easier? Or a better way to do it in general?

[@llli*filmmommy]

I liked the Lansinoh bags because they had a double-zipper and didn't have the holes for the pump adapter for pumping directly into bags that Medela and Ameda have. I think it poured nicely out of the corners. I never heard about any problems at home (except one tearing -- but that's one of maybe 50 or so). Some people just freeze directly in bottles, either glass or plastic, but you have to be careful to not overfill them or they'll crack (and you'd need to have plenty of bottles).

[@llli*worknpump]

I used Lansinoh bags mostly with just a few leaks, but just recently switched to Honeysuckle and they are awesome! They are thicker plastic than the Lansinoh, and they are more reinforced on the bottom edges, which is where my Lansinoh bags leaked (when they did leak). I will only use Honeysuckle from now on. They freeze nice and flat, also. (I promise I don't work for the company!).

[@llli*mercystreet]

I use the NUK seal-n-go freezer bags. They are a good value compared to other brands (about $10 for 50 bags), fairly thick plastic, firmly sealing zipper, freeze flat nicely, and I haven't had any problems with leaks so far (granted I haven't dipped too far into my freezer stash, but so far so good). They pour easily enough from the corners, and unless your bottles have a very narrow neck, shouldn't be too messy.

Are you pumping directly into the bags? Or into plastic containers? If you're pumping into bags, you might try plastic containers instead, and then filling your baby's bottles directly from those containers. I find they are easier to pour from than the bags. I'm assuming you're filling his bottles for the next day with the freshly pumped (not frozen & thawed) milk from that day?

My system is this: While at work, I pump more than what my baby eats (usually about 2x as much). I pump into the Medela 5 oz storage containers and usually bring home 4 containers worth. When I get home, I take two of those containers and fill baby's bottles for tomorrow and refridgerate (I'm a "prep the night before" kind of gal); the other two go in the fridge as is. This continues through the week. In the fridge, I line up the "extra" containers front-to-back so that the oldest bottle is always at the front. (That way if my husband needs to do a random bottle feed during the week, he always grabs the closest container.) Then at the end of the week, I take all the extras and freeze in desired quantities. For freezing, I label the bags with a sharpie PRIOR to filling, with date and quantity, then lay them all flat on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Then the frozen bags go in a big gallon zip lock (I can usually fit 10-12 small freezer bags of milk inside each gallon ziplock), which I label with the date ranges so that I can tell at a glance what's inside. These go to our outside freezer, also stacked oldest first.

[@llli*tallmadre]

Thanks ladies!

I'm not pumping into the bags. I'm pumping in to medela bottles and then pouring that into a large 20 oz. bottle that we take to her daycare every day as her daily supply. Anything extra goes into the bags, so the hole for the adapter is not necessary. Now that you mention that, I think that's what usually messes up the pouring.

I will definitely look for the Lansinoh, NUK and Honeysuckle bags.