Time of day?

[@llli*xiaoshira]

I read somewhere that you're supposed to give baby what you pumped at that time of day... How big a deal is this? I am struggling to pump enough as it is by adding night sessions, let alone try to control for this - and my freezer stash... if I even logged it, I still won't be able to really control that so much!

[@llli*carm3]

I've never heard of any such rule - I can't imagine how complicated that would make life! The only thing I've heard that is remotely close to that is that they try to match the nursling's age for donor milk to the age of the recipient baby, but even that isn't a hard and fast rule from what I've read.

[@llli*tclynx]

your milk changes as the baby grows and yes it changes based on time of day but if you are pumping your own milk to give the baby breast milk when you are not there, there is no way to co-ordinate that milk with the time of day and age of the baby, that milk is for future use since the time which you pumped it will have passed by the time you give it to the baby.

Don't go driving yourself crazy. Your Breast Milk is good for your baby no matter what time of day it was pumped.

[@llli*mommal]

Don't worry about it and don't drive yourself crazy over this extraordinarily minor issue. Pumping is hard enough. No need to make it even more difficult.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

Wow, I learn new things every day on these forums! I can assure you that I never did that with my three babies (who drank expressed milk while I was at work) and they've all grown and developed appropriately!

[@llli*ruchiccio]

Yeah, I've heard that night milk, for example, has melatonin to help baby sleep better. I once read an article talking about pumping during the day so dad can give a bottle at night while mom sleeps. The article said that wasn't even beneficial since "day" milk was being fed in the middle of the night, and the baby would lose out on the melatonin. Rather nurse at night. But of course everyone should do what's best for her and her baby!

I always pump by day, only rarely do I pump by night, and my baby is only being given bottles by day.

On a side note, what's if I give my baby who is now 6 mos old milk from my freezer from when he was 1 month old (the milk is ok)? Like does it have things my baby doesn't need now or the opposite - not having things my baby needs now?

[@llli*djs.mom]

In theory, you should never have milk that old in your freezer so it's non issue. Especially if you don't just have an emergency stash but are a working mother who pumps 5 days a week. Because the oldest freezer stash milk should be what is going out every monday morning. So like you have enough freezer stash to get you through day 1. Then all week you pump the next days milk and send in the freshest milk possible. Then Fridays milk goes in the freezer. Then Monday the oldest milk in the freezer gets rotated in. And so it goes.

[@llli*ruchiccio]

Right, so that's what I do, but I found two frozen bags in my mom's freezer from when my baby was a month old. I was pumping by her house then and never brought the milk home with me.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

On a side note, what's if I give my baby who is now 6 mos old milk from my freezer from when he was 1 month old (the milk is ok)? Like does it have things my baby doesn't need now or the opposite - not having things my baby needs now?

Yes, milk changes over time to match a baby's needs. But personally I wouldn't throw the good milk out. If baby is getting one feeding out of ten in a day with "old" milk (or I guess you could consider it "young" milk!), I really don't think it's a big deal. As djs.mom suggests you can keep your stash fresh by cycling through the older milk.

ETA: Just saw your newer post. I would go ahead and use the two bags.

[@llli*ruchiccio]

I wasn't wondering if it's OK to give. I figure it's fine. But I'm curious as to HOW the milk changes over these 5 months.