How do you freeze breastmilk?
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=954
Printed Date: 01 October 2025 at 5:48pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: How do you freeze breastmilk?
Posted By: mum2paris
Subject: How do you freeze breastmilk?
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 9:22am
|
Hey there, i go on clinical placement next week so have to express milk for Ayja to have 2 bottle feeds a day while at daycare. I am just going to start expressing after each feed to build up a bit of a supply ahead of time, but realised i have absolutely no idea how to freeze/store the milk. I need to be able to freeze it, and then maybe just get it out the night before to thaw in the fridge so i can stick it in a bottle for daycare the next day... how have you guys done this? HAs anyone used those bags you can get for freezing milk in? if so were they any good and how $$$$ were they? any help would be great. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja 
|
Replies:
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 10:42am
| i froze milk....just put it in the freezer and took it out that morning, Seemed to work all right apart from the milk and cream??? separates and looks icky. shajke it up and down and it's okay though |
Posted By: nikkitheknitter
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 5:54pm
| i was told to freeze milk in ice cubes as you can not add more milk to frozen stores. that way you can just defrost as many cubes as you need. |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 6:31pm
|
i thought of that but really need to have whole bottles, frozen, ready to go. i have no idea. Tried Ayjaagain with a bottle this afternoon, have been trying it intermitently over last few weeks, and still, she will not take it. i feel like i am wasting all the stores of expressed milk i have just trying to get her take a bottle. mum said "oh just put her on formula" nup that is not what i want to do. ha, and even if i did there's no option, i still have to get her to take the bottle... so i dont see the difference in whether it has formula or expressed milk in it, as of monday she will have her last breastfeed at lunch and not have another till 6.30 when mike brings her up for me to feed during tea break. she will need 1 or 2 feeds during that time and that's that. argh am getting so frustrated. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: AnnaD
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 6:50pm
|
I just expressed straight into a bottle and then popped the whole thing into the freezer! Worked quite well...
Was initally quite depressed with my beginning efforts, half an hour and 20 mls but once I got the hang of it it was easy!! Also, I am no expert but I'd have thought that if she is not keen for breast milk from a bottle she wouldn't drink formula? Surely it is not the taste she objects to but the bottle? I don't have any magic tips tho, Quinn still won't drink from a bottle... ------------- Anna and Quinn 10 July 2004 www.quinnariki.blogspot.com and one more on the way.... http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: lou
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 7:10pm
|
I've heard that ofter it is easier to get them to take the bottle from someone else ------------- Mother to two beautiful children - Sophie age 6 and Ephraim age 4 |
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 21 September 2005 at 10:44pm
| all that pumping for such a measley amounbt. i used to pump one side while i fed Jake with the other and that kept the milk coming thick and fast. I would be able to get 200mls in about ten-fifteen minutes. |
Posted By: newmum
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 10:16am
|
Hi guys, I haven't tried it myself yet but one of the girls in my postnatal group freezes breast milk in the ice cube bags and says it is great. She works during the day and her hubby is at home, he just takes as many cubes as he needs and it works well.
I have also heard that the NUK bottles/teats seem to be he best ones for bub's to like?? Something to do with the shape of the teat... I don't know if that's relevant to you. I want to start trying to express etc. soon as these 2/3 hourly night time feeds are really starting to do my head in!  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 10:37am
| lewis's mum bought jake this range of dummies and teats. he HATED the expensive ones and went straight for the $1 that Lewis's dad had bought. man, he gloated about that. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 2:16pm
|
Maya would only take the Avent ones (same size/shape as the Nuk ones). Fussy witch.
But I did what Anna did, froze the milk in the bottles so they were ready to go. And when I ran out of bottles I used those baby Gladware containers coz they stack nicely in the freezer and are cheap enough that if some go missing it doesn't break the bank. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: mumstheword
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 2:32pm
|
hi caleb was good he drank from the bottle but i had to express and add calories so he was breast and bottle from the start, i froze into ice trays then popped them out into a bag and just got out as many as i needed for the day, they defrost faster, and if you use the smaller ice cube trays you can get them and pop them straight into a bottle to defrost.. thay dont recomend freezing in the bottles as they can expand and braek the bottles, but ive never tried so i dont know at all.. soory im not much help ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 2:34pm
|
We used plastic bottles and they seemed to be okay - not that fussy guts would ever take the bottle then! But I don't imagne the glass ones would freeze too well. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: rodvee
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 6:08pm
|
Hi there
I freeze in Weleda pre sterilized bags, Easy to defrost and poor straight into bottle. Cost around NZD20.95-23.95 for 20 bags, depending were u get them from (baby factory or baby city. I started Samantha on a bottle of expressed milk at 5 milks as i had read it is easier to start them when they are between 3-6 weeks of age.!!Not that that helps you now tho!! Also using PUR teats. |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 10:24pm
|
we are using the flat pur teats as those are the ones we used for paris (the same sort i mean... we have bought new ones of course!!) have an avent bottle and teats up in the cupboard, neither of my girls liked it. PAris was so much easier cos i started her at 3 weeks as i had some classes at ucol to go to, so she had bottles if she woke while mum was babysitting. would love to be able to express at the same time as feeding but ayja is a bit of a monkey if anything distracts her, am usually all right as long as i let down... get 150mls in about 5 mins... but that's easier said than done sometimes... have just frozen it in ice cube trays... i know each ice cube is 10mls.. so that's handy.
still went and got some formula, just in case i don't get up enough stores, although i have now found out that i will only be on night shift for about 5 nights, the second week is theory work so that's all good, we should be back to normal! so logically... that's only 5 - 10 bottles all up at the most. YAY! ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 22 September 2005 at 11:24pm
| good luck Janine. It's tough to do, nbut I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't try and do too much outside study and experssing though cause you'll stress out! |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 23 September 2005 at 9:40am
|
lol, nah, it's all good, Ayja is sick at the mo, so doesn't really finish feeds or have both sides, so have been taking the opportunity to express it, lol, argh, decided to do that this morning, and wasn't till half way through that i looked and there wasn't much and i thought.. "hhm, that's weird" but nope couldn't see any leakages anywhere, till i moved, and found that it had leaked out a little crack where i hadn't put the bottle on properly, and all down the side of my pants and top and the couch was saturated. i now know where they got that saying about crying over spilt milk... I was so angry! but have no doubt we'll get there, still just have to get her to actually drink from bottle now. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: Meg
Date Posted: 23 September 2005 at 11:30am
|
I had some Avent disposable bags that you can stick in the freezer, then feed from with a special bottle holder thingumy. They were quite good.. got them from the baby factory.
I've also tried ice cube containers - I used tupperware ones that were quite expensive, but they have a cover on them to stop freezer burn. They should be good for when we start on solids. I was having the same problems with Eleanor not taking a bottle, but finally we started to get somewhere yesterday...after about 4 weeks of trying off and on. She took 20mls before her feed & then 30mls after without messing about and growling. Going to try again today with 40mls. Really wish I'd kept at it from 6 weeks when she was taking a bottle no problems at all. |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 23 September 2005 at 8:45pm
|
My midwife told me no bottles till after 6 weeks so they don't get nipple teat confusion. Silly me listened to her and tried to introduce the bottle at 9 weeks, and ended up fighting a losing battle for the next 6 mths to get Maya to take it. Next time round I am definitely starting at about 3 weeks. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 23 September 2005 at 10:08pm
| jake had his first expressed bottle at 3 weeks and was fine...then again as I've said before, he's a,ittle guts and not too fussed about the presentation of the food, as long as it keeps on coming! |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 26 September 2005 at 11:11am
|
YAY! mike tired Ayja with the bottle yesterday and she took it for him straight away. that is so good.
on the other hand, she has been so sick all week, since last tuesday and was nearly admitted to hospital twice over the weekend because she has a really bad chest infection. so, dear daddy is taking the afternoon off work while i go up to the hospital for my placement, cos there's no way i am sending the babe to daycare. HAve a feeling my mum will be called in tomorrow arvo cos i think it'll be a few days before Ayja is better, and paris woke this morn with a cold. hhhmm it's always when i am on placement that the kids get sick. you know, sometimes i think that Murphy must really have it in for me.  ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: newmum
Date Posted: 26 September 2005 at 12:29pm
|
Yay about the bottle! I hope your girls are feeling better soon and have a good placement!! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 26 September 2005 at 1:27pm
|
Sounds like in your house it's a case of when it rains it pours!
Good to hear that Ayja is taking the bottle tho, one less thing for you to worry about while you are on placement. Good luck with your placement! ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: aimeejoy
Date Posted: 26 September 2005 at 2:52pm
|
Have a good placement Janine Hope the girls are better soon. ------------- Aimee Hannah 22/10/05 Greer 11/02/08 |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 28 September 2005 at 10:12am
hey there, just checking in quickly. last few days have been hectic. both girls are still sick, mike took the first arfternoon off and mum has stepped in yesterday and today. has been all quiet, seen no bubbas yet  Ayja hasn't been taking the bottle, little monkey, and hasn't been sleeping for mike either - i think he's close to having a breakdown.. lol oh well, hopefully things will pick up, am waking her regularly today so hoepfully she will sleep tonight, last few days she has slept the day away and is obviously not tired at night. argh. monkeys.------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: aimeejoy
Date Posted: 28 September 2005 at 12:55pm
|
Hey Janine - typical isnt it, just when you are on placement! Hope some Palmy women start popping for you!! As long as its not me! ------------- Aimee Hannah 22/10/05 Greer 11/02/08 |
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 30 September 2005 at 7:43pm
|
well, here i am, have been sent home early, sat up there all week and did nothing, no-one wanted a student, or they were with independant midwives so we couldn't go in. argh. that's it, a new batch of us go out on monday, we get stuck in classrooms for tutorials instead. out of 7 or us out, only 1 got a delivery. sucky suck suck. ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: mum2paris
Date Posted: 30 September 2005 at 7:44pm
|
mind you, only 2 - 3 births a day up there anyway at the mo. it's all quiet. hey Aimmee, now's a good time to go in, you'd get all the attention! ------------- Janine and her 2 cool chicks, Paris & Ayja
|
Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 30 September 2005 at 10:38pm
| I hope when i go in it's the same. i had to share a room with some insane woman and her partner came up and swore the place down. I think he'd been drinking...anyway, i ended up going home earlier than i originally wanted because of it. My midwife was a little apprehensive about me going home so early, but i couldn't sleep. My nana is a nurse so i had great care. |