storing breast milk? ice cube trays?

solidstars

solidstars

Registered User
i read somewhere that i can store expressed BM into ice cube trays and then pop them into bags to store?

just wondering, besides sterilising the ice cube trays is there anything else i need to pay attention to? any normal tray would do?

pump and then pour into the tray? also, any bag would do (ziplock?)?

thanks
 
why do u need to make into ice cube for keeping in bags? i use the medela plastic bottles for storing pumped breast milk. i keep them in the freezer if i'll be using it later than a day. if using the next day, i put in the fridge to thaw it overnight..then warm it in a bottle warmer.. just put on the nipple on the plastic cover and feed baby, dont even need to pour into a feeding bottle.
just need to replace the cap with nipple.
 
i'm planning to go back to work in june and need to start pumping and storing now... someone recommended pumping and storing in ice cube trays then pop them into bags, easy for MIL to thaw and feed baby...

otherwise i'd need to get lots and lots of bottles and also space in freezer...
 
I used Gerber/Playtex bottle liners and clipped them with one of those colorful plastic IKEA clips. A much cheaper option than using Medela milk storage bags. That's how I did it with both kids. No spillage ever. Best of all, you can clip them in such a way that you can store them flat, which saves a lot of space on the freezer, esp. if you have quite a supply. I used a marker to write down the date and time on the bottle liner before I pour in the expressed milk.
 
I used the Lansinoh breast milk storage bags. They have a space where you can write the date and volume of milk.
 
i wouldn't bother with ice cube trays for milk... a bit of a nightmare if you ask me. ice cube trays are great for when you are dealing with solid food. you would need 3-4 ice cubes of milk for each feeding anyway... you would need a lot of ice cube trays!

go for storage bags instead... MUCH easier!
 
I found Lansinoh breast milk storage bags to be the best, ziplock, stores flat, can write the date and amount on the bag and no leakage ever (and I have used soooo many packs).
 
carang, thanks for the tip! someone suggested to make the BM into cubes, then store into bags, so then it's easier for whoever's feeding baby to grab cubes from these bags instead of thawing the whole bag?

Not sure if that'll work out but i'll get both anyways and try.
 
i think its easier to freeze them in bags, and make 2oz bags for a newborn, 4oz and 6ozs for an older baby. Also, don't fill bags completely, leave room for the milk to expand.
 
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We have tried out different brands of bags and found that both Lansinoh and The First Years are the best among all. One of the problems with other brands are those bags tend to leak easily after freeze.
 
i use the baby food glass jar.
i will steam sterilse it before i use.

i will never use ice cube trays, as i think the plastic material for ice cube trays is not ok to resist high temp..
i never use plastic.. except the pump.. i only trust glass for high temp sterilisation
 
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i got some advice from the LLL too and so now i'm using a high quality silicon rubber tray (heatable and dishwasher safe too) and ziplock bags

i was calculating and the breastmilk bags seem quite expensive way to go, but have also purchased the 'first years' pack just in case of travel, etc

thanks everyone! all your thoughts were really useful!

ps. i'm only pumping ~2 oz on one side, is that normal? how can you tell the difference between foremilk and hindmilk? how long do you usually pump for?
 
solidstars said:
i got some advice from the LLL too and so now i'm using a high quality silicon rubber tray (heatable and dishwasher safe too) and ziplock bags

i was calculating and the breastmilk bags seem quite expensive way to go, but have also purchased the 'first years' pack just in case of travel, etc

thanks everyone! all your thoughts were really useful!

ps. i'm only pumping ~2 oz on one side, is that normal? how can you tell the difference between foremilk and hindmilk? how long do you usually pump for?
Click to expand...

The colour of foremilk is more on the white side while the hindmilk are a lot more yellowish and greasy (like melted butter) :gl:
 
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