Newborn Tip of the Week {Pumping Storage}

Freeze breastmilk in ice cube trays. Each cube is about an oz. When you are making bottles and need X oz, just grab some cubes. It also makes for less spillage in transfer,

From a mom who couldn’t pump a lot at work the first go round, this was crucial. Say I pumped 7 oz. at work but I needed 9 to send to daycare. I would put the fresh in the bottles and add the appropriate # of cubes to make up the difference. When the milk was warmed, the ice cube would melt. I didn’t have to thaw a whole 6oz bag or whatever to only use a few. Precious liquid gold.

For storage, I let the ice cube freeze and then pop them out into freezer Ziploc bags.

There are special trays made for this or you can just use regular ice cube trays. I recommend something with a lid. Here are some I have used and some that are made for this specific purpose:

Sensible Lines – This makes little sticks to put in bottles. Cons: the trays are dishwasher safe but they warped in mine and made them unusable. I suggest hand washing. Also if you are using the smaller 4oz bottles, you will have to break the sticks because they are too long.

Fresh Baby  – These are touted for breastmilk AND then baby food. These are my favorites. The wells are really deep and make for less spillage when taking to the fridge. The lid is soft and snaps on with out a big snap…which spills less milk.

Good Grips Ice Cube Trays – These were the first trays I found with lids and what I used with Landon. You can get at Bed Bath and Beyond. Cons: I hated the slide on lid. It was tricky to get lined up and caused for the milk to slosh. I use these now for coffee ice cubes and the same still applies.  Messy.

For more help with breastmilk storage and handling, see Kelly Mom.

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