Sarah:
Great idea - however if you can find these a your local stores, Zip Loc also
makes
a Pint-size freezer quality bag - which would be great for smaller amounts
stored.
I still like using the little-ice-cube idea. With the plastic tray that
holds small cubes
- pour expressed breast milk in, cover with saran wrap for the 30-45 minutes
to
quick freeze -- then put the cubes into the freezer-quality bags. You can
then take
out the number of cubes you need for each feeding. Less waste!
[First, of course, you must use a water measure in the tray to see how many
oz each
cube would be so you know how many to use per feeding.]
Sharon Mattes, IBCLC, RLC, LLLL, AAHCC
Helping Breastfeeding Mothers since 1973
Natural Beginnings...the informed parent's resource
(972) 495-2805 - www.naturalbeginningsonline.com
"Breastfeeding is the biological norm for infants, providing a support
system
that provides food, connection, and protection from illness to the nursing
baby."
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Reece-Stremtan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 5:10 AM
Subject: Re: Milk storage, why dedicated breastmilk storage bags?
Anecdotally, I sometimes used regular freezer-grade ziploc bags for milk
storage. I was an exclusive pumper for over a year so was finding myself
going through boxes and boxes of the expensive Lansinoh bags. I ended up
trying the quart-sized Ziploc brand bags and didn't have any problems.
Pros: CHEAP (compared to Lansinoh or Gerber) and milk would freeze and
defrost very quickly if I laid them flat to freeze since there was a such
a
comparatively large surface area for the milk to spread out in
Cons: the bags were huge compared to the amount I'd freeze at once (usual
ly
no more than 6 or 7 ounces, but usually just 5 since that was about what
my
son would drink), there were concerns about leaking though I never had an
y
problems, nonsterile (but so was my milk and pump parts), I'd usually nee
d
to write the date/amount with a Sharpie on masking tape to stick on the b
ags
since there wasn't a dedicated area for this (though I think nowadays the
y
do have a little strip to write)
No problems with freezer burn as far as I could tell, but I'd usually gro
up
8-10 bags and put them in a gallon-sized freezer bag for
storage/organization anyway, and if I remember correctly most of this was
drank within 6 months (stored in a chest freezer -- in our bedroom in our
tiny apartment!).
Hope this helps,
Sarah Reece-Stremtan
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