how long does EBM last in the Freezer

[Reallytired]

I am thinking of going back to work when my daughter is 8 months, (January 2010, she is six weeks old at the moment). I would like to avoid her having any formula, but I am not particularly good at expressing.

I am thinking of making a large stash of bm in the freezer. How long does frozen bm last.

Now that it is recommended that children are introudced to solids at 6 months, how many feeds a day is an 8 month old baby likely to need?

[Mij]

According to my brand new NHS/NCT fridge magnet which is in my bag, not on my fridge...

You can store breastmilk in the ice compartment of a fridge for 2 weeks, or for 6 months in a freezer (as long as it's one of those with lots of stars - I think if it's less than 15 years old or so it will have).

Well done for thinking ahead, but you may be worrying a little prematurely! Are you thinking of buying an extra freezer ? Remember that BM changes dramatically over the first few months, to keep up with your baby's dietary and calorific needs...

Expressing, and how easy/hard you find it, can change over time. It's almost impossible to tell at this stage how many feeds your DD will want at 8 months - partly depends on how enthusiastically she gets into solid food, but also if you're going back full or part-time. If part-time, lots of bfing mum/baby pairs find that they 'make up' for 'lost' feeds while apart with more feeding morning and evening (sometimes nighttime too, sorry) so it evens out over a week. I know that some mums returning full-time get very adept (with an electric pump) at pumping on one side on pretty much every feed to boost supply a few weeks before returning to work, and then pumping while at work and when feeding at home, to keep enough of a stash for when you're apart.

Hope some of that helps.