Advice on Freezing breast milk

[TimeForABrew]

Hello, If you freeze breast milk, what container do you use and where do you buy them from? If you have used more than one type, which did you find to be the most convenient? Thanks!

I used sterile bags from Boots, They're like ziplock bags so you can freeze them lying flat so it makes it very quick to defrost. There are quite a few different manufacturers with differing prices (!) but I found the Boots ones were just fine.

They're also very clearly marked as being breast milk

I used bags too. Mine were lansinoh brand IIRC. You can freeze them in amounts to suit, and they had a section for writing the date etc on so you can keep up with stock rotation.

I noticed my local Home Bargains had some much cheaper though

boots! 40 bags for 7quid ish, the measurements are a bit naff so i always write how much is in

I use boots ones too. Express into a bottle and record the amount as the measurements are notoriously unreliable.

Great, thanks for your posts - I would never have thought of home bargains, my spider senses predict a happy wander around HB and boots in the near future.

LOL cairn terrier, that's a relief.

I thought the Lanisoh ones were much better than Boots though. Freeze flat, and them keep the bags in a plastic box so the edges don't get knocked, else the edges can break and leak when you defrost.

If you freeze flat, they will defrost really fast in a jug of hot water. DH recommends putting the milk bag in a plastic bag in case of leaks at this point

CMOTdibbler, thanks, and just realised where your nickname is from ("getchor rattonastick here"?)

I've got a rack-thing which freezes the milk into tube-like sticks a couple of inches long. You can just pop them out like ice-cubes & then store in a bag. When ready to use they fit straight into the bottle as they are narrow. This was handy when going out - just take out the bottle with the frozen sticks in & it would defrost ready to be warmed in the bottle or at room temp. Also then used for freezing purees in small sections & making mini ice-pops so worth the investment. I must have got it online at a place does bf-ing supplies as it is specifically designed for EBM (one of those designed-by-a-mum things).

That sounds like a good idea elvisgirl. do you have a link?

I use tesco's My Baby breastmilk storage bags. I think they're £4 something for 40, so quite a bit cheaper than branded bags. They work very well and haven't leaked/

I did a quick search for the breastmilk sticks thing and found this - elvisgirl is that the same as yours?

Yep, that's it Happy. I couldn't begin to remember what they might be called! Before getting that I had tried the pots that came with my pump, bags & ice-cube trays but I did find the sticks worked the best.

Thanks happy & elvisgirl, next time I see milk tray chocs I will do a double take, just like in the bus station when I saw a sign saying " express services"