Expressing - how much and storage?

[Dukester100]

DS 9weeks and planning an evening out in two weeks for about 3 hours locally. Have started to express milk and have frozen it. Just wondering how much to defrost for 3-4 hour period. Know this is tricky as all babies are different but I am hoping 250ml would be enough to cover? He generally has two evening feeds and I'll be back for last feed.

In preparation, I'd like to try the teat this weekend by getting DH to do the night feed. Is it ok to get the milk out last thing and leave it in the bedroom to get to room temperature (3-4hrs) to save getting up etc? Of course he may need it warmed in water but thought I'd try the easy route first!

Hi there,
There's lots of info on kellymom about expressing, but reckon on about 25oz a day- divide that by roughly how many feeds your LO has a day and that will give you the approx. amount you need.

Thawing in a fridge is recommended ( overnight?), once thawed I'm not sure if you treat it as freshly expressed milk ( will keep at room temp for 3 hrs roughly).

Do you think you might need to express when you are out to relieve some discomfort or just come back and feed as soon as you can?

Hath

Thanks, good point ref discomfort. I generally get away with a missed feed if he's sleeping and plan to feed before I leave. I work it out about 3oz per feed in which case I have started to do 4oz bags so that's perfect! I did by the medela mini so could take it with me but a bit noisy in the restaurant toilets perhaps! :/

Thinking ahead to when he sleeps more at night, is there any advice on how to avoid mastitis but not let my body think it's feeding? I have had it with both children so a bit prone to it!

Thanks
Emma

Meant to say I will thaw in fridge but then bring thawed milk to the bedroom for the night feed. If it's 3 hours then that should just hit his wake time :)

Freshly expressed milk can be kept at room temp for 6 hours (some even say 8 hours if the room is on the cooler side). Thaw in the fridge, then from the time it is thawed, you have 24 hours to use it (keep it in the fridge). Once removed from the fridge, treat as fresh - ie, you have 6 hours to use it.

My baby is 7 weeks, she is exclusively fed expressed milk. She has 130ml (around 4.5ish oz) every 3 hours or so during the day (and this, I believe, is slightly on the "high" side for a baby her age).

At night, I remove 2 bottles from the fridge and take them up with me, so by the time she needs them, they are room temp.

If you express and put milk directly into fridge, rather than freezer, you have around 6 days to use it.

Breast milk is very robust!! I have been taught that if baby doesn't take the full bottle (hah! Never happened yet, greedy guts!) it can be popped back into the fridge and given at the next feed. Just open the bottle and have a sniff - any problems and it will smell foul. If it is odourless, you're good to go.