This TikTok mom has the ultimate breast milk storage system, which helps parents save space in the freezer! Show In her video, new mom and TikToker Cassondra Rolland (@glitzygoat12) first advises new parents to “freeze [breast milk] flat.” Cassondra does this by laying a small baggie of breast milk on top of a flat item like a box in the freezer. According to the TikToker, freezing the milk flat saves space and also allows the milk to thaw faster when needed. Next, Cassondra recommends using a 12-pack box of soda or seltzer to store the breast milk packs upright once they are frozen. Once there are enough milk packs, Cassondra recommends putting them in a labeled plastic bag! This helps to keep the packs organized. Cassondra’s bags fit eleven 5-oz breast milk bags. The efficiently packed plastic bags “stack up great in a stand up or a deep freeze freezer,” according to Cassondra. This system works because if parents need to leave breast milk with a babysitter, grandparent, or day care worker, the bags take up less space and are super easy to individually thaw! Cassondra’s freezer was filled with hundreds of bags that will surely last her a while! She ended the tutorial by reminding everyone that this system also makes it easy to “keep track of how much [breast milk] you have.” TikTok viewers absolutely loved this hack! One TikToker commented, “Go mama! No better feeling than opening up the freezer to see this!” Another viewer wrote, “That’s exactly what I did. Freeze flat and store standing up with a mini basket. Saved up so much space and was able to make a lot.” Some viewers were surprised and impressed by how much breast milk Cassondra was able to produce. One TikToker commented, “Have you looked into donating some for mothers who can’t produce enough of their own?” Cassondra responded that she plans on giving a lot of her breast milk to her expecting sister and is also interested in donating! There are many hurdles to breastfeeding, and not all moms are able to produce enough breast milk to fill up an entire freezer! This is normal. The Mayo Clinic recommends holding off on a pacifier, breastfeeding often, and avoiding alcohol and nicotine to boost milk production. If you are unable to breastfeed your child, there are plenty of other options including using donated breast milk. In The Know is now available on Apple News — follow us here! If you enjoyed this story, check out this mom’s controversial dishwasher hack! More from In The Know: ‘It literally smells so bad’: Parents stunned to discover washing machine filter needs to be cleaned monthly This indoor grill has a lid for sealing in flavor, and a window for watching food cook These No. 1 best-selling pillows are on sale on Amazon: ‘I slept so good that I didn’t hear the baby crying’ Dad’s lightning-fast reflexes save toddler’s life: ‘My heart skipped a beat’ Listen to the latest episode of our pop culture podcast, We Should Talk:Introduction This week we’ll take some talk about milk storage! There are many ways to store your milk. We’re sure you’ve seen and heard of all of the various ways to store milk, but our hope is to share a method that we’ve found to be very effective for both short and long term storage. Natasha Dodge, staff member and up and coming Breastfeeding Specialist at The Breastfeeding Center, breaks down the “Brick Storage Method”. Although it sounds strange, “breast milk bricks” can be an efficient and space-saving way to store milk. While glass and BPA-free plastic bottles are convenient, they can take up a lot of room in a freezer or fridge. Brick storage on the other hand is a great space-saving way to store breast milk in a freezer. For parents that are planning to build a “breast milk stash” for returning to work, for example, brick storage can be a great way to organize your milk as well as help keep track of how much milk is in your “stash.” For breast milk donors, we also recommend brick storage as breast milk bags that are stored this way are easier to keep organized in the freezer and can save up a lot of space during packing. Continue reading for more information regarding efficient storage as well as ways to avoid cross contamination when using the Brick Storage Method.
Step 1: Breastmilk Storage Guidelines Check Before you store your milk, make sure that the bag/bottle can be stored. Follow these guidelines: *These guidelines are for healthy term babies. Please refer to your lactation consultant or Pediatrician for information on storage guidelines for preterm babies, babies in the NICU, and babies with health concerns. Quick Note: If you are storing in bags, use Breast Milk Storage Bags that are made specifically for collecting and/or storing breast milk. It is important to use breast milk-specific bags because other storage bags like Ziplocs are not sterile. Many breast pump brands or bottle brands make a version of a breast milk storage bag. Some storage bags that we recommend include: Lansinoh Milk Storage Bags, Medela Breast Milk Storage Bags, Ameda Store N' Pour Bags. Step 2: Filling the Breast Milk Storage Bags Whether you pump into the breast milk storage bag or transfer the milk from a bottle into a bag, it is important that you do not fill the bag all the way to the top. Leave a little space at the top (max 1 inch) to ensure that when the milk freezes, it does not expand in the bag and open it, which does compromise the bag. If you are transferring milk from a bottle into a bag, check out this handy trick! Once you have added the milk into the bag, you can also try to remove the air to increase storage capacity as well as help preserve the milk in the bag. Here is a helpful video tutorial to do this. And here is another! Step 3: Label the Bag Before you place the breast milk bag in the freezer, some things you might want to consider writing: label the bag with the date of expression, the amount of ounces, and the use by date. You can also include your child’s name here if you are bringing breast milk to a daycare, have more than one little one, etc. You can also write any other helpful notes like “first pumping session” or “baby has a cold.” Encouraging notes to self can be helpful too, like: “you got this, mama!” “Hard day, but I got through it!!” *If you are a milk donor, please be sure to follow any additional guidelines provided by the Milk Bank. Step 4: Store Your Milk Now that your milk is ready to be stored, you can place your milk in the freezer. We recommend storing you milk near the middle or back of the freezer instead of closer to the door where the temperature can fluctuate more. Also, freeze your breast milk bag flat in the freezer. Once frozen, you can reorganize and rearrange. Cookie or baking sheets or Tupperware containers can be helpful flat surfaces for freezers. Step 5: Long-term storage Once your milk has frozen in the freezer, you can group together frozen bags in a large gallon-sized Ziplock bag (which fits ~10-15 bricks depending on the size) or in boxes/plastic storage bins. Once you have filled a Ziploc bag/box, label it with a range of dates for the individual bags as well as how many ounces approximately are grouped together. Alternating the bags upside down, which will help them fit together and take up less space. You can also mix together the amount of ounces in each Ziploc bag/box. Sometimes it can be helpful to include smaller ounces and larger ounces in the same Ziploc/box so that you don’t have to use more milk than you need. Step 6: Keeping Track of your Frozen Milk On top of labeling the bags, you may also want to keep a log for how much breast milk is stored altogether. To do this you can:
Questions or concerns about milk storage guidelines? We’re here to help! Join us for:
Or book a one-on-one appointment with a Lactation Consultant here: breastfeedingcenter.org/appointments Interested in becoming a milk donor? Learn more here! How do you stack breastmilk in a chest freezer?One trick to fitting more breast milk bricks into each container is to stack them up/down/up/down. Most breast milk bags tend to have a bit more milk frozen in the bottom of the bag, so alternating which side is down allows you to fit more in.
Can you freeze different batches of breast milk together?Milk from different pumping sessions/days may be combined in one container – use the date of the first milk expressed. Avoid adding warm milk to a container of previously refrigerated or frozen milk – cool the new milk before combining. Breastmilk is not spoiled unless it smells really bad or tastes sour.
Should I lay breastmilk flat in freezer?In general, place storage bags upright in another container or the milk may leak. But if the double zipper seal on the breastmilk storage bag is reliable, laying the bag flat in the freezer will help the milk thaw faster later..
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How to organize breast milk in freezer
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