If you’ve been wondering how to stockpile breast milk, you’re in the right place! But I first want to start by saying, this is absolutely not necessary to do. You don’t need the giant breast milk stashes you see all over social media to have a successful breastfeeding journey.
That being said, you may want to build a small stash before you return to work. Or maybe you have a bountiful supply and want to learn how to manage it all. If so, let’s go over how to stockpile breast milk!
When to Start Pumping for Storage
Many new moms wonder when they should start pumping to build up a breast milk stash. This actually depends on quite a few factors. Depending upon how breastfeeding is going, you may want to focus those first few weeks solely on getting comfortable with breastfeeding.
If breastfeeding is going well and you’re ready to take on a pumping session here and there to build up a stash, then it’s recommended to start around 4-6 weeks postpartum. This allows you to establish a breastfeeding routine with your baby, get a good latch, and tell your body how much breast milk your baby needs.
Some mothers may need to pump sooner for medical reasons such as high bilirubin levels in their baby, low birth weight, low blood sugar in baby at birth, poor latch with milk removal issues, and more. In this case, you should be working closely with a lactation consultant and your baby’s pediatrician.
If you’re an exclusively pumping mama, you may also want to wait until around 4 weeks to start adding any extra pumping sessions for a stockpile. The main reason being you don’t want to put your breasts into oversupply and start dealing with painful issues like clogged ducts, mastitis, and a forceful letdown causing gas and discomfort in your baby.
How to Stockpile Breast Milk
The first step is to get a rough estimate of how much breast milk you’d like to collect for a stash. We’ll talk about that more in detail! This will be helpful in determining how many pumping sessions you need to start adding to your breastfeeding routine.
You can start by including a pumping session after you feed your baby for their first feed in the morning. Because of the hormone prolactin’s function, you should produce the most breast milk in the early hours of the morning. Feed your baby as you would regularly, and then use either a manual pump or an electric pump for 10-15 minutes to collect any extra milk. This session will *most likely* yield the most milk you will get at a time for the day.
You can do this every morning until you’ve collected enough milk for your stash. If you need to collect a large amount or collect in a short amount of time, you can also add an extra 1-2 pumping sessions after feedings throughout the day. Whenever works best for you.
Keep in mind if you’re only collecting 1-2 ounces (or even less) after feeding your baby, that is great and totally normal!
Another great tip is to use a haakaa silicone pump while nursing your baby. Each time you nurse your baby, attach the haakaa to the opposite breast your baby is nursing on. With the natural suction, the haakaa will collect your letdown and some extra breast milk as well. This is an amazing way to collect a few extra ounces each day!
If you are exclusively pumping, you can try pumping an extra 10 minutes with 2-3 pumping sessions per day. Try hands-on pumping (massaging your breasts while pumping) to attempt to initiate more letdowns for extra milk. Or add an extra pumping session into your day.
Be sure to introduce the bottle right after breastfeeding is established to prevent bottle refusal! If your baby is having a problem with bottles, check out this post on a few different bottles you can try that are great for bottle refusing babies!
How Much Breast Milk Should You Store
The amount of breast milk you should store all depends on what you’re using it for. Are you using it for when you go back to work? For a date night? For a trip where you have to be away from your baby? You’ll want to have enough milk to cover the length of time you’ll be away from your baby.
And that’s truly it! You really only need the amount of milk that your baby would take while they are away from you. Anything more than that is just a nice extra.
Let’s go over how to estimate how much milk your baby will take while you’re gone. Most breastfed babies take 1 to 1.5 ounces of milk for every hour you’re away. So if you are going to be gone from your baby for 8 hours, you would multiply those two numbers together. Which estimates that your baby will need roughly 8 to 12 ounces while you are away.
Of course every baby is different. Practice giving your baby bottles at home before returning to work so you can see how many ounces satisfies them and keeps them full!
Going Back to Work
If you’re planning to go back to work, start pumping 3-4 weeks before your maternity leave ends. This give you time to gather enough ounces to have for your baby your first day back to work.
You can try to collect anywhere from 2-5 days worth of milk (after calculating how much your baby will take in a day).
You should be pumping while at work every 2-3 hours ideally or on your baby’s nursing schedule if possible. This ensures you have enough milk for your baby for the following work day, and also maintains your milk supply. This is why you truly only need one day’s worth of breast milk for your baby. Because you should be pumping enough for the next day while at work.
Date Night
If you’re planning a date out with your partner, you really won’t need much breast milk saved. Depending upon how long your date is, you may only need 1-2 bottles worth of milk.
You should estimate how much milk your baby will take on the higher end. Just to ensure your baby will have enough milk while you’re away.
Trip Without Baby
A trip without your baby requires a little more effort and planning on your part. You’ll want to calculate how many days you’ll be away from your baby, and take night feeds into consideration as well.
Practice giving plenty of bottle feeding ahead of time so your baby is prepared. As well as give you an opportunity to see how many ounces of milk your baby is taking each feeding.
If your baby is taking 9 feeds in 24 hours, multiply the number of feeds by how many ounces your baby takes. (So if your baby takes 3 ounces each feed, you would need 27 ounces for one day of feedings) Pump more for an extra feed or two, so your baby has extra milk if they want another bottle more than they usually do.
Benefits of Having a Breast Milk Stash
While a stockpile of milk isn’t necessary, there are some benefits to having a stash. Here are a few reasons you may have more peace of mind having a breast milk stash:
- If you have to stop pumping or breastfeeding early
- Emergency situation where you have to be away from your baby
- Your baby goes through a growth spurt and wants more milk
- You experience a drop in your milk supply and can’t meet baby’s demand
- You forgot the next day’s worth of milk at work
Remember, you don’t need hundreds of ounces of breast milk to have a worthy stash. Whatever you can make is great!
How to Store Your Breast Milk Stash
If you’re working hard to collect that liquid gold, here are a few ways to protect your stash.
Freeze as Soon as Possible
If you know the breast milk you just pumped is going to be put in the freezer, freeze it within 24 hours. This helps maintains it’s nutrients as well as prevent lipase from building up.
Get to the Same Temperature
Chill freshly pumped breast milk before combining it with breast milk already in the fridge.
Leave Room to Expand
Leave a little room in the storage container or bags for the breast milk to expand when freezing. This prevents tearing in the bags which causes them to leak when thawing.
Freeze in Small Batches
If you plan to freeze the amount your baby takes per feeding in the storage bags, make a few extra bags with smaller amounts such as 1-2 ounces. This is helpful for times when your baby is still hungry after their typical feeding. So you don’t have to waste any of that precious milk!
Don’t Store on the Door
Store your breast milk at the back of the freezer, not in the door compartments or near the front. This keeps it cold and prevents any thawing. And lay breast milk flat when freezing to save space!
Oldest Milk in Front
Put the oldest milk in the front and the freshest milk in the back. This helps prevent any milk waste so none of it expires before you get to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What breast milk bags should you use?
This is personal preference. My favorite plastic storage bags are the Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags. These are great if you have a large breast milk stash because they’re more affordable.
If you plan to have a smaller stockpile of breast milk, I love the Haakaa Silicone Milk Storage Bags. They are reusable, don’t leak, and are more eco conscious.
How much breast milk should you store in each bag?
I recommend trying to store however much your baby takes for a feeding in each storage bag. Freezing small amounts of breast milk will help reduce waste if your baby doesn’t take it all.
If you want to save larger amounts in the bags to reduce space taken, you can thaw it in the fridge or in cold water. This allows you to use the breast milk over a 24 hour period. Rather than if you heated the breast milk up to thaw, it would need to be used within 2 hours.
How long does it take to build a milk stash?
This all depends on your milk supply and your baby’s needs! If you can pump 2-3 times a day after feedings, or use a haakaa with each feeding, you may be able to build up your stash within 2-4 weeks. Depending upon how much milk you plan to collect! The earlier you plan ahead, the easier it will be!
If you are struggling to collect anything extra at all, connect with a local lactation consultant to troubleshoot!
I hope this post was helpful for you! Just remember, you’re feeding your baby NOT the freezer. Don’t let the freezers full of breast milk you see on social media get you stressed out! You can do this!
Other Posts You May Like:
- The Best Proven Ways to Increase Your Breastfeeding Milk Supply
- 12 Best Tips for Overcoming Bottle Refusal
- 10 Breastfeeding Must Haves for New Moms
- Complete Guide for How Often to Replace Your Breast Pump Parts
