Pumping breast milk to store it for later use is a fantastic way to prolong your breast feeding, specifically for mothers that are going back to work or who need to be separated from their baby. The storage of milk allows you time to be away from your baby and still have breast milk for your baby to drink.
The best time to start building up you milk stash is at least 2 weeks before you will need it. This allows you time to get used to expressing. It may take some time to get used to a pump and find the best settings for you to use. The Mya Joy hospital grade breast pump is an excellent pump. Being able to express both breast at the same time is a great time saver and also having a motor that is able to empty breasts and also last for the 2 year warranty is super important. If you want to find out more about the Ameda Mya Joy breast pump you follow this link: https://www.mybreastpump.co.za/product/MyaJ . You also have some time available to build up a bit of a stash so that you know that you will have milk for when you need it. If you are exclusively breast feeding, expect to express about half a feed in between the breast feeding. Your body is already making enough milk for your baby and now your body is making extra on top of your baby’s needs. Expressing does also add more to your schedule, so give your self the time to express and slowly work up to the extra sessions that you need. Once you are at work you will need to express in the times that you would normally have feed or pumped.
Having an affordable option to save your breast milk in is a must. The My Breast Milk Storage bags are idea for storing your breast milk on. They are BPA-free and medically sterilized so that you don’t have to do anything to get them ready, just tear open the top seal and pour your milk in to the bag. The bags also have space for you to write with a permanent marker your baby’s name, date that you expressed the milk on and the volume. This information is very important. If you baby goes to creche you need to make sure that the breast milk given to your baby is your milk. When breastmilk freezes it expands which can make it difficult to work out how much milk is in the bag. By having the amount of milk on the bag it makes it easier for you to manage how much milk you need to defrost and can result in less wastage. Lastly by dating the bags you are able to use the older milk first. First in First out is really important in making sure that you use your breast milk within the correct time frames so that it does not expire.
What really sets the My Breast Milk Storage Bags apart is that it has a double ziplock seal so that the bag does not leak. The side seals are very strong so that the bag will not burst in your freezer. There is nothing worst then defrosting your milk only to find that it has all leaked out. The bags has a very useful pouring sprout. This means that you don’t need to pour the milk out of the opening with the Ziplock seal. You have a designed spout that enables you to pour accurately with out messing your milk. The milk can also stand on it own once you have filled it. This makes it so much easier to handle.
Just a little tip when using breast milk storage bags is that you can save a lot more space if you freeze the bags flat. This way they become thin and once frozen are able to stand up in a container so that you can arrange them first in fits out. This make managing the stash so much easier and you can fit so many more bags into your freezer. No need to just buy a breast milk freezer.
If you are not sure how long you can store breast milk for, the CDC guidelines are on the back of the box. This makes it so easy for you, you just have to flip the box around and there is all the information. It also explains how long you can keep thawed breast milk as well as what to do if the baby does not finish the bottle of breast milk. This information is so important, by having it at your fingertips you are able to save more milk y not wasting and also ensure that your baby get the benefits of the breast milk that you have expressed.
You can get the My Breast Milk Storage bags from Takealot (look out for the bulk deals where you can buy 4 bags and save R60) Alternatively you can buy the bags form the online store www.mybreastpump.co.za
- How long should a mother breastfeed for - May 15, 2023
- NICU and Milk supply - May 11, 2023
- Loadshedding and Breast milk - April 4, 2023
This is so useful especially for working Moms.