https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 11 May 2026 06:37:08 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855920 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 12:44:46 +0000 catgirl 2855920@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsADS: I told DH if we have another LO that a deep freezer is a requirement. I hated giving up 90% of my freezer to store milk with DD. I think the ddep freezer would be life changing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855919 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 12:43:27 +0000 catgirl 2855919@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was always told 3-6 months in a regular freezer, but my personal comfort was also closer to 4 months. </p> <p>I had an intense oversupply and had donated just about 3000 ounces by the time DD was 1 (and had lost close to 1000 ounces due to two unfortunate freezer situations). I donated to a family member so I have no experience with the other groups/programs but I know my SIL got donations using Human Milk for Human Babies. If you think you might want to donate I would definitely start looking around now so you have a game plan if you reach the time frame when the milk is going bad. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855906 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 11:40:51 +0000 MrsADS 2855906@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Let me just say I LOVE MY DEEP FREEZER and I could not live without it! LOL. I bought it to store breastmilk with baby #1 and I don't know how I managed without it. I can stock up when stuff is on sale, cook larger portions and put them in the freezer to pull out for dinner, obviously store breastmilk, etc. I freeze everything! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855858 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 08:14:27 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2855858@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: they used to say 6 months, but this time one nurse did say 4 months and I don’t love the way the milk seems the older it gets, so I was more inclined to go with less time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855849 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 06:54:22 +0000 LCTBQE 2855849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsbubbletea: is 4 months the recommended limit on milk kept in the freezer part of your fridge? what you did feels like the right route for me--I don't think I'd be ready to donate more than the first month or so at a time. thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855845 Fri, 09 Nov 2018 04:44:23 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2855845@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: I donated after I went back to work and was getting a good idea on how much milk my baby was going to drink. I didn’t want a huge freezer stash because I could tell my second, while better than my first with bottles, still never became a real fan and just drank a little bit. I loved donating informally through Facebook since I didn’t want to keep the milk more than 4 months and I freed up freezer space! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855830 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:46:45 +0000 LCTBQE 2855830@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@agold: haha, no doubt when I start back at work my supply will tank and I'll be dealing with the other side of the coin. it's so finicky to get supply just right! as of now I'm trying really hard to pump only once/day, right before I go to bed, so I can sleep for as long as possible without being woken up by my own breasts... where is the eye roll emoji.. that sucks that you got mastitis, it sounds terrible :heart: </p> <p>@Mommy Finger: I know, people do love them! but I'm telling you, if I got a deep freezer it would be awesome for storing BM but after that, my husband would just fill it with meat that we would never eat until years later I decided that it smelled weird and then we'd have eleven conversations about getting rid of it. I have a talent for seeing the future :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855814 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:47:52 +0000 Mommy Finger 2855814@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: HA! I have an obscene LOVE for my deep freezer. It's the first thing we bought when we moved into our new house 5 years ago. :) I think I'm a food hoarder......I love to batch cook and can't pass up a good deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855811 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:39:05 +0000 agold 2855811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: You don't at all sound like you are complaining. I know that too much milk is definitely also a bad thing. I thought I had too much milk at the beginning with my new baby. I fought the urge to pump because I wanted my supply to regulate out, but I also ended up getting mastitis. Ugh. Its a no win situation. And now I'm back in the position of wishing I had more milk! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855808 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 16:59:13 +0000 LCTBQE 2855808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>thank you for the feedback, everyone! I was under the impression that milk from very early days would not really be nutritionally useful to her after a few months, and I'd hate for it to go to waste if it can help a preemie--but I'll start cycling through it instead--sounds like I was over-thinking it. </p> <p>@LBee: @MrsADS: holy toledo, 2000?!! thanks for the information about your experiences donating. I don't think I'd be deterred by the bloodwork and stuff if I was donating a lot, but maybe would just do a FB thing if it was a smaller supply. I don't take any medications, have a super-clean medical record, and have a normal diet so it could ostensibly be pretty straightforward. </p> <p>@periwinklebee: @Mommy Finger: it's just in my regular freezer (in a drawer in the back, super super cold)--part of why I was thinking about donating what I pumped in September is that I am kind of reluctant to get a deep freezer--it just seems like another damn appliance taking up space in my house that I won't use much after this--and I'm starting to run out of room for actual frozen food. not really a problem, just trying to figure out what to do :) </p> <p>@DesertDreams88: yes COMPLETELY I already have less patience for pumping this time around. hadn't really considered that I might not want to pump at work as long this time. </p> <p>@agold: trying not to sound complain-y (I never had a stash at all with my son and had to supplement), but ugh the oversupply was *not* fun. I was pretty miserable for the first six weeks, it was a lot of drowning my poor baby in gross watery foremilk every time she tried to nurse and she'd just scream, waking up every two hours with rock hard disgusting hot-to-the-touch boobs leaking milk all over me and the bed, and constant physical pain. I also know the agony/stress of the baby screaming because you're under-producing and he's hungry, but IMO (for me at least) this sucked just as much! and good tip about the date nites, I need to do that ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855805 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 16:17:47 +0000 agold 2855805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lucky you! Keep it and use it! Someone recently on this thread posted about how to use a frozen stash. Freeze your friday milk and use frozen for monday. That is what I started doing. And go out on lots of date nights! Woo hoo! Again, lucky you. I don't even have an over supply and guard my frozen milk with my life! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855736 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 11:12:07 +0000 MrsADS 2855736@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lbee oh yeah, I think mine did too now that you mention it. It was 3 years ago and I have not slept a lot since then! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855733 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 11:06:09 +0000 LBee 2855733@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsADS: In my state my pediatrician also had to sign off on the donation! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855731 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 11:04:05 +0000 MrsADS 2855731@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh yeah, thanks @lbee I totally forgot - I did have to get lab work done and disclose all medication/complete a medical application form for the milk bank. Yeah, if you are on some medications it is an issue and you may wish to go another donation route. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855728 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:53:21 +0000 LBee 2855728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>A quick note on one thing that @MrsADS: didn't mention. My local milk bank requires you to get blood drawn. I hate to say this, but that was one of the reasons I ended up going the Human Milk for Human Babies route. Between already taking time from my work and family to pump, I just couldn't fit it in my day to go to lab corp and get blood work done. I know that sounds horrible, but that, along with the 10+ page application, ended up turning me off. I also took Zoloft for PPD both times and it is an automatic disqualification in my state (I think it is for most). </p> <p>ETA: I fully disclosed my taking of Zoloft in my Human Milk for Human Babies exchange. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855720 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:38:22 +0000 MrsADS 2855720@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a huge oversupply with baby #1 and also donated over 2,000 ounces. I honestly couldn't keep it all in my deep freezer, so keeping it all was not an option! I probably had an additional 1,000 ounces I kept as "backup" for my son, so I still had plenty in case of an emergency.</p> <p>There are informal milk sharing groups on facebook (human milk for human babies was already mentioned). Although I think that's great, I wasn't comfortable with it (I'm a lawyer and the potential liability/issues makes me uncomfortable).</p> <p>Most states have a donor milk bank (or multiple banks) that is run as a nonprofit and provides donor milk "officially" to babies in the NICU in hospitals. It is affiliated with hospitals. In my state this is the milk bank: <a href="https://milkbankofflorida.org/" rel="nofollow">https://milkbankofflorida.org/</a></p> <p>They have "pick up sites" at local hospitals throughout the state. So I called the lactation department at my local hospital and arranged a drop off time. I didn't donate all 2,000 ounces at once. I donated probably 5 separate times. I brought it in a huge cooler and they took it for me. Then they ship it on dry ice to the milk bank headquarters. There, the milk bank thaws and pasteurizes the milk and analyze it for composition (fat, calories, etc). They then repackage it and label it with the nutrition composition and send it to NICUs throughout the state as needed. </p> <p>It is great to donate!! I am so glad I did. I worked really hard with baby #2 not to have as much of an oversupply, so I only have a freezer stash (maybe 300-400 ounces or so?). I'm keeping it for now, but I will donate it as he gets older if he doesn't need it. The milk bank will accept the milk up to a year if it's been in a deep freezer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855713 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:12:31 +0000 Mommy Finger 2855713@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with cycling through your frozen stash and make sure you have a good deep freezer. For both of my boys, I was able to build up a healthy supply so that I could stop pumping around 9/10 months but it got me past a year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855711 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:09:30 +0000 Mrs. Toad 2855711@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a decent sized stash when I went back to work. I was still over producing until DD turned 6 months. After that, I just managed until 9 months. What I thought would be donated just managed to get me until she was a year old.</p> <p>I would be wary of donating as long as the milk is still good. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855707 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 09:56:19 +0000 periwinklebee 2855707@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What kind of freezer is it in? That will impact how long it can store for. </p> <p>I would love to have more of a stash at this point so I could stop pumping at work. Its only a couple of months more, but I'm over it and it has gotten harder and harder to carve the time... </p> <p>Of course, donating is also an awesome thing to do... no knowledge on this, unfortunately... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855703 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 09:33:51 +0000 LBee 2855703@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've donated over 2,000 ounces in my pumping days. While breastmilk does change, I don't think it's a major issue. When I was cycling for my son (I didn't cycle frozen for my daughter), I just tried to do at least 1 pumped bottle during the day. I'm assuming you are still nursing morning and night? If so, I wouldn't worry too much about the changing properties as your baby is getting fresh then. </p> <p>I donated using Human Milk for Human Babies. Both times it was to NICU babies. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855672 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:36:42 +0000 Mrsbells 2855672@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LCTBQE: I rotate through my freezer supply so that I am regularly thawing and feeding DS2 frozen milk to avoid any of it getting too old. So each day he gets some bottles of freshly pumped milk and some that are a couple weeks old from the freezer </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855671 Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:31:36 +0000 DesertDreams88 2855671@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>nahhhhh keep it! use it to wean from pumping earlier! use it to give you nighttime breaks when you need it! use it when you're out and about and don't want to nurse because you're busy wrangling things! </p> <p>Obvi don't use too much all at once because it will impact your supply but enjoy the flexibility :)</p> <p>With my son I had an oversupply for awhile and had 160 oz in the freezer when I went back to work at 6m. That freezer stash allowed my to cut down pumping sessions / times faster than I would have been able to, normally.</p> <p>Also I felt like pumping sucked WAY more this time around.... just such an inefficient use of time and "extra" thing to manage. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/when-to-donate-your-stash#post-2855669 Wed, 07 Nov 2018 23:08:55 +0000 LCTBQE 2855669@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm 10 weeks PP (baby was born late August) and had a big/uncomfortable oversupply that didn't correct until about a month ago, resulting in a 300 oz freezer stash, about half from September and half from October. I'm still over-producing by around 8oz/day. I don't anticipate using any of it until I go back to work in January, and I'll be pumping at work, so I'm not sure how much of the stash I'll even need. </p> <p>I've read that the breastmilk composition changes quickly as babies grow to accommodate different nutritional needs--so what I'm wondering is when does the window close for when my daughter could really stand to benefit from the early stuff? Should I donate it? If so, any tips or resources for how to go about donation would be much appreciated! </p>