Hellobee Boards

Are you measuring the milk in another container before transferring it to a storage bag? I never felt like storage bags had accurate measuring lines! (I always went by the amount indicated on the bottles I pumped into prior to transfer.)

Maybe this isn't a great suggestion (since my LO isn't even here yet!) but if you wanted to make the investment in the playtex nurser system, you can pump right into the bags and then later attach them to the bottles for feeding, so no pouring from bag to bottle.

@Adira: I just push the milk down, to make sure it fills all the pockets of the bags. Sort of like the reverse of getting all the air out, since you push it down. Once I started doing this, the ozs on the bag would add up when I poured into the bottles.

@Adira: I dunno! I never noticed that much of a difference in volume between what was pumped vs. what was thawed . . . But I didn't use a ton of frozen milk (I have 2oz. TOTAL in my freezer stash, if that can even be called a stash!).

i freeze in larger portions, 3-4 oz because those were typical bottles. there is definitely a little lost every time you transfer!

You are always going to lose some when you transfer...pumping bottle to bag, bag to bottle. I also had to top off with fresh milk.

@Adira: I totally hear you.. fwiw, my DS took 4 oz pretty much the entire time he was on bottles, so I always froze in 4 oz bags and sent an extra to day care. They would tap into that if they needed to.. but every baby is different. You could experiment with different combinations?

@Adira: can't you store in larger increments and just spread out the bag amounts through several feedings since xander goes to daycare and needs multiple bottles anyway?

example - he's taking 15 ounces...
so let's say you have only 4 oz bags, can't you thaw 4 bags to get 16 ounces, then save the extra ounce for a bottle the next day?

then again, in this case since you seem to be losing an ounce, 4 oz portioned sizes might not be such a bad idea! i think you would lose less in the transfer if you froze bigger portions. i always lose a little bit in the transfer too, but i don't notice it too much.

@Adira: really? i've been doing that with no issues.

@Adira: I have the exact same problem! I'll pump 4 oz (or whatever it is) into bottles, then pour it into bags and label it "4 oz." Then DH thaws the milk and says "this isn't 4 oz, it's only 3.5 or 3!" Noooooo
It's so frustrating.

@Adira: I sort of follow that 24 hour rule. Although if I had thawed milk leftover from yesterday, I'd put it in a bottle marked #1 today (we use painters tape to make reusable 1, 2, 3 stickers for the bottles) so it would get used first thing in the morning.

My DH is probably not super efficient with his pouring either. I feel like the first place I lose some is in the bottles themselves. I can't pour it all into the bags. I've started low balling my amount totals. So if it looks like I've pumped 4 oz in the bottle, I'll write 3.5 on the bag. I'd rather be happily surprised with more milk than disappointed by less.

@dagret: I do that too. She she doesn't drink all 4 bottles on Monday, from thawed milk. I just make sure she has it first on Tuesday. So far it is working.