Frozen breastmilk and daycare?

[lawschoolmama]

DD2 (14 weeks) will start daycare next week. I've never had a baby in daycare before (DD1 started when she was nearly 2), so I'm a little clueless. I have a stash of frozen BM, and I also pump enough for the next day every day when I'm at work (and I've just been putting that in the fridge for DH to use, as he's been on paternity leave the past two weeks and watching DD2 during the day). However, when she starts daycare, I realize that I'll need to use some frozen BM every week, so none of it goes bad and goes to waste. My question is: How do you prepare the frozen BM for daycare? I'm supposed to bring in milk in bottles, which is easy to do when it's coming right ofut of the fridge, but how will this work with frozen milk? When I put frozen BM in the fridge to thaw overnight, it's still somewhat frozen in the morning--so how can I put it in bottles? Should I just bring empty bottles and frozen milk still in the bags? TIA!

[mamacassafrass]

I have many of the same questions as you but wanted to make sure you give baby some of the milk that has been frozen to test for excess lipase, before you send it to the daycare. With DD #1 it took me forever to figure out why she refused bottles. I am also going baxck to work next week and my first was 11/2 before starting.
I hope evrything works well for you and your family!

[mamacassafrass]

oh also I noticed you do delayed vax...how did this work with daycare enrollment/paperwork?

[lawschoolmama]

Originally Posted by mamacassafrass

I have many of the same questions as you but wanted to make sure you give baby some of the milk that has been frozen to test for excess lipase, before you send it to the daycare. With DD #1 it took me forever to figure out why she refused bottles. I am also going baxck to work next week and my first was 11/2 before starting.
I hope evrything works well for you and your family!

Thanks for the tip! Yes, she's taken the frozen BM in a bottle before, so it seems to be fine. Good luck to you too!

[lawschoolmama]

Originally Posted by mamacassafrass

oh also I noticed you do delayed vax...how did this work with daycare enrollment/paperwork?

Oh, I did the same thing I did with DD1: submit a religious exemption affidavit, as permitted by state law in Georgia. The daycare hasn't ever given me a hard time about it.

[cakemama579]

If the daycare doesn't have a solution for you, what if you took the frozen BM for the next day out of the freezer and into the fridge the night before? It is good thawed for 24 hours. Pulling it out the night before should be plenty of time for milk to thaw out and daycare to warm up before serving.

Good luck going back to work!

[bella99]

How are you freezing it?

I froze mine in Lansinoh bags in 4 oz laid flat in the freezer, then stuck them overnight in the fridge in a bowl in case it leaked. Sometimes in the morning it was still a little slushy. Most of the time I just poured it in like that, but if it was too icy, I'd just put the bag in warm water for a couple of minutes and then pour it in the bottle. Always use the oldest milk first. I always froze what I pumped that day and used previously frozen milk for the next day.

I gave the daycare prepared bottles everyday, but I also gave them 3, 4oz bags to keep in their freezer if they needed more for any reason. Would they be willing to do keep some on hand?

[misskira]

I left what I pumped during the day at the dc when I picked ds up. They had it on hand for the next day that way. I also kept a couple flat bags in their freezer for back up. I provided a $6 electric tea kettle for her (in home dc) to use to heat up the water to set the bottles in. It worked well. If for some reason I needed more, I put it in the fridge to thaw overnight. It was usually still slushy, but I could squeeze the bag to break it up enough to pour it into the bottle. I used medela storage bottles and sent clean bottles in the morning.

[MariesMama]

misskira - That is such a good idea! And one I would have never thought of ... dropping the milk off when you pick up LO. So simple.

I used a Medela pump with Evenflo glass bottles. The bottles freeze well with the storage tops, and then I thawed them overnight in the fridge.

[moondiapers]

If you let it sit on the counter for an hour or two before you transfer it to the fridge it will have gotten enough of a head start in the thaw process to be liquid enough to pour into a bottle the next morning