Need guidance on how much EBM goes into a bottle...

[AfricanQueen99]

Next weekend the husband and I are taking a trip and leaving our two kids at home. YAY!! The youngest took a few bottles last weekend - just to make sure he'd actually do it.

How much should I pump and leave behind? I already pump twice a day to donate so I'm just going to hoard that for myself. It won't be a problem to pump...it's just that I have no idea how much the kid actually eats.

Sooo, if you have a kid roughly the same age (he'll just turn 9 months when we go), how much does s/he drink in one bottle?

And, weird question, can you think of a reason why I shouldn't just dump all the pumped milk into a glass container and have my mother pour out what she needs for each meal? That would give me milk from various pumping sessions all mixed together. Otherwise I would just do breastmilk bags, but I hate the idea of all the waste.

Thanks!

[Spiralshell]

I have always left 2 or 3 oz bottles -- planning on 1 oz per hour apart.
Does your 9 month old eat any solids? mine was eating a ton of solids by that age, so he often would have less milk while I was at work and would just nurse more at night.
Have a fun trip!

[AfricanQueen99]

Originally Posted by Spiralshell

Does your 9 month old eat any solids?

Anything and everything he can get his hands on. The kid is a bruiser, too...choked full of milk and food.

An ounce per hour is a good jumping off point. Thanks!

[Baby~Braatens~Mama]

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

According to the chart on this website (which totally rocks btw ) you can put milk from different pumping/days in the same container, but you should use the first deposits date. If refrigerating you then have 8 days to use the expressed milk. Hope this helped! Have fun on your trip!

[cristeen]

At 9 mos, my guy was eating about 34 oz/day, in 3-4 oz increments. It actually was that pretty steadily from about 5 mos until now, 13 mos.

But, the thing about BM, you don't have to toss it just because it's been served. Pop the bottle back in the fridge and serve it at his next meal. No waste.

And no reason not to mix if you're only going to be gone a couple days. Using donor milk, I'd defrost a day's worth at a time, pour it all into a pitcher in the fridge, and just pour bottles from that. Way easier to deal with.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Baby~Braatens~Mama

If refrigerating you then have 8 days to use the expressed milk.

While 8 days in the fridge is the norm, there is a range. In case you haven't checked how long your milk lasts in the fridge, you may want to check before you leave. Mine only lasts between 36 and 48 hours

[AfricanQueen99]

^^^ Is there just a general smell/taste test to see how long it lasts in the fridge?

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by AfricanQueen99

^^^ Is there just a general smell/taste test to see how long it lasts in the fridge?

Yeah. Mine starts to smell different, but tasting it is the key - when it goes bad it makes both baby and me gag!

[AfricanQueen99]

Good to know!

Thanks for your help, everybody. This is going to be quite useful. And, luckily, if I'm a little short it won't be an issue as my little man will eat anything put in front of him.

Let's hope he'll take to the breast the second he sees me again...AND that TSA won't be giving me a hard time bringing a boatload of milk back with me.

[TSomm]

Just as a word of caution, my little chugger can put down 5-6 ounces at a time. She'll be 9 months in a week. BUT, she doesn't eat that much solids-wise.

[JudiAU]

4-5 ounce bottles are pretty common at that age but it assumes a baby who is used to being bottle fed bm. I wouldn't do bigger than 4 if he isn't. And I wouldn't worry about reusing the milk from one bottle into the next. Extra milk goes in the next bottle, but not next so there is no ongoing contamination. We do it all the time, have for a year, and no issue. Wish I had figured it out with my first.