Best way to freeze breast milk

[grazy101]

I am planning to order a manual breast pump just so I have some breast milk freeze, just in case, I need to be separate from the LO. What is the best way or bottles to store the milk? I read glass, but also read that it loses the most nutrient? I am at a lost. 

[Ellien C]

When I freeze my milk, I use the BM bags - either Lansinoh or Medela. With the Medela bags you can pump into the bag using the little straps they come with that work with the Medela pumps. May work with others as well. With the Lansinoh bags, I use a rubber band or long twist tie and still pump directly into the bag. Then you seal the ziploc and lay them in the freezer. They take up less space than bottles but that may not be a concern.

[kanga1622]

I store in Lansinoh bags frozen flat so they take up less space and are easier to store. I pump into bottles and then pour into bags after I get home (WOHM). They thaw much faster in a pinch when they are frozen flat rather than when we froze them standing up.

I have found that pumping into a bottle, pouring into freezer bag, and then pouring back into a bottle for feeding loses about .25 ounce so I try to add a bit more than 3 oz. in each freezer bag (DS takes 3 oz. bottles so I freeze in that increment if at all possible).

[jr'smom]

For me, the fewer steps the better.  I love this Playtex One-Step system:

http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?productid=21537&site=CI&cm_mmc=cse-_-googlebase-_-feeding_nursing-_-PX-111&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=PX-111 

I've used it through the first year with 3 babies. It's very durable too.  (Still using the same ones.  The bags of course are disposable.)  You can use the 4oz or 8oz inserts.

We'll be digging them out in a few months again and probably adding a few new.  I like to create a huge surplus in the first three months while I'm at home so I don't stress when the baby takes more in a day than I can pump at work.

[CBEmomma]

I use the Lanisoh bags as well and store them flat. I like doing 4 oz in a bag at a time. I've had friends store so much BM in there to fill the bag and then when it thawed it created holes and leaks.

[averlee]

Maybe this is crazy...But I very rarely froze any milk, and when I did...I just used an ice tray! Then I'd put the whole ice tray in a big ziplock bag.