Ask:
Hello,
I am wanting to be frugal when it comes to freezing breast milk, and I read in Kim's book to freeze it in ice cube trays, put needed amount in freezer bag, and thaw when needed. Have any of you used this? Do you think freezing it in a clean ice cube tray will have any harm to the milk since it is not covered?
Also, my sister offered to give me her old crib. It is 5 years old. I heard not to use a used crib if it has been in a basement because even after you throughly clean the wood, mildew can get into the wood itself? Would you agree? Again, just trying to be frugal since we are cutting back to one income.
Thanks for all your advise,
Simplelife
Answer:
My babies would never take bottles. But when I did freeze the milk to try I froze it in the advent bottles and just thawed and put on a nipple. As far as the crib. I would just look at it. Does she have a really moist basement? What shape does it look in. It is your sister not a yard sale or something.
Answer:
I pumped into a bottle and then poured milk into cheap ole' sealable baggies for freezing. Then, I would just sit a bag out to thaw enough to pour back into a bottle when needed. It saved us having to buy all those bottles, it was sealed, and it didn't take up near the room in my freezer.
As for the crib....I have bought and used a crib that someone had stored for a long while. I cleaned it well with tilex before hand...making sure to wipe the tilex off quick enough not to ruin the wood. I put two of my children in it before selling it to a friend for her own baby. As long as it is clean, fits under current safety inspections, etc, I wouldn't worry too much about that one.
Answer:
Just look at the crib, it should meet safety regs since it's only 5 years old. If it looks good/smells good, it's probably fine, just clean it before first use. I only pumped once and I stored the milk in the breast milk storage bags that came with my breast pads.
Answer:
Do you plan on using breast pads? If you buy the Lansinoh brand you get free baggies in every box. I've accumilated quite a bit just from buying the breast pads that I needed anyway.
Answer:
I am using the crib that was my husbands when he was a baby, so lets see it is 39 years old. Nope, doesn't meet safety requirements, but we all had the same cribs then and we all survived. Accidents can happen with anything.. As long as the crib looked ok I wouldn't hesitate.
Answer:
you can cover the BM with saran wrap
the BM storage bags will be best for storring though because they are able to btter protect the milk from freeze damage
Answer:
I froze my breast milk in ziploc bags, in the amount that my babies would drink, and then thawed and poured into bottles. As for the crib, I had twins, so needed to be frugal, and a friend of mine gave me hers, that had had her three babies, and I believe a cousin of there's in it. Cleaned it with clorox wipes before I used it, and have had no problems that have surfaced.
Answer:
I always used the gerber brand bags, more came in them and then just thawed in warm water
Answer:
I just went to a breastfeeding class and they recommended the gerber brand bags too. They are better than most and cheaper I think too. I may just go with the bags out of convience. Plus, I don't have very much freezer space and I'm sure I would end up dumping the ice cube tray at some point.