Got Milk? Two Breastmilk Storage Solutions
It’s about two weeks to D-Day. And by “D-Day,” I mean Gwen’s first daycare day. I’m already anxious about it all.
How will she do? How will I do? Ahhh!
And while I’m clearly already freaking out about that day to come, I’ll save my inner dilemma on that for another post because today’s posts is about: How will my boobs do?
Because, besides the emotional turmoil I’m having with how many days is right for her for daycare, there are also the logistics of daycare. Besides getting her supplies (extra pacis, bibs, crib sheet, family photos, etc.), we’re also having to make sure she’ll take a bottle — and I’ve been having to pump to build up a nice supply of breastmilk to send with her. Which also means I’ve been needing an easy way to store said breastmilk. Enter in this review!
Milkies sent me two products that make storing frozen breastmilk easier: Milkies Milk Trays and Milkies Freeze. And over the past month, I’ve been putting them to the test!
Milkies Milk Trays ($21.95)
Milkies Milk Tray looks like an ice cube tray. And it is — but it’s one that is perfectly designed for breastmilk. Each tray freezes eight one-ounce “milk sticks” that are designed to easily fit into any bottle. So you pump, pour, freeze and then pop however many sticks as ounces that you need in a bottle, let it thaw in the fridge and you’re good to feed. Also, the trays are totally free of BPA, phthalates and dyes — and they’re reusable so you don’t have to keep buying and throwing away freezer bags. I’ve been filling up my two trays of these and seriously love them. They’re so convenient and don’t take up much room in the fridge. Perfect for storing a smaller amount of breastmilk easily!
Milkies Freeze ($29.95)
If you need to store a little more breastmilk than just a few ounces, The Milkies Freeze storage system could be for you. You fill up a breastmilk storage bag and then place it on the system’s “quick-freeze” tray. Once frozen, drop the bag within the storage system box. The oldest bags go to the bottom automatically, and the newest ones stay on top. Then, when you’re ready to thaw a bag, you just pull from the bottom and go, ensuring that you’re always using the oldest milk first and not wasting any. Simple enough idea (and similar to the shoe-n-go invention on this episode of Modern Family, no?) and probably something you could replicate yourself at home, but if you’re a busy mom (who isn’t?!) who’s looking to make breastmilk storage a no-brainer, it’s handy and keeps your breastmilk bags from getting lost in the rest of contents of your freezer. Quick note: The box is fairly tall and barely fits in my below-the-fridge freezer, so this is probably best suited for side-by-side fridges when it comes to ease!
Do you use any specialty products to store your breastmilk? Or just go with plain ol’ freezer bags? —Jenn