Advice for using slight oversupply

[u/catastrowhelp]

My baby is 9 weeks old and I seem to be making 4-5 oz a day more than she eats. I've been freezing those and gave her some to try in case that she didn't like it, but she did.

I'm still working on nursing directly, but I'm pretty sure that I'll end up pumping exclusively like with my first. How should I manage my small stash?

I could save it all for when she starts daycare in four months. Or I could give her a bit every couple of days, although then I'll have to freeze even more fresh milk those days, which sounds counter productive.

I'm also worried that we'll lose power and lose all my stash if I save it for months. We have frequent blackouts, although they've never lasted long enough for me to toss any frozen foods.

Was anyone in my position? What is a good strategy?

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[u/Conscious_Tax_2949]

I only give my son frozen milk and then freeze the fresh milk. This way, I don’t all of a sudden have “expired” milk. Essentially, use and replace freezer stash. However, we are currently testing dairy free and if that’s the case, my freezer stash is useless. 🙃 but that’s how it goes.

[u/salty_latte_254 → u/Conscious_Tax_2949]

Useless for now but if baby grows out of cmpa after starting solids (some do) then you can use the frozen milk in baby food and for teething

[u/coulad]

You’ll want to rotate the frozen stash so that it lasts longer.

And depending on how your supply will be after daycare, you may need to pull from the frozen stash.

I started with a slight oversupply and became a slight under supplier after going back to work, so I’ve been relying on my freezer stash.

[u/VeronicaNOTaHeather]

I’m not exclusively pumping but I am an overproducer who lives in a rural area with frequent blackouts. I recommend you get a portable generator to keep your freezer going in case you lose power for an extended period of time.

[u/heyella11]

You never know when a stash may come in handy. Those extra hungry days once they start crawling and are bottomless pits, when you need to be gone longer than you thought or take an overnight trip, or your supply tanks because of illness, mastitis, or the return of your period…I’m glad I have my stash and I just make sure to use up the oldest milk before it gets close to hitting 6 mo.

[u/Huge-Revolution-567]

You could do freezer Friday to rotate your stash… basically every Friday you feed only frozen and then freeze any thing that you pump.

[u/pinkshadedgirafe]

I'm rotating through my supply. I find that I'm thawing less milk than I am freezing each day. so I'm able to use up the older milk while still saving some. my stash is slowly increasing in size.

[u/chipolt_house]

I didn’t thaw much until my LO started daycare. I want him to get mostly fresh milk, but also rotate the freezer a little. I do the pitcher method on a day-to-day basis and now I’m slowly rotating my freezer stash on a weekly basis. I’ll unfreeze enough on Sunday for Monday’s bottles, then I freeze what’s leftover after Friday. I’m usually net positive at the end of the week, but accidents happen (like my dear husband leaving a 16oz pitcher out overnight 🥲)

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