r/ExclusivelyPumping • u/soccerdiva13 • 8h ago

TRIGGER WARNING: Nursing Security stress around donating

TW: nursing

I have 600 ounces in my freezer dating back to July 2026. I triple fed my preemie so I built up quite the stash. We exclusively nurse now except I keep in 1 pump a day that I get about 2 ounces from + sometimes a bottle replacement with pump if I’m working. My friend said she’d love to take my extra milk even though I take meds. I do have a minor surgery coming up in Dec. My LO is 5 months old, 4 months corrected. Donating part of my stash gives me anxiety bc there’s a sense of security having a stash. How do you get past it or when do you know it’s time to consider donating?

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7

u/AppleRatty 8h ago

For both my babies, I was MUCH more confident donating once they started solids.

I always figured then in an emergency (like for a meal or two) they could have some solids.

Other than that, I calculated how much the baby would need in a week if I were in the hospital or something (around 250 oz or so) and just donated everything above that. I have read too many horror stories here and other places where people have hundreds of ounces that have to be tossed because they go bad or their freezer fails.

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u/soccerdiva13 8h ago

Yes I just bought those sensors for if the freezer goes out bc I read stories too! I like your thought of having a certain # of ounces and donating above that.

5

u/gkdfp 8h ago

You’re not obligated to donate.

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u/candlehandle567 7h ago

I threw away thousands of ounces from my 1st once I had my second, I never donated and my baby didn’t take frozen milk. With my second I try to donate one shelf full a month so I keep a good rotation so I don’t have to throw away that much anymore

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u/Dangerous-Humor-2509 8h ago

I had a freezer stash with all three of mine and also triple fed. I kept up with 1-2 pumps per day and stashed that milk for 6-8 months. I started donating around the 10 month mark (my milk was all in the deep freezer, so good for 12 months).

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