Emergency supply in freezer?

A problem with my supply last week got me thinking whether I should build a freezer stash of EBM. To make a long story short we all had a nasty stomach bug, baby boy (10 weeks old) ended up in the hospital due to it and the ward we were assigned to was not equipped to take care of nursing mothers so a combination of being sick myself, the stress and worry about the baby and the lack of nutritous food, enough water and rest lead to a massive drop in my supply. Once baby had recovered he was screaming at the breast because it was never to enough to satisfy him. With the help of my midwife I barely rebuilt my supply but it is no longer abundant as it was before and I am really scared that something like this could happen again. I nursed the twins for 18 months and I love breastfeeding and really do not want to have to supplement.
 
Do I need an emergency supply of EBM in the freezer? Did you have one? If yes, how much did you have in the freezer - for a day's feedings, two, a week? How do I build a frezer stash if my milk supply is so low? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

I'm so sorry - that sounds like it was a really stressful situation. :hug: (If you are so inclined, I would encourage you to write to the hospital administration to encourage them to accommodate breastfeeding dyads in the future. It could make a huge difference for another nursing mama down the line.)

Building a freezer stash will actually help your supply as you'll be "over demanding" production. What I did is picked two times a day (usually after first feed in the morning and then again just before or after lunch) that I knew I'd have time to pump fairly consistently every day. I usually pumped (sometimes hand expressed) for between 15-20 minutes with a double pump. I didn't get much milk at first but eventually would get between 1-3 oz per session. I saved about 30 oz in the freezer for us (so just a bit over a day's worth) and donated the rest to our local milk bank.

I remember having a lot of fear around the idea of being unable to breastfeed for some reason so I tried to assuage that by having some milk on standby but being rational about it by not having gallons and gallons sitting in the freezer. I also repeatedly told my husband that if I were ever unconscious or in a coma while breastfeeding he had to remind all the doctors and nurses so I wouldn't get mastitis. :laughing: It felt very serious at the time (and would probably be a genuine concern in that extremely rare situation) but I laugh at myself about it now.

 

 
Um, this was/is me.  :blush:
I do have an emergency stash. When Caleb was first born I had to pump some just to relieve the pain and pressure of a crazy supply. And then I'll be honest, I almost became obsessive about it. It made me feel better to pump and have that extra. The result is that the entire door of our upright freezer is nothing but milk. I have somewhere between 300-350 ounces frozen. I have stopped pumping now for the most part. I do occasionally pump, but only get 1-2oz/side at a time now. (It used to easily be 3-5oz from each side.) 
 
 
I'm glad to hear that y'all are feeling better!

 

:laughing: If you ever feel ready, you could look into donating it, either to a milk bank or through mother-to-mother sharing.

 

I have looked into donating it! That's the plan if we don't use it. 
 
But Jason, who's tasted my milk from one the bottles in the fridge one day, has asked if he can have it if the baby doesn't drink it. :lol: He loves what he calls "baby milk!"

 

The girls also often wanted breastmilk in a cup while I was pumping. It's much sweeter (I think) than cow's milk. People must have thought it was strange to hear the girls specify *cow's* milk when asked if they'd like some to drink. :laughing:

 

Thank you. Yes, writing to the hospital and advocating for nursing moms is on my to do-list. If I can help other moms so they do not have to repeat this experience I will.
 
I have decided to try hand-expressing twice a day and am getting about 1 oz right now. If I freeze what I express in two days that would give me 3-4 oz containers, does that sound ok? Pumping would probably do more for my supply, I should still have my hand pump stored somewhere.

 

That sounds perfect! :good: You can definitely give the pump a try but some women are actually able to hand express more than they're able to pump. Just depends on what best triggers your let down. For some women, they just won't let down for a machine even if their supply is totally fine and they have plenty of milk.

 

That was close to my experience with the twins - reasonable let down for the hand pump, hardly any milk from a rented hospital grade pump.