Keeping pumped breast milk good at the parks?

[eebuckeye]

We are going in early October. I use pumped breast milk for my 8 month olds cereal 2x a day. These meals will be while we are at the parks. How is the best way to keep this milk good until we need to use it? Should I get a fridge to refridgerate the milk and use freezer blocks in my bag or if I use the milk pumped that morning would ice in a lunch box be ok? (the milk should be fine room temp for 10 hours but we will be outside?) We have never been during October and I'm not sure of the temps.

Thanks
Trisha

 

[melsmom12]

Are you actively nursing now? Could you express some milk as needed? That would really be the most convenient way.

If not, I think just keeping it refrigerated and bringing a tiny insulated bag with one cold pack into the parks with you would be fine. Like you said, you don't have to keep it super-cold, as it will stay just fine for 10 hours, but you don't want it to get hot, either.

 

[dopeyfanatic]

I think a small insulated bottle bag should work. You can put an ice pack in there with it. You should be fine!

 

[CanadianGuy]

I moved this over here to the Disney for Families board.. I'm not sure this is the right place either.. Hmm..

Knox

 

[my3disneygirls]

I would get an in room fridge. Nightly put a few water bottles in the day/night before in the freezer section. If you really turn down the temp on the fridge the whole thing can be used as a freezer. Anyway, pump the morning of and pack it in an insulated cooler with the frozen water bottles. I would not risk keeping it at room temp at all especially when you are going to be out in the sun.

 

[emh1129]

I would probably use a really small insulated-type lunchbox with an icepack or two. It really shouldn't be too cumbersome because you're only talking a small amount if it's only for cereal twice a day. Good luck!

 

[tanyaandallie]

If you have to take the pumped milk to the park, I'd pump in the morning, stick it in a small cooler bag and put an ice pack in there. I would not count on it to stay at room temp unless it's cool outside.

Of course, if it were me and my baby was 8 mos, I'd probably skip the cereal while at the park. Just feed the baby cereal later in the day when you are at the hotel. That is a lot easier than lugging around the cooler. I'd just nurse instead.

 

[brergnat]

I'd ditto the idea of feeding the cereal in the room in the morning before you go and then at night or afternoon when you are back in for a break. Really, 8 month olds don't NEED to eat solids, and by 8 months anyway, you can feed jarred fruits or veggies and those are MUCH more portable at room temp in the parks than BM.

HOWEVER, I was nursing our youngest DS and supplementing with bottles of expressed milk when needed (and when convenient, since he was VERY difficult to nurse in public without me being topless!) and we take day trips to DL often. What I would do when we were going on hot days was FREEZE the expressed milk on those BM storage bags and then take it frozen in our lunchbag. When it was time to feed, I would just run it under some water to defrost it OR, and this may sound totally crazy, I would stick the whole bag down my shirt, in my bra for a few minutes. The nice cold frozen pack felt like heaven in the heat, and since my body was so hot, the milk would be melted and body temp within about 5 minutes. Worked like a charm! I would then pour it into a bottle and feed.

The in room fridges get cold enough to freeze a few ounces of BM in the freezer compartment!

 

[disneymarie]

I would freeze now pre trip and use a cooler or room fridge for keeping as melted. If you are going to use a cereal in the park. Take the frozen milk along and seperate bottle or tupperware with the cereal.

Then you can nurse at the park and not worry about pumping. I did that and found it so much more relaxing. But I had a ton of milk to drop at any time. I was well abole to fill a dozen bottles of 4 oz pre trip.

I did not lose my milk capacity during the trip.
Just another options.
dianne

 

[Robmom]

There is something called "Fridge to Go". I saw it in Bed Bath & Beyond. It supposed to keep things cold for something like 8-10 hours. You put the inserts in the freezer and then put them in the bag. I'm sorry I didn't get it, because I could use one.

 

[all4fun]

There is something called "Fridge to Go". I saw it in Bed Bath & Beyond. It supposed to keep things cold for something like 8-10 hours. You put the inserts in the freezer and then put them in the bag. I'm sorry I didn't get it, because I could use one.

I saw that at Kohl's too. Pretty neat.

On our first couple of trips to WDW we had to take pre-made bottles into the parks with us (we fortified his breast milk and formula, due to his IUGR status and later, oral aversion issues, and making it ahead was just easier for us). Anyway, I used a Munchkin bag I found at Target and put about 3 of those long flat ice packs that came w/my Medela PIS and that kept the contents cold for most of the day.

 

[MartDM]

I would stick the whole bag down my shirt, in my bra for a few minutes. The nice cold frozen pack felt like heaven in the heat, and since my body was so hot, the milk would be melted and body temp within about 5 minutes. Worked like a charm! I would then pour it into a bottle and feed.

Genius! Now that's efficiency!

 

[momof2n2]

fresh breast milk is safe at room temp 8 - 24 hours depending on who you ask. I always allowed it about 12. If you pump in AM, I personally would use that. Just carry it in a bag with a cooler pack.

YAY FOR YOU!!

 

[Colinsmom]

I would freeze now pre trip and use a cooler or room fridge for keeping as melted. If you are going to use a cereal in the park. Take the frozen milk along and seperate bottle or tupperware with the cereal.

Thawed breastmilk must be used within 24 hours of thawing, so I wouldn't do this. Too much stress/pressure to keep it all frozen solid until you need it; the freezer compartments in the hotel fridges are awfully small and (at least for us) didn't freeze things very well.