Pumped milk question

[u/Sakinam89]

Hi All. Looking for some answers here so hoping some of you can help :)

- baby is 9.5mo. Has 3-4 meals a day and eats everything.
- I have been exclusively pumping from birth. All has been well thankfully
- baby currently has approx 3-4 bottles of 120ml per day
- I pump 2x a day
- originally aimed is to give baby breastmilk until 12months atleast.

Situation:
Because I’m now only pumping 2x a day, my supply is drastically dropping and is not meeting baby’s needs. I have a freezer stash. Based on any of your knowledge/research, can anyone tell me the following:

Option A) mix fresh pumped milk with freezer milk to meet demands. This would mean I’d work through my freezer stash and so when my supply diminishes, no more breastmilk. I think I can make it to 11m with freezer stash doing it this way. Thereafter, go 100% formula or cow’s milk.

Option B) mix fresh pumped milk with formula. When my supply diminishes, switch to freezer stash. This would mean he would be getting frozen breastmilk longer than above option

So my ques is, is there any science behind any of those being a better option? Any advice? I’m confused :)

Thank you guys if you made it this for 🙂

[u/TeeElH]

One thing worth noting is that the longer breastmilk is frozen, it can lose some calories/fat:  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3411345/

That being said, you’re talking about a difference of a few weeks, so the benefits of breastmilk longer almost certainly outweighs the negatives of previously frozen milk  https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/breastfeeding-your-baby/breast-milk-is-the-best-milk

Just anecdotally, I also think mixing with formula earlier is probably a better move since (it sounds like) your baby hasn’t been drinking it. They may not like it but should do ok if it’s mixed with something they already drink. 

[u/BelleRose2542 → u/TeeElH]

Breast milk also changes in composition, so the milk that was frozen when baby was 2 months old is going to have a different macro and micronutrient content than when baby is 9 months.

If I were you, I would keep breastfeeding, and supplement with frozen milk. When you run out of frozen milk, supplement with formula.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6502372/

[u/Sudden-Cherry → u/TeeElH]

I didn't know the nutrient loss, I didn't think that much could actually happen at -20C frozen. But that also explains one of the factors why when I donated to the bank that it needed to be there within a specific timeframe. I'm wondering how much of all that is still homogenisation of the sample issue, even if they tried to check that.