[Think Of A Something Thursday!]

I had a plan when it came to breast feeding and traveling for business. Don’t.

It didn’t quite work out that way, though, as an unexpected trip came my way before my youngest was on cow milk in any substantial amount.

My supply has always been sporadic at best, and she wasn’t helping the situation by refusing formula. I kept up as best I could for as long as I could, but was relieved when she finally took to solid foods. Even then, I pumped at work and home, and slowly built a little freezer stash.

Once I found out I’d be traveling in the middle of the transition to more cow milk, I burned through my stash as quickly as possible and started up a new one.

Having pumped for more than a couple of years now, I had my routines down pretty pat. I had three methods of storing frozen milk that I liked: Flat Gerber bags in Lock and Lock containers, the new Avent Via system, and ice cubes.

Method one (flat Gerber zipper bags) worked best for the oldest for his freezer stash. If i didn’t have enough one day to send to school the next, the flat bags thawed quickly in warm water to pop into the now-defunct Avent disposable system (replaced by a system that uses the standard Avent nipples instead of the blue ones). These bags fit in my lovely Lock and Lock containers easily, with a bit of toweling to cushion jostles.

Method two (the new Avent VIA system) turned out to be a good idea, though I still dislike the fact that if you squeeze the cups just a little bit, the lids or collars pop off. If Avent is smart, though, they’ll address that in a later refinement of the line, as well as make collars to convert these to drinking cups, like Playtex has.

Method three (milk cubes made in ice cube trays) was great for ultimate flexibility. When we stopped sending bottles and send a very personal bottle of milk, we could crank the cow to mom ratio up or down as needed quite easily. My quart bags also rode along in the Lock and Lock containers, for ease of freezer moves and to keep frost bite to a minimum.

All three systems relied heavily on dates and stock numbers to ensure milk was used in the “right” order (first in, first out).

So, pre-trip, all milk went into VIA cups. In preparation for the trip, we burned up that stash at school, emptying the cups both for re-use on the trip and to switch us over to method three - milk cubes.

As I started restashing with milk cubes, I’d pour each night’s milk into ice cube trays. Cheap ones, dollar store, never popped the cubes out correctly, but good enough. I’d freeze the cubes overnight, then pop them out the next day.

Often they wouldn’t actually pop, so I’d prop the trays on the counter top, upside down, over a clean dish. As the trays emptied, I’d put the cubes into a quart freezer bag, which in turn went into the Lock and Lock container. Each bag would be given a date and a number, to allow the milk to be used in a “first in, first out” system.

As we weaned her to more and more cow milk, the daily formula would change. We started out with four cubes for every two ounces of cow’s milk (the cubes averaged .75 ounces), and upped the cow content as the frozen stock (and my ability to make the stock) dwindled. I kept a chart on the fridge to remind myself and the hub (he took over milk mixing duty when I left) of the current ratio.

When I finally left for my trip, the Avent Via cups went with me. I used them to keep the milk contained and frozen (thank you Doubletree for the fridge!) until I was ready to haul it all back home. Once home, the milk was defrosted and split as needed for daily use, and my post-trip pumped milk reverted to the cube system. This let us adjust the cow to mom ratio as needed, and let me prepare to wean off of the pump when I was ready.

She weaned herself a short time after my trip, earlier than I’d expected, though. I ended up pumping longer than I’d planned after I returned. But she seems to have adjusted to regular cow milk well enough, and I’m hanging up the horns for good now, just trying to stay handy for my friends just starting this journey. Though I do miss the bit of a break in the days I got while pumping, I certainly don’t miss the daily prep work.