Ha. Okay, don't worry, all of this isn't true (I'm not disappointed, angry, etc. if I don't store). I just got carried away with joining the group! Ha. But, I do have over 600 ounces, and pump for about 7 minutes a night. I did tell you about my record one time didn't I? Jude slept 9 pm-6 am. Can you guess how many ounces I got at 6 am? Right, around 16. I could have got more also but it's soooo incredibly boring sitting there. Granted, that occasion was actually funny! I only have bottles that hold 5 ounces so I'm screaming to John "We hit the goldmine! Grab more bottles!" Milk was spraying everywhere, Uma was licking everything, Jude was laughing, John was running around, okay, I'm exaggerating this too. But you can imagine right!? Funny, I don't even like milk. No joke, hate it.
What will I do with this milk?!?! I know, some of you want to buy if from me. *Hints the name liquid gold! Others think I'll use it. Others think I won't touch it. Well, I believe it's good for about 3 months stored in a normal freezer. John and I just so happen to have an extra refrigerator/freezer in the garage (thank goodness, granted this only helps my addiction), that I only keep milk in (the freezer part). Therefore, it's only opened maybe once a day. Most likely 4-5 times a week I'd say. So I still have some stored that are good until the end of March, April, and May. I'm actually hoping someone will read this and tell me I can keep the milk for maybe 6 months instead of just 3...Debbie? Ask Donna! Okay, great, thanks, let me know :) BUT, if I don't use all this milk, I do plan to donate it before it'll go bad. I know weird right! But all those sweet little NICU babies could really benefit from my chocolate cake smelling/tasting milk! It'll chunken those babies up real fast! :) Look at mine! And, I mean come on, doesn't it make you feel good to know you do something wonderful for someone so helpless! I should have had twins. John tells me that. I do recall calling Donna the first week Jude was born. It was really hard to coordinate Jude and er me. Possibly the hardest thing. She said to keep a watch, I may be an overproducer. I wonder if this verifies that I am....?
FIFO. John has taught me the FIFO-first in first out method. Therefore, all the milk is stored perfectly in containers, the back ones being more recent. It's amazing how organized my freezer is actually. I will admit, I did start storing by just throwing the milk in, but once I realized the collection was out of control, I quickly started organizing better. Now, it's perfect.
So let's do the math (oh man, forgive me now John for even attempting). I have 600 ounces (I'm rounding down to help my situation ha). Let's say Jude is 4 months (even though he isn't yet, but once again, it'll be easier for me :) That means I saved 150 ounces a month? Or 37ish ounces a week. Or 5.3 ounces a day. Yep, that sounds right. Or, we can say, I have nearly enough for an entire month (okay, 27 days...) Is anyone free? John and I want to take a trip around the world for a month!?
So how long do I plan on nursing? This is a popular question to me. Well, I have thought it through and I think 4 will be my cut off. I mean by age 4, they should be okay to drink 2%. HA I'm KIDDING. No worries. 6 months was my original goal, however, he's already almost 4 and things are so easy. I mean, I always have what he needs. So, I think my new goal is one year. Not only will we be saving money by not buying formula, but Jude will be getting the tastiest, best nutrition. And, the good thing is, is that since I have a month stored, I can hopefully wean by 9 months (August) but yet still have stored milk for a bit to use. Because around Aug, he will not be primarily drinking milk for his diet. So I may be able to stretch that month supply out to 3 months. We will see though. I do already see a decrease in my production. By this, I mean sometimes I only get 3 ounces a day, not 5 :)
Okay, enough about milk, I got my fix for the week. But wait, I wonder if it'd taste good with chocolate syrup? I tease John about making Mac and Cheese. Once we ran out of milk but I told John "we're never out of milk..." Ha.
Next week will resume Jude's week. Just wanted to share my freezer with you :)
See behind...
Nicely organized isn't it.
I think for the next kid, I'll see if I can't convince John to buy one of those deep freezer, that stores milk for up to a year! Imagine how much more milk I can get/store :)
Okay can't resist, just one of my cutie!
Bought this fancy carrier thing for cheap. Thought to eliminate my Target outbursts, little did I know, Jude is a chunk. May have to save it for the next one. It's just a bit tight with him in it!
