As for cooler bags, you name it, I probably have it, or at least its equivalent. So far, the Fridge To Go Victoria model is used most frequently as it is large enough to store 2 breast pump bodies (Philips Avent ISIS Duo) together with half a dozen Avent BM storage bottles (no need to wash and sterilize the pump parts everytime if you keep it cool as BM will not spoil if cool). How long it lasts depends on ambient temperature as well as the Fridge to Go model and whether you supplement it with other ice packs. For the Victoria model, it can last about 12 hours in room temperature (non-aircond but not warm) provided you supplement it with ice pack like Techni Ice (2 sheets, 1 above and 1 below - more important that it is place on top, as cold air is heavier and sinks plus the fact that the Victoria model only has cooling panels for the sides and bottom and does not have a cooling panel for the top).

You may be using the Fridge To Go FTG-3000 mini fridge model which only has 3 cooling panels (2 cooling panel no. 7 and 1 cooling panel no. 11) - that's the US model which will only last 4-8 hours max. I have the FTG-3000 US model as well as the FTG-1200 mini fridge Asian model which has 8 cooling panels (3 cooling panel no. 39, 1 cooling panel no. 11 and 4 smaller cooling panels) and can last about 12 hours when supplemented with 1 sheet of Techni Ice (cut into 3 pieces).

So far, have not really tested Techni Ice against Autumnz ice pack but will post outcome when possible. I also have the RM5 gel brick packs from Daiso which lasts as long or longer than Techni Ice, main disadvantage of it being bulkier and heavy, just like the Coleman Brite ice.
Can totally empathize with you, my wife lost a similar amount due to carelessness - the freezer was overfilled and the door didn't hold (and it so happened the day before we were supposed to get the deep freezer). Wife had freezer-door-opened phobia for about 2 weeks, however thank God that frozen supply being built up again.

Most welcome sweeboon.

I guess you must be pumping or mixing pumping with latching since you can measure the amount of EBM. First things first, supplementing with FM usually leads to low BM supply and resulting in non-exclusive BF (i know this has been repeated many times here but i am stating it for the benefit of mothers/fathers who aspire to BF EXCLUSIVELY but may not be reading this thread from the beginning) as demand = supply. Supplementing with FM is the leading cause of non-exclusive BF as the time will come when LO's demand will be high due to growth spurt and/or overfeeding and your BM production cannot cope due to insufficient stimulation through DL/pump. You got to trust your body to produce sufficient milk, just think back of the time before FM was available - when people did not have an option, they just DL.

Strongly discouraged to pump too early on as milk supply is only established after about 6 weeks plus minus. Even the manuals for the pump, if anyone reads them and at least that from Avent - state that pumping is only recommended about 1 month after LO is born. You can be assured that the best pump is your LO, not Medela, Avent, Ardo, Ameda etc.

Your LO is more likely than not to be overfed at 2 1/2 oz per feeding for an 8 day old! My LO is 3 months+ and more than 7kg now (birth weight was 3.62 kg) and he is only consuming about 80ml (slightly less than 3 UK oz, i know because by wife is a FTWM and EP now) per feeding. I must qualify this though by stating that each baby is different in terms of demand (eg growth spurt etc), you've got to take his/her feeding cues.

I can't answer whether you can or cannot mix as this is a choice which each individual will have to make, hopefully an informed decision - do remember that you are paying the CL and YOU decide whether you want to mix or not. Mixing won't 'harm' your baby per se but it is definitely not encouraged and it is certainly for the benefit of the CL (and not your LO) as she will have less feedings to attend to.

The reason why the feeding interval is longer when FM is mixed with EBM is because FM is inherently DIFFICULT to digest (cow's milk is meant for calfs, not humans). That's why the poo is different for FM fed babies (more sticky) and who tend to have difficulty passing motion besides the other issues like heatiness etc. On the contrary, BM fed babies will easily pass motion as well as do so much more frequently. For combo-fed babies, i guess the poo result should be somewhere in between.

As BM is EASILY digested, baby will also be hungrier much faster and hence the reason why you say that he tends to wants more! FM babies are not fed as frequently because their digestive system is still in its infancy and will not be able to properly digest FM, hence the longer interval.

Also remember that you can never compare the amount consumed by a BM baby and FM baby. FM baby will require more FM milk to obtain the same amount of a particular nutrient as compared to a BM baby and not to forget that FM milk will never have the all the nutrients contained in BM which are impossible to duplicate. All the marketing bull$h!t by FM companies ie DHA etc - all of these and much more are already in BM! And some mothers even think that they need to drink those so called 'pregnancy stage milk' to produce milk - have you ever heard of a cow drinking milk to produce milk? Balanced diet will be good enough, I am sure that all doctors will say the same thing.

In a nutshell, if possible, just DL for the 1st month. If you want to continue BF after you start work and therefore need to combine BF and bottle-feeding (of EBM), then perhaps you need to train LO. I can't suggest a time as to when to start this as all babies are different, some will happily take both, some will reject DL after being used to bottle feeding (less work, no need to pump, just depend on gravity) and some will reject bottle feeding if too used to DL (fresh milk, right temperature plus mummy's warmth).

Hope this helps you in your BF journey!

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Added on August 16, 2012, 8:26 pm

No problem flowerhorn. Good to know that there are daddies here like me!

I think I need to get the largest size zip lock bag and implement your method. Currently freezing about 1 litre of EBM a day, not sure if my wife overproduce or baby drinking too little!

BTW, looks like you lay the storage bags flat first when initially placing into the freezer and then rearrange them when frozen? I find this method to be more space efficient.

Also, for the benefit of the readers here, I think the general consensus (from what i see being posted on TBAN's FB page and my personal experience) is that Autumnz storage bags are better than Jingle Jungle's. No experience with the more 'branded' ones as they are too expensive to use when compared with Autumnz/JJ storage bags which can be purchased for as low as RM9 during baby fairs for a box of 25 pieces.

my EDD is on christmas, now doing breastfeeding research, am planning to BF my daughter, hopefully i got enuff supply.......but i really wonder.......if direct latch on, is it when new born, each feeding session 1 side is sufficient? so tat means i should pump the other side while baby latch on to increase supply?