TILTHW- Freezing breastmilk

Things I Learned The Hard Way- If you freeze breastmilk in bags, lay them flat while freezing them.  If you don’t have solid racks in your freezer, just place a small piece of cardboard on the rack and lay the bag on top to freeze.  Flat bags are much easier to store, take up less freezer space, and they freeze and thaw much more quickly, saving valuable time when you have a screaming hungry baby in your arms.  Most standard size breastmilk storage bags fit perfectly inside old plastic CD storage bins in the freezer.

TILTHW- Get rid of the boxes please!

Things I Learned The Hard Way- I’m not exactly sure what genius decided to package infant rice (and other grain) cereal in boxes, but it was a HORRIBLE idea!  Buy the cereal, open the box then dump it all into an empty formula can or plastic or glass container with a large opening at the top.  Canisters sold as flour or sugar storage containers work well for this as long as they seal well.  Toss a clean dry formula scoop on top (most are 1 tablespoon, but make sure ahead of time) and you can easily portion out cereal by the tablespoon.

TILTHW- Quick rice cereal feedings

Things I Learned The Hard Way- When your child starts eating rice cereal, consider portioning out the rice cereal powder ahead of time into small sealed containers or clean plastic baby food containers.  When feeding time arrives, just add water, formula or breastmilk and you are ready to feed.  If you portion out many containers of cereal all at once, it saves a TREMENDOUS amount of time and they are easier to throw in the diaper bag before you head out the door.  Plus, you can do all the prep work filling the containers while the baby sleeps.