When Should I Donate Milk (Tips from 15 Moms)

If you are a new mom who has been building up a freezer stash of milk, you might be wondering when you can start donating some of your frozen milk.

When you can start donating will depend on a few different factors like how much milk you want to stockpile and how much freezer space you have.

Below is more information on how to calculate how much milk you will need, a few things to watch out for when donating, and even some regrets other moms had when donating their freezer stash.

One of my followers asked:

“How do you decide when it is ok to start donating milk? I am 9 weeks postpartum so I’m not planning on donating at the moment. But, I would like to start doing some research on when I can start letting some of my stash go.

I want to pump as long as I can (feed babe fresh milk) and not rely on a freezer stash. My goal is to get my baby to 1 year. I would like to have a stash in case something were to happen.

I think I would like to donate some of the milk around the time it would be getting 6 months old (if feasible) to make room for more nutrient dense milk. 

I currently pump 50% more than what my little one eats so I have over 750 ounces in the freezer.”

When Can You Donate Frozen Milk

There are a few things that you should think about before you donate milk. You will want to take into consideration how many ounces your baby eats per day and how big of a freezer stash you want to (or are able to) store.

For example, most babies will eat between 24 – 30 ounces per day. This means if you have built up a freezer stash of approximately 168 ounces to 210 ounces, then it will last for a week. If you’ve built up a stash of 720 ounces to 900 ounces, it will feed your baby for a month. 

You probably will want to calculate your needs using a few extra ounces per day. This will help you to account for any milk that is lost while defrosting, transferring to bottles, or any milk that is left over in the bottle after a feeding. 

After you have calculated how much milk you’d like in your stockpile, you can donate as much or as little as you are comfortable with.

You can also check out this article about how much you should stockpile.

I would recommend only donating a small amount of milk (60-90 ounces) at first if you are donating to a stranger. 

Some people are more appreciative than others of the donation, and of the hard work and time that you put into pumping.

How Much Freezer Space You Have

You will also want to take into account how much freezer space you have before you start donating milk.

If you have two refrigerators and freezers, or an extra freezer, you will have more space and be able to store more milk than if you only have access to your family refrigerator.

You might decide that you have a goal to store anywhere from one week’s worth of milk, to one month’s worth of milk, to 3 to 4 month’s worth of milk.

How Far You Are Postpartum and How Much You Produce

You’ll also want to consider how far along you are postpartum. When you are under 12 weeks postpartum, your milk supply is mostly hormone driven.

It is possible that your milk supply could drop after you regulate and you may not be producing more than what your baby usually drinks. 

If you have the freezer space to save extra milk, it is a good idea to wait to donate until you are after 12 to 16 weeks postpartum.

Also, if you have a big change in the near future, like if you’ve been at home on maternity leave and you plan to return to work, you most likely will want to wait until a few weeks after this change before donating your freezer stash.

Some moms notice a change in their milk supply when they return to work. This can be due to a change in routine, or even due to the additional stress of managing a job and pumping breaks.

What Are Your Goals For Feeding 

You will want to think about what your goals are for feeding breastmilk. Do you want to feed fresh milk for a year? If so, you’ll probably only need to keep a smaller freezer stash on hand.

If you want to feed fresh milk for 6 to 8 months and then switch to frozen milk for the last few months, you will need to keep a larger stash on hand to cover those remaining months.

A Few Things To Watch Out For 

Here are a few warnings you’ll want to think about before donating your stash. 

Milk is good in the freezer for 6 months. You’ll want to make sure your stash is organized so you either use or donate milk before it expires.

You will also want to keep a stash in case your supply suddenly drops. Some common times this may happen are when you regulate (if you aren’t pumping frequently enough), if you get sick, or if you return to work and are unable to pump as frequently as you had been when out on maternity leave.

Advice from Real Moms:

Keep these things in mind when you are considering when to start donating milk. These moms gave their advice and their tips about their experiences and when they decided to begin donating their frozen milk stash.

Mom 1: Wait Until Your Supply Regulates

I waited until I regulated so I could make accurate future calculations about what I would need. I normally regulate between 14 – 16 weeks postpartum. 

I generally don’t start keeping milk until I’m around 6 months postpartum, so I can build my stash to wean at 12 months postpartum. 

I built up a 6 month stash so I can feed BM until 18 months postpartum.

Mom 2: I Donated at 4 Months

I second that waiting until you regulate is important! I donated for the first time around 4 months postpartum.

Mom 3: I Rotate My Freezer Stash

I also plan to pump for 1 year fresh, if possible. I started donating when I had about 3000 ounces frozen and ran out of room in my freezer. 

Personally I want to have a stash that I can eventually donate if I’m able to continue with my plan. 

Now, I donate anything I need to freeze. I’m up to almost 5000 ounces donated now. I think it all comes down to a comfort and space thing. 

I also rotate my deep freezer every few months to get newer milk and donate the older stuff.

Mom 4: I Donated When My Freezer Was Full

I started donating some milk once my freezer started to get full because we decided not to buy a deep freezer. I started with the oldest milk that was not colostrum and went from there.

Mom 5: Test Frozen Milk First

I would also test frozen milk to make sure it isn’t high lipase and that babe takes it sooner than later. Some babies are picky! 

Regulation happens around 16 weeks so I would keep it until after then, at least 20 weeks. Just my opinion. 

Milk supply is very hormone driven right now and when you start regulating more your production may decrease. Just be mindful of that! 

I weaned at 10 months and donated 4000 ounces. I got my babe up to a year on frozen milk. It is possible!

Mom 6: I Started Donating at 10 Weeks

I got a small deep freezer and it started to get full. I think I started to donate around the same time as you. I’m currently 13 weeks postpartum and started donating around 10 weeks postpartum. 

I also make 2x the amount my little one needs and feed fresh. If I ever slow down on production then I would probably rotate out the old milk and feed that once a week.  

Then, I plan to freeze whatever I made in exchange. Some people do a “Freezer Friday”.

Mom 7: I’m Waiting Until My Stash Is 9,000 ounces

I was thinking about this last night. I’m 12 weeks postpartum with 7,000 ounces in my freezer stash. 

After I hit 9,000 ounces in the freezer stash I will start donating since this is a lot. I plan to keep my 9,000 ounces in the freezer stash since that will last until the baby is 1 year old.

Mom 8: I Keep A Stash of 2,000 ounces

I started donating right before 3 months postpartum because I was running out of room in my deep freezer. I have a pretty good oversupply. 

I set a goal to keep at least 2,000 ounces in my deep freezer at a time. I’m almost 6 months postpartum now and have 3,100 ounces in my freezer because I just donated 600 ounces on Thursday. I’ve donated a total of 4,200 ounces.

Mom 9: My Stash Will Last A Week

As soon as I had a week’s worth frozen I started donating. My husband and I agreed that was all the space in the freezer we wanted to commit.

Mom 10: My Freezer Is Getting Full

I’m in the same boat. I would like to make it to 1 year on fresh milk if I can. I’m 10 weeks postpartum with 3,300 ounces in the deep freezer. I make about 80 ounces give or take per day.

Mom 11: I Donate Milk At the 4 Month Mark

Frozen milk is good for 6 months, so I would donate milk around the 4 and 8 month marks so they have time to use it. I’ve donated twice now and only give milk up to 3 months old. 

My son occasionally drinks frozen since I’m back at work, so he drinks the older stuff. We are 6 months old right now.

Mom 12: I Donated over 10,000 Ounces

I had an oversupply and donated over 10,000 ounces to other families. We did not have a deep freezer so I kept only about a hundred ounces as backup in our freezer and donated everything else. 

At my peek, I was pumping about double what my little one needed, and as my supply decreased I donated less.

Mom 13: I Wanted To Help Another Baby

I will start donating milk from January once my freezer is full so I can make space for new milk. I’m excited to do so because I always wanted to help feed another baby.

Mom 14: My Supply Tanked After I Got Sick

I used to pump 50-60 ounces per day and my supply didn’t drop until 5 months postpartum. Now I barely make 20 ounces per day. 

I have donated thousands of ounces  and now I only have 2,000 ounces frozen for my baby. I’m supplementing with 1 bottle of formula a day. 

I got super sick with norovirus and couldn’t eat or drink for several days and my supply tanked. It’s been 6 weeks and it hasn’t returned. 

I still have milk and get 20 ounces a day but now I have an under supply because he eats over 30 ounces per day.

Mom 15: I Didn’t Build A Stash

Instead of donating I just focused on giving my baby fresh milk as much as possible. I dropped pumps so I was exactly producing to save time after I ran out of freezer space. 

Then, I used the older milk  to put her to sleep. After I weaned at 1 year she didn’t require breastmilk or formula. I didn’t donate because there is not a milk bank within driving distance from my house.

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