<Discount Code Included Below!>
Follow along on instagram.com/hacking.hudson where I show steps of the process and Milkify being used in the wild.
What is Freeze Drying and Why Do It?
It’s been officially two months since I started using Milkify. As with everything I post about on my blog, I wanted to make sure that I was doing an in-depth analysis in real life (all the things) before sharing more with you about how the process works and how it has worked for my family. (SPOILER – we are obsessed and it’s been a total game changer). No more fighting for freezer space, worrying about temperatures, guesstimating ounces, keeping track of hours since thaw, and keeping milk cold on the go.
Why Milkify
I did a lot of research before choosing Milkify. The key factor for me was the safety and FDA-registered technology they use that gave me peace of mind that I would not risk my milk coming into contact with any contaminants or allergens given Charlie’s anaphylactic nut allergy.
Milkify is the only GMP-Certified, FDA-Registered Breast Milk Freeze-Drying Service with a patented process that ensures your milk never comes into contact with their equipment or pool on open trays. Bonus, it extends the shelf life of your milk for up to 3 years!
No-Brainer Top 5
After going through the process myself (and have another order on the way!), there are 5 no-brainers in my opinion:
- Always have milk on hand: We can keep packets in the diaper bag ready to go with only the need for an empty bottle and water. This has been awesome for Austin when he is on the go with the kids everyday to have the flexibility to make her a bottle whenever she needs it without having to prepare or carry around a cooler.
- Travel is a breeze: When traveling you don’t have to worry about transporting milk in a cooler or prepping how many extra ounces to have on hand.
- Freezer Space: Saves (a LOT of) freezer space and removes my anxiety about coming home to my freezer being thawed.
- Shelf Life: Extends the shelf life for 3 years!
- Peace of Mind + No More Counting! We never have to defrost, count how many hours since getting defrosted, or keep frozen milk at the proper temperature.
Order Process + How it Works
When I reached out to Milkify to inquire about freeze-drying my breastmilk for an upcoming trip they were absolutely wonderful and made sure that I had my freeze-dried milk on my doorstep with several days to spare before my flight, as I was anxious about supply while I was in the process of weaning. With long flights I was worried about making sure I had extra milk on hand with the option to create bottles on the go and this made the process absolutely seamless. I am now fully weaned and we have been consistently been using the Milkify stash with nothing but fabulous things to say.
The process is actually simpler than I thought.
1. Place Your Order: After placing an order on milkify.com a cooler is sent to your door with a pre-paid label and insulation. I chose a mix of the single-use pouches and the multi-use big bags / savers as I knew the single use packets would be perfect for the diaper bag and the big bag would be exactly what we needed for our week-long trip in Hawaii.
2. Pack the Cooler: Load up the cooler with your frozen breastmilk making sure to pack it really tightly then drop it off at a FedEx location. I made sure to call to drop it right before the pickup cutoff to make sure that I was dropping it off with as little time as possible with it sitting. It is then shipped back to the Milkify warehouse where they do a quality control check and make sure that the temperature of your milk is still frozen.
3. Freeze-Dry: At the Milkify warehouse, they use their patented freeze drying technology process where they freeze-dry your milk into powder, removing water and retaining the milk’s key nutrients. This actually creates a shelf stable powder that can be used for up to three years, extending the use of your breast milk life 3x (SO cool). Your powdered milk is then shipped back to your door.
4. Make A Bottle: Each of the packets have instructions on the back and all of the written information from the bags are actually copied over onto the back of the label itself. This makes it really easy to remember if there’s anything specific about that bag of milk that you wanted to remember. The packets are awesome for us to just drop in the diaper bag and for my husband to use when he’s on the go with the kids. The label also lists the number of ounces of water to add to a bottle. We start by filling a bottle (our kids love this bottle best!) with water up to that amount, then open a packet or use the scoop for the bulk bags, dropping the powder into the bottle, putting the top on, and then swirling until it’s combined. We found that it’s a little bit easier to use room temperature than cold because it’s a little bit easier to combine when it is the room temperature. We have these on the go, use them on an airplane, my husband uses them, our parents have both used them when they’re watching Charlie, and I just cannot say enough about how fabulous this is as a product. It has simplified our lives tenfold and gives my over-preparer mind and heart a break.
I was actually at my cousin’s house for dinner and we ended up staying a lot longer than we anticipated and the really great part was that we were able to make Charlie bottle on the go because we had a milk packet just in the backpack ready to go.
Test it out – Discount Code!!
For a discount on your Milkify order click on this link to place your order or use code HACKINGHUDSON.
Questions? (I did too!)
Drop a comment below and I’m happy to answer any questions!
