I use these trays exclusively for freezing my breastmilk. I like the flexibility of having 1 oz sticks of milk. The plastic trays are BPA free and easy to clean. HOWEVER, there are some serious design flaws as noted by the other reviews the biggest problem is that the tray lids don't fit tightly, so milk is easily spilled. I use Dr. brown's bottles and find I can fit four sticks in without starting to break them. More than that and I have to break them to fit them in.
I like the idea of these 1 oz sticks, but as the previous reviewer mentioned, they didn't execute it very well.
The lids do not snap on securely, which results in spills when not carried with extreme care. I had a couple of lids break at the corners, and the others just don't snap shut at all. We also can't fit more than 2 sticks at a time in the bottles we use. Fortunately, since we have in-home childcare, we can use a wider bottle to defrost the milk and then pour it into the feeding bottle.
We still use these, because I find it much easier to keep track of milk pumped and drunk in one-ounce increments, and we can vary the amount defrosted based on the baby's feeding rate that day.
I hope that the company redesigns these as a better quality product. I really do like the concept.
UPDATE:
I contacted the company as suggested in the comment to my review, and they promptly sent me two new trays. Excellent customer service! I have been using those for the past 2 months with much better results than the first time. I've updated my stars from 2 to 4 based on that. I now have only one complaint, and that is that though the lids shut, you have to be very very careful with holding the trays when putting them into the freezer, as the milk still tips around a bit.
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After reading the reviews here I opted to buy these trays despite the complaints about the lids not fitting tightly. I really do like the concept, and the sales reps at my local maternity store indicated they had not heard any complaints about them so I figured I would just try them and be careful with handling.
What I found was that the lids fit great the first time you use the trays, but after one freezing cycle, good luck on ever getting them to snap fully closed again. I was super careful when moving the trays with ill-fitting lids, but I would venture to say that it is nigh impossible to keep from having some degree of spilt milk while transferring from kitchen counter to freezer. The trays wound up being more of a pain than they were worth, especially since you cannot put them in the dishwasher either. (Ironically the literature says that to do so will warp them gee, I guess they forgot to mention that they would get warped in the freezer??) I soon discontinued using these trays. Instead, I ordered 2.5 oz Medela storage bottles and they work great in the freezer and are a convenient size to defrost.
I may try these trays again when it's time to freeze pureed foods at least they won't spill like milk.
Read Best Reviews of Milk Trays by Sensible Lines Here
I used the standard milk storage bags all through nursing my first child, and they were fine. My biggest complaint was that the quantity frozen in the bag often didn't match the quantity I wanted in the bottle! So, when I saw these trays they looked like a good solution to that issue.
However, after ordering the trays, they sat in the box for a month because I was hesitant to mess with my old system for pumping/freezing. Finally I took them out, washed them, and started to use them. It took about a week for me to get into a groove with them, but now that I am, I can't believe I ever went without them! They rock!
Here's what I love:
-milk freezes much faster
-you can freeze milk at any time (no waiting to have the right quantity you want to make up a bag)
-milk easily pops out of trays and into a regular freezer bag to store
-these save $$! Because you can use regular freezer bags, these cut your milk storage costs and will pay for themselves
-you can easily get just the amount of milk you want for a bottle
-they wash up quickly & easily between uses (hand wash only!)
My tips/what I've learned:
-It's true the cover doesn't fit snugly onto the tray, but it's not designed to. Just be careful when placing the tray in the freezer and it's not an issue. I put mine in our chest freezer and just created one nice, level spot in a basket to place the tray while it's freezing. Not a big deal.
-Don't overfill the trays. There is a clear line in each compartment underneath the top. Don't pour the milk in past that line. This gives the milk a little room to expand as it freezes and you won't have the spillage/leaking issues as long as you keep the tray level.
-I use gallon ziploc freezer bags to store the milk sticks. I just write the month on the bag and then bag 1, bag 2, etc. as I fill them up.
I highly recommend these. Don't listen to the negative reviews. Try them for yourself and see if they work for you. Personally, I can't imagine these not making your pumping/milk storage life easier!
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I bought these trays after doing hours of research on different breastmilk freezing solutions. I looked into regular ice cube trays and all of the ones designed specifically for breastmilk and/or baby food. I was slightly skeptical when I ordered these because of the multiple negative reviews that I read about the cover warping, not fitting well, and spillage. What helped put me at ease is that one of the moms who owns this company took the time to respond to most negative reviews with helpful hints or urging the buyers to contact the company directly so they can make it right. I thought that was excellent customer service so I decided to give these a try.
I love these trays. I like that the sticks are one ounce. I transfer them to freezer Ziploc bags as soon as they're frozen. I haven't had any problems with the lids not fitting well. They haven't warped at all in the freezer and I hand wash them so that they don't warp in the dishwasher. I think as long as you follow the instructions on the box and fill each compartment only to the fill line and move the tray carefully to the freezer, you should have no issues. My freezer is on top of my fridge and I also make sure to make room for the tray and open the freezer door before I start carrying the tray. If you still have trouble with the milk sloshing around inside the tray before you put it in the freezer, just fill the compartments a little less... they seem to hold slightly more than 1 oz of milk anyway (or I'm slightly over-filling them). Either way, problem solved. As for the price, I think these will soon pay for themselves since I don't have to buy special breastmilk freezer bags now!
This bib was cute on delivery. It is soft, large enough, and has a great over the head style. However, we washed it before putting it on our 4 month old, and after the first wash, you can no longer see the sushi images, the letters are coming off, and worse of all, it left the falling plastic image bits all over my daughter and me when I carried her. That, can't be safe! Although I did not see any care instructions on the package, since I had seen reviews that mentioned the poor quality of the image before purchase, I washed it with cool water and on gentle... obviously, that did not help.
