Milk Vault: Managing Your Breast Milk Supply
Track every session, manage fridge and freezer inventory, and never lose track of your pumped milk with BabyTime's pool-based storage model.
The Pool Model
Milk Vault uses a pool-based inventory model. Every time you pump, the volume is added to your active fridge pool — a running total of fresh milk available for immediate use. When you're ready to freeze, you pull from the fridge pool into dated freezer bags. This mirrors how most parents actually manage their stash and removes the need to track individual bottles.
Adding Pumping Sessions
Tap + Add Session on the Milk Vault screen to log a new pump. You can record:
- Volume (oz or ml): Total yield for the session
- Duration: How long you pumped — optional, but useful for trend analysis
- Which breast(s): Left, right, or both
- Pump type: Single, double-electric, manual, or hands-free
- Notes: Anything you want to remember about the session
Volume is automatically added to your fridge pool. Your running total updates instantly.
Fridge Pool Operations
The fridge pool represents all fresh milk available for immediate use. From here you can:
Use milk
Log that milk was used for a feed. The volume is subtracted from your pool and linked to baby's feeding record if you choose.
Move to freezer
Tap "Move to Freezer" to create a dated bag from your fridge pool. Set the volume and the bag is created with today's date and a calculated expiry.
Age alert
When fresh milk in the fridge pool has been sitting for more than 3 days, BabyTime shows a yellow warning. At 4 days, the alert turns red — matching CDC/WHO guidelines.
Freezer Bag Management
The Freezer section lists all your frozen bags sorted by date (oldest first, to encourage FIFO). Each bag shows:
- Volume and pump date
- Expiry date (6 months for deep freeze, 3 months for standard freezer)
- Status: available, thawed, or used
Thawing a Bag
Tap a frozen bag and select Mark as Thawing. The bag moves to a “Thawed” state and BabyTime starts a 24-hour countdown — thawed breast milk should be used within 24 hours and should not be refrozen.
Bulk Add
If you've already pumped and stored milk outside of BabyTime, use Bulk Add to quickly enter your existing inventory. You can add multiple bags at once with different dates and volumes — no need to enter them one by one.
Storage Locations
BabyTime tracks milk across three storage types:
- Fridge: Fresh pumped milk (up to 4 days)
- Freezer: Frozen bags (up to 6 months deep freeze)
- Cooler: Milk in a travel cooler bag with ice packs (up to 24 hours)
You can customise these with custom location names. For example, add a second fridge at a caregiver's home or a separate mini-fridge in baby's room.
Daily Milk Verdict & Charts
The Trends section gives you a rolling 7-day view of your milk supply and consumption. The Daily Milk Verdict summarises each day as:
- Surplus: You pumped more than baby consumed — green indicator
- Balanced: Supply and demand are roughly matched
- Deficit: Baby consumed more than you pumped - prompt to review schedule or supplement
The chart also shows your average yield per session and a 7-day trend arrow so you can see if supply is increasing, stable, or declining.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Pro to use Milk Vault?
Yes — Milk Vault is a Pro feature. Basic pumping session logging is available on the free plan, but the fridge pool model, freezer bag tracking, bulk add, and the Daily Milk Verdict require BabyTime Pro.
Can I switch between oz and ml?
Yes. Go to Settings -> Units to switch between imperial (oz) and metric (ml). All existing records are converted automatically.
What guidelines does BabyTime follow for storage times?
BabyTime follows CDC and WHO recommendations: 4 days in the fridge, 6 months in a dedicated deep freezer (3 months in a standard freezer compartment), and 24 hours in an insulated cooler with ice packs. These dates are used to calculate expiry warnings on all inventory items.