Every Drop: Your Milk Collector Guide

Every drop counts

If your breasts leak, you'll know the feeling: peeling off a soaked breast pad and realising how much milk has just gone in the bin. For me it can be anywhere from one to three ounces at a time, milk my body has worked around the clock to make.

Breast milk is alive. Every ounce carries living cells, including white blood cells and stem cells (1) and when you or your baby are poorly, the white blood cells in your milk rise to meet the infection, then settle again once you've recovered (2). Making it costs your body around 675 calories a day in the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding (3), more than your brain uses to keep you thinking (4).

A milk collector catches the milk that would otherwise soak into a pad. This guide covers the two I use - the Haakaa Petal and the Haakaa Ladybug: how to choose between them, how to use each one without changing your supply and how to store what you collect safely.

Petal or Ladybug?

Both are passive collectors, so they catch the milk your letdown releases rather than drawing more out (5). The difference is in how they feel, how much they hold and how they stay put.

The Petal is made from ultra-soft medical-grade silicone in a slim, scalloped shape that contours to your breast inside your bra with barely any pressure. It holds 30ml and only collects milk that would otherwise have soaked into a breast pad (6). Choose it if comfort and a discreet fit under your clothes matter most to you.

The Ladybug is the original Haakaa collector. It's sturdier, can hold on with light suction, stands upright on its own little feet and comes in 40ml, 75ml, and 150ml sizes. Choose it if you leak heavily, want more room overnight or would like something that feels more secure.

How to use the Petal:

1. Wash and sterilise it before you use it for the first time.

2. Put your bra on, then slip the Petal inside so the opening sits over your nipple; it shapes itself to your breast without any suction. 

3. Wear it on the opposite side while your baby feeds or on both sides between feeds when you're leaking.

4. Take it out gently, keeping it upright, then squeeze the sides to create a channel and pour your milk through the curved opening into a sterilised bottle or storage bag.

   
   

How to use the Ladybug;

1. Close the plug at the top.

2. With your bra on, centre the large opening over your nipple. Gently press the back down to create light suction to help hold it in place. While the suction is not strong enough to trigger milk stimulation, you can also use it without suction if you prefer. 

3. Use it on the opposite side while your baby feeds, where your bra and your feeding position help keep it steady.

4. Stand it on its feet, open the plug and pour your milk into a sterilised bottle or storage bag.

   
   

Will a milk collector change my supply?

A passive collector only catches milk your body has already released, so it sends no new message about how much to make. What changes your supply is milk removal: the more milk taken from your breasts, the more they make to replace it.

If you're in the early weeks, when your supply is still finding its level, or you're already making more milk than your baby needs, the Petal or a resting Ladybug is the gentle choice.

A note on pumping and oversupply

In the early weeks it can be tempting to reach for a pump to relieve fullness or start building a freezer stash. Pumping on top of your baby's feeds tells your breasts more milk is needed, so they make more to match. Many mothers who pump regularly in the first weeks find themselves with more milk than their baby needs.

Oversupply can sound like a lovely problem to have, but it often brings breasts that feel full and hard much of the time and a higher risk of mastitis (7). Your baby may gulp, cough or pull away when your milk lets down and seem windy after feeds.

If you need to pump for comfort, express only until you feel comfortable rather than until you're empty: comfort, not emptying. If you'd like a stash, the milk you catch in a collector builds one without asking your body for more. If you think you might have oversupply, a breastfeeding counsellor or IBCLC can help you bring it down gently.

Keeping your milk safe

If you plan to feed the milk you collect, empty your collector regularly rather than wearing it all day; I empty mine after every nursing session. Once it's collected, the NHS advises storing breast milk in a sterilised container or storage bag, labelled and dated (8). You can keep it:

At the back of the fridge, not the door, at 4°C or colder for up to 8 days.

In the ice compartment of your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

In the freezer at -18°C or colder for up to 6 months.

Please check your local guidelines as this advice varies. Please see the New Zealand guidelines below from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (11):

• At room temperature for up to 4 hours

• In a fridge for up to 3 days

• In a freezer for up to 6 months’

• In an upright freezer for 4 months

  
  

Defrost frozen milk in the fridge or in a jug of warm water, use it straight away and never refreeze it. Never defrost or warm breast milk in a microwave, which can create hot spots (8).

Wash your collector after every use in warm soapy water with a soft brush, then sterilise it with steam or by boiling it for two to three minutes (6). Avoid bleach and sterilising tablets, which can affect the clarity of the silicone.

Making the most of leaked milk

Milk that leaks from one breast while your baby feeds on the other has a name, drip milk, and it's still your milk, with all the same goodness. Biochemically and immunologically it closely resembles milk you express; its main difference is that it tends to be lower in fat (9,10). These studies are from the 1970s, included because they remain the main research looking at drip milk specifically.

That makes drip milk a brilliant top-up. Combine it with milk you've pumped once both are chilled or use it alongside a feed rather than relying on it as a whole bottle, particularly if your baby needs extra calories.

Here's to evidence-based, heart-led support in all things nursing, pumping and beyond.

With love,

Danielle

❤️

This guide was created as part of a paid partnership with Haakaa.

References

1. Hassiotou F, Geddes DT, Hartmann PE. Cells in human milk: state of the science. J Hum Lact. 2013;29(2):171-82.

2. Hassiotou F, Hepworth AR, Metzger P, Lai CT, Trengove N, Hartmann PE, et al. Maternal and infant infections stimulate a rapid leukocyte response in breastmilk. Clin Transl Immunology. 2013;2(4):e3.

3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Human energy requirements: report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation. Rome: FAO; 2004. Chapter 7, Energy requirements of lactation.

4. Raichle ME, Gusnard DA. Appraising the brain's energy budget. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002;99(16):10237-9.

5. Haakaa. Which milk collector is right for me? Explaining the Haakaa Halo, Petal, Ladybug and Shell [Internet]. Haakaa NZ; [cited 2026 Oct 20]. Available from: https://www.haakaa.co.nz/blogs/blog/which-milk-collector-is-right-for-me-explaining-the-haakaa-halo-petal-ladybug-shell

6. Haakaa. Petal soft silicone milk collector [Internet]. Haakaa NZ; [cited 2026 Oct 20]. Available from: https://haakaa.co.nz/products/haakaa-petal-soft-silicone-milk-collector

7. Mitchell KB, Johnson HM, Rodríguez JM, Eglash A, Scherzinger C, Zakarija-Grkovic I, et al. Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Clinical Protocol #36: the mastitis spectrum, revised 2022. Breastfeed Med. 2022;17(5):360-76. Erratum in: Breastfeed Med. 2022;17(11):977-8.

8. NHS. Storing breast milk [Internet]. Best Start in Life; [cited 2026 Oct 20]. Available from: https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/baby/feeding-your-baby/breastfeeding/expressing-your-breast-milk/storing-breast-milk/

9. Gibbs JH, Fisher C, Bhattacharya S, Goddard P, Baum JD. Drip breast milk: its composition, collection and pasteurization. Early Hum Dev. 1977;1(3):227-45.

10. Lucas A, Gibbs JA, Baum JD. The biology of human drip breast milk. Early Hum Dev. 1978;2(4):351-61.

11. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. Expressing breast milk. 22 July 2026. https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/health-topics/pregnancy-maternity/breastfeeding/expressing-breast-milk