Storing Pumped Breastmilk? - Lavonia,GA

Hello A.,
If the milk is cold then you can mix it together. But like said do not mix warm and cold together. Also be sure to date the bags with the appropriate dates. If I'm not mistaken I believe breast milk can be stored up to 6 months in the freezer. Also, be sure not to place warm milk in the freezer, let it cool down first. Make sure though that you do not add tomuch milk in one bag, just incase she doesn't drink that much in one feeding you don't want to waste it. It's easier to warm up breast milk from multiple bags than waste all that hard work!! LOL Good Luck!!

Hey. While freezing breast milk is ok, you would be best only to pump enough for a few days at a time and not freeze it. It looses some nutrients when frozen. Also, when pumping you want to be sure to completely empty each breast. A lot of the time when women pump they will do so after nursing and breastmilk comes in two stages, first it is formilk that has all the nutrients, and then hindmilk that has all the fat. The baby needs both. When you pump, even if you only get a little at a time it will have both parts. which is why it would be best to either mix two whole bags together or none at all- meaning dont use like half a bag. Try to make bottles for either the amount the baby drinks or less, you can always make more if need be. NEVER warm it in the microwave.

Mixing it with formula is not recommended. You would be better off warming two bottles, a formula bottle and a breastmilk bottle. Also- NEVER EVER EVER EVER give your baby cows milk- not even mixed with your milk. This could cause internal bleeding and give your child many lasting effects- even if you THINK your baby is ok now. It can mess up their digestive system permanately (kind of like giving cereal too soon or putting it in a bottle). It's very dangerouse.

So pump what you can. if you want to substitute formula that's fine, but dont mix them together. I know I used to work for a family (I am a nanny) and the mom had a hard time pumping so durring the day the baby got one breastmilk bottle and the rest formula. The mom nursed him in the morning and when she got home. This might be less stressful then trying to pump enough- I know how hard that is!!

What I did was anything I pumped went right into the freezer, no matter the ammount. And then when it was feeding time, if I had two half filled bags, I would mix them together in one bottle. Breast milk is only good at room temp for about 2 hours.

I am probably going to incure the wrath of some people for saying this, but I mix refridgerated milk with freshly pumped breast milk every day. I also pump fresh milk into the same bottle that has been in the fridge from my morning pumping. My baby is fine and the milk is always good. I hope this helps.

Hi A.! Your baby was born on my Dad's birthday! Yes you can add your stored milk together. But it does need to be the same temperature. Whether you do it room temp or in the fridge. What I do is put mine in the fridge and then add it that way. It's worked out fine for me. I am still nursing my 7 month old. Good luck!

Most folks agree that it is OK to combine milk from different pumpings. You probably want to combine the two while they are either both room temperature or both cold, before moving to the freezer. The main thing is to wash your hands before doing anything with pumping or with milk storage and to use clean containers for storage.
S. Taylor RN IBCLC

The only reason you don't want to add warm to cold is you can make the cold actually curdle. I would suggest just putting it all in the fridge and when it is cold put it in the same bag and freeze it. Then if yor last pump of the night isn't quite cold, let it sit in the fridge overnight and start a new supply the next day with that one. Milk can last in the fridge for about 48 hours, so you have plenty of time for them to get cold before adding more milk. I know there are smaller containers that will hold just one feeding and you could also do that, and just freeze the milk after you express each time, or when you have one feeding.

Hey A.,
I would suggest going to the LaLeche website, while I don't agree with all of their philosophies or practices they give you guidelines on storing your milk. It says milk can be kept out of the fridge for 10 hours, in the fridge for 8 days, and in a regular freezer for 4 months. It can be kept for 6 months in a deep freeze. I pump two or three times a day at work, and I keep it in the insulated pack in my desk and have no problems. I also haven't had any problems mixing any of the milk. You can mix formula and milk, and it shouldn't matter if either one is cold or not. Another thing I would suggest is looking into your milks quality. If you're not getting enough calories then the quality of your milk will be poor. I know as a mother trying to lose that baby weight it's easy to try and diet, but for the health of you baby you can't do that. They recommend that breastfeeding mothers have an addition 2000 calories in their diet. I hope this helps, and don't give up, in the long run it's what is best for your baby!