Storing and Warming Breast Milk

once thawed it is best to use immidiately. I breast fed my children and they were very picky with it. I think because we dont have Preservatives, the milk spoils fast. I agree with using the milk as soon as possible. I hope this helped, good luck!!!

Good Morning, Here are the guidlines I've found & follow(from Medela). FRESH BREASTMILK is good at room temp for 4 hours (although I've been told by the nursing hotline that it's good for 24 hours). It's good for 24 hours in a cooler (with ice packs), 5-7 days in a refrigerator, 3-4 months in a freezer & 6-12 months in a deep freezer. THAWED BREASTMILK can be stored in a refrigerator for 24 hours. It should not be kept at room temp or re-frozen. Also, once a baby drinks from any bottle, that milk is only good for an hour (at room temp) & shouldn't be re-refrigerated, they don't say anything about re-heating. Hope that helps.

K.,
I have a couple of bits of info for you. Once you warm the milk, it should be used within an hour or so, give or take. You should never put a bottle back that's been drunk from- bc of the bacteria. That's true for both breast milk and formula. What I do with my dd is freeze my milk in ice cube trays, then transfer them to Glad freezer bags. My care provider thaws 2-4 "boob cubes" at a time depending on how long it's been since Maia ate. Freezing, warming, and storage info is located on the LaLeche League's website - http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html.
Good luck! You're giving your baby the best start by making sure she gets your milk.

I've read (don't remember where) that yes, you CAN reuse it, but it must be w/in a short period of time (like within a few hours or so). that said, i have done this before (bad mama!) and my son has been fine. And i think, too, the bottle can be left out for a little while (this happens when my mom heats up his bottle before I drop my son off, and he's just eaten). I wouldn't leave it out all day, but i think it has a shelf life of a few (2 tops?) hours.
i know this isn't much help, but i just wanted to give yousome support!

LIKE EVERYONE HAS STATED, RE-USING IS A BAD IDEA. THERE ARE NORMAL BACTERIA THAT CAN TRANSFER FROM YOUR BABIES MOUTH INTO THE MILK AND WHEN IT SITS FOR A WHILE THOSE BACTERIA GROW INTO HARMFUL BACTERIA WICH CAN CAUSE THRUSH OR BACTERIAL INFECTIONS IN THE INTESTINES CAUSING THOSE NASTY RUNNY POOPS AND BELLY CRAMPS. ALSO BE SURE THE DAY CARE PROVIDER IS WARMING THE MILK IN HOT WATER....NEVER MICROWAVE FOR TWO REASONS..........ONE, HOT SPOTS MAY FORM IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOTTLE AND SHAKING IT TO GET RID OF THE HOT SPOTS CAN GIVE YOUR BABY GAS DO TO AIR BUBBLES.......TWO, MICROWAVING CAN DESTROY KEY NUTRIENTS IN BOTH BREASTMILK AND FORMULA....HOPE THIS IS HELPS

Here are some links from my favorite breast feeding Web site.

Can I reuse milk?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/reusing-expressedmilk....

Storage Guidelines
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

I only reused milk if it was going to be consumed within 4 hours or so and it is ok to use milk that has been out of the fridge for up to 4 hours. When my daughter was first born I was more strict but after 4 months or so of feeding I adopted these guidelines.

Good luck!

Hi K.. I am a home daycare provider and a pumping mom. From what I have read you can keep fresh milk at room temp for anywhere from 2-10 hours @ 65-70 degrees(I have never left mine out more then 4-5) and my baby is always fine. On the reusing thing I have heard that it is bad, especialy if it was frozen, thawed and then heated. I know how hard it is to waste it but I have to do it all the time with my son. When you heat it you can leave it out for 2 hours. I have personaly done alot of research on the subject as I have been pumping full time seince he was born 6 months ago. I hope this helps.

Hello,

Breast milk is full of antibodies. It will not go bad like formula. There is no problem leaving breastmilk out for hours (6hrs is a comfortable number). My two children were breastfeed and did daycare from age 3 months on. I would sterilize the bottles in the dishwasher and only put 4 oz in a bottle or freezer bag. The daycare facility had a small frig in the room where the bottles would be store until needed. I also had them put some frozen milk (label with date & name) in their freezer (big storage type) in case of emergencies.

It worked wonderfully.

If you have any questions contact your local Leleche League they are a wealth of information and support.

M.

Hi K.-
Here are a couple links to answer at least some of your questions.

http://www.medela.com/NEWFILES/faq/coll_store.html

*check out last sentence in the Tips for feeding Breastmilk in the bottle section*

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nbreastfeed/0,,484b...

Also, found this on the BabyCenter website-written by another mother:

"Re-refrigerating or freezing - no. Breastmilk is, however, good 6-8 hours at room temperature. It should not be reheated once it is heated as you breakdown the nutrients."

Hope this helps. You could do a bit of research on it online and see what you come up with. Good luck!

Everything I read and heard when I was breastfeeding was that breastmilk can be left out for several hours (I heard for like 12 hours, but I never dared leave it out THAT long). I did usually leave it out for a couple of hours b/c I pumped at around noon and usually got home around 3, and refrigeration was scarce. All the research I did insisted this was ok, and my son never got sick.

Hi K.
I read that you should not reuse the milk that the baby has already drank from. I found this info on the Enfamil site. It has been so long since I have nursed that I decided to look it up. The info stated that it is not rec. that the breastmilk be reused because of the bacteria from the baby that has gone into the bottle when she feeds. So they rec i guess in your case to start a new bottle. I would imagine though you would just have to consider how much time has passed as well. Good luck and happy holidays!

just like formula, I woulnd't refridge leftovers.. if it isn't used in an hr after warming, throw it out. It can be very frustrating because it's liquid gold, but you don't want her to get sick .... sounds like you need to talk to the day are people..good luck

I personally would not give a bottle, breast or formula, to a child if it had been used even if only a small ammount of the breast milk was eaten. I was told to just throw away the milk from my kids pedi.

H. D.

I believe once warmed, it's good for about 1/2 an hour and you cannot reheat, unfortunately. also the daycare knows no microwaving right? just wanted to make sure:). good job.
you can check www.babycenter.com they probably have more info.

I have asked my doctor as well as a breastfeeding consultant this same question. Both of them told me that about an hour is as long as a bottel should remain out before throwing it out. They also said keeping the breast milk cold asap is very important. Don't microwave breast milk and that warming the milk after it has already been warmed is not the best idea but if you warmed it and then she fell asleep if you keep cold right away one more rewarming would not hurt. I hope this is not too confusing. I think the idea is to just be extra cautious with your breast milk.
I wish you the best of luck,
~J.