Breastfeeding & Pumping Question?

Hi D.-

I have breastfed both my children for a year. I purchased a great book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by the La Leche League International, a book which has saved me many times! On page 122 they discuss storage of milk. The La Leche League recommends freezing small amounts of milk, approximately 2 to 4 ounces, so as not to unthaw too much and then have to throw it out if your baby doesn't consume all of it. They also say you can refrigerate for up to 8 days with no increase of harmful bacteria. The La Leche League does have a website: www.lllusa.org which might be able to answer you more thoroughly. Hope this helped--Nic

My LC (lactation consultant) told me to keep fresh pumped BM in the fridge no longer than 5 days before freezing or feeding to my DD. If you thaw out frozen BM, only keep it in the fridge for 2 days, but less is better. I always pump and add it all together over about 3 days before I have enough to freeze in ice cube trays or BM freezer bags. So far so good! HTH!

You could also visit drjacknewman.com for more BM storage advice from a breastfeeding expert. He has all the info you will ever need.

D. you can do that however keep it at the back of the fridge the coldest part. I would say try to get it filled as soon as possible I know sometimes mine would turn before I would freeze and it would make me nervous so I dumped it. I had a problem pumping it just didn't work well for me but nursed with no problem even twins and what I did was pump the breast I was not nursing with while nursing my baby this way he was releasing a larger let down for me and I would fill my supply allot quicker then just pumping alone. Don't do it all the time together because it will increase your milk production. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.

I breastfeed my son and pump to store as well. I was told not to mix the breast milk (by numerous people). My sister gave me a good idea of taking the ziploc snack bags and storing the breatmilk in there. I usually put about 2-3 oz in each bag and write on each bag, (with a sharpie marker), how much and the date I pumped. I have a box in my freezer with about a months supply of milk. I haven't had any problems with the bags either. I love the system I have and love my sister for telling me about it.
Hope this is helpful. Good Luck.
R. M

What worked best for me was to use freezable plastic bottles, and I would pump milk, freeze it, then add to it until I had a full bottle. I also had a sticker (blank circlular ones available at office supply stores) on the cap to write the dates I pumped. I don't remember where I bought the plastic bottles, it may have been from Medela or a breastpump company like that. Good luck and cherish every moment with your baby! They grow up way too fast!

Hi D.! Here are guidlines for safe storing and handling of expressed breastmilk. First of all, expressed milk is good in the fridge for up to 8 days, considering your fridge is between 32 and 39 degrees, and must be stored in the back. You CAN add newly pumped milk to older milk that has been stored in the fridge ONCE IT HAS REACHED THE SAME TEMP as the older milk. Just use the older milk's date as the expiration date. Try to freeze in smaller portions (2-4 oz) to limit waste because once thawed, it must be used within 24 hours and cannot be refrozen. Here is a link about handling and storage:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html
Hope this helps!

~Tara Breastfeeding Counselor Buffalo NY

Hi D.,

I don't know if you can add to the milk already pumped or not, but I used to pump into quantities of 2, 3 ,4, 5 or 6 ounces and freeze and then lets say I needed enough milk for a 5 ounce feeding.... I could take out a 2 oz bag and a 3 oz bag and defrost together. just make sure you label your bags well with the quantity and the date. When I froze in the smaller quantities it gave me more flexibility to defrost and use just what I needed.

I hope this helps

W. K

HI, I believe the safest way to do what you want to do is to pump....freeze that bit, pump again & add to the frozen one. I dont think u are supposed to leave fresh pumped more than a day in fridge.

T.

yes, you can. I believe the you can leave breast milk in the fridge for 8 days safely. Pump away! I did.

No, you really shoulnd't, for several reasons:
1. you should never mix breast milk pumped in different days, becaue part of it will start going bad before the rest and you might not be able to tell
2. when you keep the milk in the fridge for 2 days before freezing it the milk isn't at its best, it has already decreased in quality (think of it like veggies picked several days before being frozen, as opposed to being frozen right away).

If the problem is that you cannot pump enough at one time, you likely have a supply problem on your hands, so you should take a look at your diet and start supplementing: there are teas and herbs that help increase your milk supply.

You should really either use or freeze pumped milk the same day.

You can add milk to the same bottle throughout the day but it needs to be refrigerated and frozen or used within 24 hrs

What I remember about this subject is that you can keep milk in the fridge safely for up to three days, so as long as your "collection" is complete before the first of it is three days old, you should be fine. You might want to avoid adding warm milk to the cold; let it cool down first. Also, I know I remember being told that if you freeze a little bit, you can add more to the container as long as the amount you add is less than the amount already frozen, so as to avoid thawing the previous storage.

Congratulations!

Yes you can add fresh pumped to stored, but they should be at same temperature when you add them together.

Hi D.-Unfortunately you cannot add to milk beyond the first few hours. Try feeding on one side, pump on the other- then do the same a few hours later and combine the two- then freeze it. Never add to frozen milk or to milk in the fridge that is a day or so old. Keep up the good work and remember a little goes a long way. P.s. I pumped at every feeding and kept a bunch of bottles, this way you're stocked up and u can always heat up more than one for a feeding. Beside, the more u pump and nurse, the more milk u produce. J.

http://medelabreastfeedingus.com/tips-and-solutions/11/br...

the medela website has EVERYTHING you need to know about pumping, collection and storage!! DO NOT add warm milk into cold milk already in the fridge. Put it into a separate bottle or milk storage bag! Good luck and congrats! Im still nursing my 8 month old...its such a special bond!

Your breastmilk is only good for a few days in the fridge, and if you combine milk, it might go bad faster. If you are only pumping every day or two, I would store it seperately, even if it is only a few ounces.

when I did that, I first chilled the second batch in the fridge for an hour or two so that it would not warm the first batch when they were mixed, and thereby encourage bacterial growth...

I would freeze what you have pumped, and then continue to add to it after you have chilled it for a little bit. I however though have left it in the fridge for a day or two and added to it, as long as you freeze it after the 2nd day. never add warm milk to the already chilled milk, be sure to have it either chilled if added to frozen, or the same temp if refigeratred.

No, you can only freeze witin 24 hours. But you can add cold milk to previously frozen milk in the bag.

Don't add and you want to freeze no more than 3 oz. at a time. I am a pro. With my first daughter I had 64. oz. of milk in the freezer when I went back to work. Smaller oz. are easier to thaw when the baby is hungry and you don't waste as much.

Some people would be strongly against it, but as a mother of two boys, one 8 years, the other 7 months today, I will tell you that I did that, and it worked out fine. I never stored more than 4 oz of breast milk per bag in the freezer to prevent waste. But yes, if there was not enough to fill the bags to 4oz, then I would wait until there was and combine them. My son is thriving so obviously there is nothing wrong with doing it that way. Good luck! :)

yes!
You can store the milk in the fridge for up to a week (although i wouldn't leave it in there that long).

You can also mix milk, but you should always cool the new milk you want to add before mixing it with the one that's already been in the fridge.

don't add just pumped milk (which is warm) to stored milk (which is cold). If you don't need it for a few days (more than 24 hours) freeze it immediately, don't wait. Lansinoh has great bags that have a ziploc top and are easy to use. you can warm up multiple frozen packs and combine when warmed (soak in bowl of warm water, not microwave). If you wait it will start to turn as pumped milk (which is raw) doesn't keep like milk from store, etc.

You should not add to already expressed milk. Just freeze what you have, even if it is only 2 oz which will make thawing that much easier anyhow. :)

I'm not an expert or anything, but I did hear that you shouldn't combine cold breast milk and warm (just pumped) milk. What I do is pump and put it in the fridge, then combine them when I'm ready to use it. Hope that helps!

You can do this, but you cannot add fresh milk to milk that's already frozen. You could also chill both pumping's worth of milk, then combine and freeze.

You can just add to the already pumped stuff. I didn't realize that at the beginning, and was throwing out partially used breast milk!! Someone referred to it as liquid gold, and that is what I had thought to. You can also freeze it for up to three months.

if you store your milk in the frig after pumping it will not last as long as if you freeze it. Also, if you are pumping at work to replace a feeding you will probably produce roughly the right amount for a feeding...at least that was my experience -but it was using the Medela Pump-In_Style double pump which is very efficient. I only worked part time and my son was doing wonderful nursing so I pumped on the days I worked and froze the milk (put date you pumped on the bag). On the days that I was home I didn't have to worry about pumping - the baby took care of everything!

I wouldn't. I would suggest freezing milk in 2 oz lots. Because once you thaw it out and once the baby drinks from it, whatever is left you have to throw out. I know you have to work hard to pump what you have, but I wouldn't add more.