How long does breastmilk remain good frozen? Depending on the source, I've read 4 months, 6 months, even more. My milk supply is in a deep freezer, in Lansinoh bags. Also, my freezer supply basically started in July, so when should I start using it? Right now, I work & pump, but breastfeed when I can. She is just on breastmilk & I would like to keep it that way for at least a year, if not more. All of her milk is fresh right now. I just freeze the extra that I pump.
Should I start (if not now, when?) freezing everything that I pump & start using up my frozen supply? I enjoy breastfeeding, so I don't want to stop that aspect of it. Any other hints for frozen breastmilk? I read some on here awhile back, I'll have to find the posts...about thawing them in something to catch milk if there's a leak, that frozen milks tastes different, etc. What else should I know in prep to start using frozen supply? Thanks!
I am in a similar situation. I find that so the stuff in the freezer doesnt go bad I am cycling it out. so my daughter is drinking frozen from mid- sept. right now at day care and I freeze everything I pump at work that way none of it is going bad and I am not hearing that she is objecting to it at day care.
I just used the last bag of frozen BM from the deep freeze and it was nearly a year old.
If you have a great deep freezer, you are in great shape! I agree with the other posters on time, etc.
A trick I used to thaw and warm the milk was this:
If frozen, leave in the fridge for a day, unless you need it sooner. Then, keep the milk in the bag and run it under warm tap water until the milk inside becomes the same temp. If the water burns your hands, it's too hot. It will warm in a matter of a minute or two!
I used stored milk when I went into public and there wasn't a convenient place to breastfeed. I keep the milk in the bags and went to the restroom and warmed the milk at the sink. Then I poured the warm milk into the bottle. This made shopping and going out much easier. I'd then pump in the car or when I got home.
Hope this helps!
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breast milk is great for a lot of things; facial cleanser, infection preventer, cut or scrape healer, whatever. my son is 3, most of the milk i have in the freezer from him is 2 years old or so, and i still used it in my eye not that long ago when i scraped it on a branch, and it healed overnight. when my son took a tumble off our steps outside and scraped the side of his head, i put some on with a bandaid, and replaced it the next day, it looked fantastic. it never really scabbed over, it just healed, and quickly! it looked terrific.
i think you should contact the la leche league. there shuold be one near you or in a nearby town - www.llli.org - just look for a group in your town or in a neighboring town. its so worth it and you will find info from reliable sources, and other moms who may have been there too! :)
6 months is max for deep freeze. I'd start using it now. The best way to thaw in those bags is just run some warm water in the sink or a bowl and drop it in for a few minutes.
Wow, it sounds like you have plenty of milk! So, that's a wonderful thing, and my guess is, you have figured out how to pump and nurse and make sure there's enough to go around, and that probably won't change. I WOULD start using some of the frozen soon, if it's from July. It should be fine in the deep freeze, but I think you're starting to get to the point where it's not as good. On the other hand...fresh milk is MUCH better for baby (freezing destroys some of the nutritional value of breastmilk), so if you're confident of your supply--and you're already at 7 months--I would keep feeding her fresh milk and just chucking the frozen milk. I know it's frustrating, but chalk it up to "I stored up just in case" and call it good! I know when I was pumping and working full time, I really noticed it when I got sick. Pumping, I didn't get nearly as much milk, and I assumed that's the way it was. But, with #2, I was home and, even when I was very dehydrated with food poisoning, my milk supply was still my body's #1 priority. Anyway--it's probably good to keep some frozen "just in case" but you should probably either use or toss the stuff in your freezer from July; I think four months would be about my limit, even w/ the deep freeze.
You should start trying to use it now, because your milk changes its makeup as your baby grows. Or, if you really have that much of a supply, look into donating it to a NICU, or there is a service that pastuerizes it and sends it over to somewhere in Africa. There is another service in the states like that, that sends it to babies whose moms can't breastfeed for certain reasons and the baby is allergic to formula. Another somewhat controversial way to use it is to sell it locally kind of like being a wet nurse. I have also heard of stories of moms giving their milk to cancer patients they know, and it helping with chemo and such.
I'm sure you will find a great use for it!
This web site for the La Leche Leage (supporters of breastfeeding) has guidelines for storing milk in the freezer:
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html
You can use the frozen breastmilk whenever. I always have a supply in the freezer for emergencies. My husband can use if I'm not home for some reason. I also tend to use it on Mondays because I take "pumping vacations" on the weekends and might not have fresh milk for daycare on Mondays. With our daughter I also had to use some when I had been sick with a fever and my milk supply decreased for a short time.
I have noticed that sometimes our son doesn't drink as much when it is frozen milk, but that could just be coincidence. Yesterday he took a bottle of frozen milk without any complaint. The web site I mentioned above also has some information about how freezing can change the taste and other things.
In a deepfreeze I would say that the milk is good for up to 6 months. My daughter never acted as though the milk tasted differently when it was fed to her, just make sure to shake it up a bit before feeding it to her because it does separate a bit. I would probably start freezing most of what you are pumping at work and giving her the frozen stuff. What I used to do was take it out of the freezer a day or two before I would need it and just put it in the fridge. With the supply that you say you have I wouldn't worry about losing a little bit. Good luck.
Here are the guidelines:
Fresh breastmilk is good at room temp. for 10 hours
Frozen to room temp. 4 hrs from the time the last ice is defrosted from the bottle
Never place it on the door of the fridge.
Good in the fridge for 1 week
Good on the door of the freezer for 1 week (so I would not keep it there)
Good in your freezer for 3 months
Good in a total stand-up freezer unit for 3 months
Good in a standard chest deep freezer for 6 months
Good in a subtemp chest deep freezer (the kind people put the deer or fish in after hunting or fishing) is good for 1 year.
Best way to defrost it is under running warm water. If you have it in the Lansinoh bags, those should not break when thawing the milk. Sometimes the Playtex or Advent ones will break and therefore should be double bagged prior to unfreezing. If you are truly worried, just toss the entire milk bag into a Ziplock freezer bag and defrost it that way. The frozen milk does taste a bit different than it does fresh, but the baby should just take it fine.
I sure hope that helps.
Like most people posted, frozen milk can last for a long time. I put all mine in a deep chest freezer. I was able to have enough frozen to give to the sitter during the day. Neither of my kids ever had to go on formula. For my second child I was able to nurse while he was at home and while he was at the sitter he was still able to have BM. He didn't seem to mind the fact that during the day he was drinking frozen milk. I also took the frozen milk if I went out just in case I didn't have a place to nurse him. I was able to breastfeed him for 27 months and still ended up throwing lots of frozen milk down the drain. Good luck.
