This post will cover all things about how to store breastmilk.
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There is so much to know about breastfeeding, and once your baby has a good latch you should have started pumping so that you can store your breastmilk. I am going to share everything you need to know about storing breastmilk so that you can run errands, go to the park, to the store, to work, and anywhere else you need!
While your baby is a newborn it can feel difficult to get everything ready to head out and run some errands or just go to the park right?
Let’s cover all things you need to know about how to store breastmilk!
How to Store Breastmilk at Home
When you store breastmilk, you want to make sure that you use the 4-4-4 method. This means that a bottle with breastmilk that is laying out at room temperature is good for 4 hours. If the bottle has breastmilk in the fridge it is good for 4 days. Lastly, stored breastmilk in the freezer is good for 4 months.
Some moms will store breastmilk for 6 months to a year in their freezer, but that is your call and not something I have ever done.
There are two ways to store milk, in either a bottle with a lid or disposable milk bags. I can honestly say that I like both for different reason.s To help you make your choice, here are the pros and cons of breastmilk in bags and breastmilk in bottles.
Breastmilk Storage Bags
Pros of the milk bags:
- can create more room for storage in your freezer
- write the exact amount of milk on the bag
- avoid washing dishes
- easy to defrost
Cons of the milk bags:
- can be irritating to properly seal the bag + get the bubbles out
- it is possible to accidentally spill milk out of the bag after all the hard work because you were trying to seal the bubbles out of the bag for the baby
- it is possible to accidentally spill milk while trying to get the milk into the bag while you hold it open after all your hard work
*TIP: breastfeeding mamas cry over spilled milk because it can happen. Don’t let that stop you from using bags though!
Breastmilk Storage Bottles
Pros of a bottle:
- avoid the time of writing the ounces with a sharpie
- can reuse the bottle
- only purchase the necessary amount needed
- do not need to continue to purchase because you won’t run out
- easy to defrost
Cons of the bottle:
- quickly takes up room in the freezer
- have to wash it out anytime it is used
- may forget it in the diaper bag
- will need tape + sharpie to write the date
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How to Thaw Frozen Breastmilk
Thawing out breastmilk is SUPER IMPORTANT to know how to thaw frozen breastmilk the right way. When thawing out the milk, NEVER USE A MICROWAVE. Your breastmilk has so many nutrients for the baby and the microwave will burn the nutrients out of the milk. Using a microwave can not only cause damage to your milk, but can burn your baby really bad.
Instead, you can:
- leave your milk in the fridge the night before it is used
- if your using your milk the day of, run it under warm water and let it thaw out until there are no more frozen chunks.
The running water should always be warm and not hot to thaw out the milk. Make sure to avoid shaking the milk and use a spoon to stir up the fore milk and hind milk.
Once the milk is thawed out, it can not be frozen again.
My Milk Storage Story (ZERO Milk Stored with 2 month old)
Because I was too overwhelmed to go out in public, it took me a long time to get to a lactation specialist!! I just happened to find a reallllyy AMAZING one because she had confirmed that Kyla was extremely healthy and getting all the nutrients she needed.
She was surprised I came in because she said that I just needed to begin pumping before going back to work so that I had enough milk stored. At the time, Kyla was a couple of months already, and I had NO MILK STORED!!!!! My anxiety was rising, and I shared that pumping was extremely hard because Kyla was a needy baby and would always cry when I put her down.
I asked if she could help me properly pump milk while I was there. She was amazing! She immediately took Kyla from my hands, watched me get set up, ensured the milk came in, changed Kyla’s diaper, and told me to stress less and pump more!!
When I left, I felt like A MILLION BUCKS!!! I had learned how to pump, calculate breastmilk, pumped my first few ounces of milk, got A LOT of reassurance + A LOT of tips!! All of these tips + trial and error are why I feel confident that hopefully a lot of this information will help you!
What if I have low breastmilk storage?
If you have to go back to work in a few days and you haven’t started pumping your breastmilk, START NOW! I know it is overwhelming and it can be difficult, but you want to start the week before you go back to work at least so that you can save all the milk you have.
The Haakaa will help you pump while the baby is feeding from your other side. Start using the Haakaa to catch your wasted milk. there will be enough milk for your baby’s next feeding, and it will actually tell your body to make more milk than it already is! This is because two boobs are being used almost as if you were feeding twins.
If you do this every feed for at least 3 days, you can have just about enough milk stored for a work day. You can also power pump in between feedings to increase your milk by a lot so that you have a comfortable amount of milk stored.
While you are at work, you only need about milk for about 8-10 hours while you are gone. With just enough milk for that time you can use a hands free electric pump at work to store more milk. Or, you can pump on one side and use the Haakaa on the other.
You are not losing out on milk because if you pump on your lunch break or take at least two breaks to pump it makes up for the ounces that your baby is eating at daycare and stores even more with using a pump on both sides! (It is equivalent to the milk that they have in a bottle when they are away from you).
You have to take your pump with you everyday to pump the equivalent amount of milk that your baby drinks.
The milk you pump when you are away from your baby can be stored in the freezer or used the next day. Always add the date that you pumped that day.
[…] you? If you are breastfeeding and returning to work, you probably want to make sure that you have built up your milk stash using a breast […]