Storing too much in one container
- Keep breast milk in small amounts, just enough per baby feeding session. This way, you'll thaw or heat just enough breast milk, since it's divided in "single serves". The rest of your milk stash will be kept safe frozen or refrigerated.
Transferring in too many containers
- Minimize transferring milk from one container to the next. Use storage bottles that can double as feeding bottles, so you can just snap off the sealing disc and replace with synthetic nipple before serving. I've seen brands like Avent and Evenflo have such caps that can hold sealing discs and nipples. This way, you won't need to transfer in different containers.
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When you transfer to and from containers, you'll leave behind specks and drops of breast milk.[/caption]Freezing right after pumping
- Suggestions on how long you can keep milk in the fridge varies. The US Center for Disease Prevention and Control says three days. Mayoclinic says five to eight days. In the the Breastfeeding Answer Book of La Leche League International, eight days in the ref is still acceptable. Keep breast milk at the back, away from the door. I maximize milk shelf life by keeping mine for five days in the fridge, then freezing if it's not used up. Remember that thawed breast milk will be safe to consume up to 24 hours when stored in the fridge.
Thawing too much too soon
- If you won't be able to use milk in 24 hours, then avoid thawing breast milk. Thawed breast milk have shorter shelf life than cold refrigerated milk. Put numbers your milk bottles so your baby sitter will know which one of the milk should be consumed first.
Not putting expressed breast milk in the ref right away
- I don't know about you, but as a working mom, i forget everything else when i get home from the office. This includes tucking that precious milk you pumped in the fridge, so sometimes i wake up the next day to discover that the ebm is still in the cooler and the ice packs have melted already!!! Darn... such a waste of milk! But don't throw it out just yet! If it's still cold to touch, then it's still good. Consider how long you left it like that, most ice packs keep milk cold up to 12 hours. If you're still in doubt, room temperature breast milk lasts until four hours. So if it's within that period, then the milk is still good. To avoid this predicament, make refrigerating your ebm and freezing the ice packs the second thing you do when you come home. The first thing, of course, is to hug that child who has been waiting for you all day long!
Throwing away leftover breast milk
- Some moms just throw out milk that baby failed to consume in one feeding. I, however, reuse breast milk, but only until baby's next feeding. After that and there's still leftover, that's when i discard. It's better to refrigerate leftover milk than leaving it at room temperature to slow down the growth of bacteria.
- If you're concerned about reusing breast milk, read this post from Kellymom on reusing breast milk. Whether you decide to reuse breast milk may or not may depend on your baby's sensitivity to bacteria. I guess reusing breast milk may not be advisable for a newborn, since her immune system is still developing. You may also hold off on reusing when baby is sick, since his immune system may be down at this point.
A nursing working mommy will always doubt if she'll be able to make enough milk for her little one. One way to cast the doubt is by making sure every drop of milk is well spent! Also worth reading:
- A working mom's guide on thawing and serving breast milk
- Breastmilk storage tips from a working mommy
- Coming to terms with low milk supply
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