Expressing, 0-3 months
You’ve been putting in lots of time producing milk for your little one. Now it’s time to store and serve it! Here’s how to go about it.
Storing breast milk
Breast milk is pretty durable provided it’s sealed in a sterilized airtight container and chilled at a consistent temperature. How long it lasts will depend on where you store it.
● Refrigeration – up to 5 days at 39.2°F (4°C) or lower
● Freezer (in fridge) – up to 2 weeks
● Freezer (separate compartment) – up to 6 months
You can keep breast milk at room temperature but be sure to use it within 4 hours.
For moms on the go, a cool bag or ice pack is a good alternative if you don’t have a fridge or freezer on hand.
Now is also the time to get organized and label all your containers with dates so no milk goes to waste.
If you’re planning on freezing, also leave some room at the top of the container for the milk to expand. Freeze the milk as soon as possible, rather than leaving it in the fridge and freezing it later, and always use the oldest milk first.
Warming breast milk
Warming breast milk means heating it to somewhere between body and room temperature, although some babies don’t mind it a little chilled.
The easiest and safest way to warm milk is to use a bottle warmer. Microwaves aren’t recommended for warming milk because they often create uneven hot spots that can burn your little one’s mouth; a bottle warmer, on the other hand, allows you to gently defrost milk and/or warm it quickly and evenly.
Frozen milk can also be thawed in the fridge, under running water or in a bowl of warm water. Once it’s thawed, don’t refreeze.
To warm refrigerated milk without a bottle warmer, place it in a bowl of warm water and test the temperature of the bottle on your skin before serving it to your little one.
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