Bottled Breastmilk

I always froze my milk unless I just knew it was going to be used then. It can stay in the freezer for 3 months, so I always did the first in, first out so my milk never went bad. If the milk is frozen and you are out you can just ask for a cup of hot water like you would get for hot tea. Place the bag of milk in there so it thaws and heats to room temp. (less than 5 minutes) and then just poor it in the bottle. Or again if you pumped early it is fine to give them as long as it stays room temp like the other ladies said.

expressed breastmilk will be fine at room temp for 8-10 hours, depending on how long it's been in the fridge. IMHO if you can get your baby to take it at room temp this is certainly convenient.

Honestly, I personally have never fed either of my kids a bottle. If I'm out and about I just nurse them (well, my son is 3 now, but my daughter is only 12 months and I still nurse her). I leave the bottles for when she is at daycare or my husband or a sitter is with her and I'm not there. Not sure if you've tried feeding him a bottle (he likely won't take one from you - why would he when he can drink straight from the tap?) but when you introduce it make sure you're out of sight. Maybe have your husaband start with a warm one and he can gradually decrease the temp at which it's served?

Good luck! Being a mom is great, isn't it?

M.:

milk should be ok for 10 - 12 hours.... room temp should be fine/ some babies are fussy about temp/ some aren't... you won't know abut yours til you try.

Warmly,

P., RLC, IBCLC
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions

Here is the direct link to La Leche League regarding storage guidelines...
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

You can click on it or just copy & paste it in the address bar. Pretty much if you pump and are planning on using it that day, it can stay room temp up to 8 hours (preferably not more than 4 though for max freshness). Otherwise you can refrigerate for up to 8 days (preferably up to 72 hours). Here's some info from the site:

How to Warm the Milk:

Frozen milk: thaw in the fridge overnight or under cool running water. Gradually increase the temperature of the water to heat the milk to feeding temperature.

Refrigerated milk: Warm the milk under warm running water for several minutes or immerse the container in a pan of water that has been heated on the stove. Do not heat the milk directly on the stove. Some babies accept milk right from the refrigerator.

Do not bring temperature of milk to boiling point.

Human milk may separate into a milk layer and a cream layer when it is stored. This is normal. Swirl it gently to redistribute the cream before giving it to baby.

Do not use a microwave oven to heat human milk. It may cause the loss of some of the beneficial properties of the milk. Microwaves do not heat liquids evenly and may leave hot spots in the container of milk. This could be dangerous for infants.

I usually thaw my frozen milk in the fridge overnight and then take a tupperware container with me to the restaurant. When he's ready to eat I go to the bathroom and put the bag in the tupperware container and fill it with lukewarm water and gradually make it hotter. I do this just until the milk feels room temp and not chilly (but not warm so that he doesn't only want warm milk!) Then I pour the milk in the bottle, swirl gently, & feed! I also use a bottle that simulates breatst feeding called Breastflow made by The First Years and he loves it as do I! Feel free to call me if you have any questions! ###-###-####.
Take Care, L..

You should be fine with keeping it at room temp. but if you can, try to keep it in a cooler until use.

As for warming it up, I would ask the server if you can get a big bowl and have them fill it 1/2 way with the hotest water available (they usually can get it from the coffee machine). You may need to show them the bottle so they can get the right size container for you (or, you can bring it with and mark it so they know how much hot water to bring).

It may take some time before they get it right, but don't worry about letting them know you need the water hotter (if need be).

A great nursing website to check out is www.kellymom.com In that website, it will tell you everthing you ever needed to know and more.

Hi M..
I don't mean to sound like a jester - but I never warmed a bottle of expressed milk. I never let it get hot. I always figured that I was room temp - so I didn't need to warm it when out.

Good Morning

from experience, you are able to leave it out for 72 hours.
After that you will have to cover up and feed the baby in the bathroom.

I don't really have any storage suggestions, but I always find it easier to just nurse my baby if needed when we are out. I use a cover from www.bebeaulait.com which allows for being very discreet and can't be pulled off easily by baby like a blanket can. No need to go hide in a bathroom. I think knowing that a meal for baby is always readily available without the extra concern of bottles on the go is one of the better perks of breastfeeding.

If you check any formula website or for sure the mustela website they tell you how to store it and then reuse it.

You can keep breast milk out for five hours. I used to take a bottle to church and leave it out for that long and she was fine. If you are going out for several hours make sure you take a cooler and take one milk out at a time. My daughter would not drink cold milk so I had to always take one bottle out and let it get close to room temp before she would do it. Hope this helps.

There seems to be a bit of differing remarks. I've been told 8 hours is okay. Breast milk is so amazing, there is less bacteria in it after it is left out for a little while then there was origionally.

I do whole heartedly agree with the person that said that it's easier to just breastfeed then take a bottle along. You really can be very modest in public. Especially when you are in a busy place, where people are doing there own thing. It doesn't really become a modesty problem until the baby starts to play peekaboo. And by then the feedings are so much less often.

Please don't feed your baby in the bathroom! That is so uncomfortable and yucky. You can do it discreetly. Just practice at home, then graduate to practicing with a group of girlfriends, and then try in a busy place like a restraunt with your back to the people.

I never really got use to a cover. I would just unbuckle my nursing bra uner my shirt, and pull the frount of my shirt up. Once the baby is latched, it's no big deal to keep covered. The trick is turning away for everyone to get tthe baby latched.

My sister had a "Hooter Hider" or a "BeBe au Lait." http://www.bebeaulait.com/ They are nice because there is a wire on top, so you can see your baby and they can see you. Most other covers lay flat and prevent this.

P.S. Check out www.kellymom.com for great breastfeeding support.

you can leave your milk out for at least 5 hours. you can not micro to warm. you can put the bottle in a cup of hot water to warmm or run under hot water. you can boil hot water and put the bottle in that water to warm.(not while flame is on of coarse)you can take the bottle out of fride ahead of time to get it to room temp when you are ready to feed.

if it is frozen solid and you take it out, you will have some time before it even starts thawing and the "chunks" get melted....you have plenty of time to use this before it goes bad.

Way to go! Breastfeeding is tough and can take a little more work and planning but is so good for your baby. There is a lot of differing advice out there on storage/cooling/etc. Our lactation consultant suggested that breastmilk could be out of the fridge for 4 hours. We have served it room temp to our little guy. We have also kept it chilled for longer periods of travel in a soft sided cooler. I have also seen individual bottle coolers which make travel with one bottle easy. We have traveled a bit already with our 5 month old and we have found people are so helpful when it comes to warming bottles...hot water from gas stations, in restaurants, etc. Asking and letting people know what it's for opens a lot of doors.

I breastfed my son until he was 22 mos & he started daycare @ 8 weeks, so I always pumped too. I think standard rule of thumb would be that you treat it like milk. Either serve it right away or it needs to go in the fridge or freezer. I will keep in the fridge for several days, it will sour like regular milk...I used Medela bottles to store it & I think Gerber or someone else has them as well. I almost always froze, then that way I didn't have to wonder how old it was. I uses the storage bags, Medela has them, but I liked that brand that starts with an "L" ( Lanisil, or something like that) because they were cheaper & they lay flat & store easier. The milk will last in the freezer like 6 months I think. There is a place to mark the date on the bag. As for serving, when frozen I just ran it under warm water to thaw & serve. If it was in the fridge I would do the same or just give it cold. There is no real reason to serve it warm other than it is close to the breast temp, it's just a preference -- I learned that from a friend whose child drank formula & she didn't warm it. She said that's just what we do because that's what has always been done, but it's a whole lot easier to not have to warm a bottle when out. Although I didn't worry about giving him a bottle because if he was with ne he nursed, no matter where we were -- it's way easier!! Good luck.