Complete Guide on Storing Breast Milk

Breast milk is the best form of the milk for the baby. There’s no alternative or substitute for it, this is even written on the powdered milk formulas. Whether you are going back to work, seeking your partners help in taking care of the baby or just hanging out with friends for a couple of hours. As a doting mommy make sure the child has a constant supply of the best milk.  You can follow this complete guideline for storing breast milk for those times when you are away from your baby.

Storing breast milk means retaining all the healthy benefits of it and mothers can go about their life feeling content that the baby is being fed well. By storing the milk, mommies need not to wean the baby off of the breast milk to ensure proper sustenance. If any mother feels that the supply of the milk is insufficient for storing after feeding and wants to know how to increase milk supply, try MilkyMama’s breast milk cookies, they work wonders to increase the quantity. The first thing to be kept under consideration is how soon you are going to use the stored milk. For proper storing of the milk use the 4s rule that is 4 hours in room temperature, 4 days in the fridge and 4 months in the freezer.

Freshly pumped milk can stay perfectly fine at room temperature for up to 4 hours, after that bacteria starts to build up in the milk and it can go bad. In the fridge, the milk is totally fine up to 4 days, after that it is recommended to discard it. If you think you won’t be able to use it within 4 days then freeze it and milk will be just fine for another 4 months.

Before storing the milk make sure the hands are washed thoroughly. The bottles are clean and sterilized. Also label the time and date when the milk was expressed to ensure the right bottles are used and the bad ones are discarded.  Another amazing storing advice is to store in small batches of 2-4 ounces. I know, it means a lot of space in the fridge will be taken by baby bottles but this will prevent wastage. The leftover milk can be thrown away without worrying that so much is being wasted.

Room temperature milk is good to go whenever the baby demands, but if the milk is kept in the fridge then make sure you reheat it. The best way to reheat is to run the bottle under tap water or warm some water in a pan and place the milk bottle in it for 5-10 minutes. After this the temperature will be perfect. Never use a microwave or boiling water; it can scald the tongue of the baby.

To thaw the milk bottle that was kept in the freezer one has to be prepared a night before, so check on the supply mommies and be on top of the things to ensure an uninterrupted supply of milk for the baby. Place the bottle from the freezer into the fridge a night before and after that follow the same process for the fridge bottles.

Follow these tips for a constant supply of the best milk that will boost the immune system of the infant and always keep him smiling and nourished.