Warming frozen breastmilk - easiest way?

ThePrincessAndTheBumblebee · October 2011

I plan to pump and freeze milk in storage bags. When I'm ready to use them what is the best way to warm them up? I registered for a bottle warmer for this purpose but then realized last night that sticking plastic bags in a warmer would probably be a bad idea and I can't pour the milk into bottles until it's thawed anyway.

Is it best to just run it over warm water? Doesn't that take a while? Maybe I should just suck it up and buy storage bottles instead.

jason&robin · October 2011

I usually just warmed a mug of water in the microwave and stuck the bag in to defrost.

ETA: When I would pump, I would seal the bag and then lay them flat to freeze so they wouldn't take as much room. This way, they defrost really quickly too.

bigbear · October 2011

Well my clinic gave me all the tips and it says the only two ways to do it is either let it sit out (just minutes before you want to feed your baby) or put it in warm water. It also says to always freeze just small amounts in one bag/bottle so the thawing process only takes up to 10 minutes...

But I"m sure experiences mamas have more and better info

mrs.larry · October 2011

bowl of warm water was how we did it.

jason&robin · October 2011

I definitely recommend small amounts too. I never got more than 3oz at a time anyways but you can always defrost more. You can't use defrosted stuff later so it's worth it to divide milk into smaller portions.

bigbear · October 2011

jason&robin:
I definitely recommend small amounts too. I never got more than 3oz at a time anyways but you can always defrost more. You can't use defrosted stuff later so it's worth it to divide milk into smaller portions.

Yup that's what the info said, too about 3oz not more I'm so glad this info is sticking with me HAHA

ThePrincessAndTheBumblebee · October 2011

Thank you! That's really good advice. I'm going to write it down so my pg brain doesn't delete it between now and delivery. lol

We're taking a breastfeeding class but it doesn't start until next month. I'm hoping it will help me with some of these basic questions since I don't know anyone (except for you lovely bumpies) who has successfully breastfed.

mandarod · October 2011

When I was new to pumping, I froze in the bags in small increments. Once I was ready to use it, I'd either set it out for a little while to defrost, or, if I needed it quickly, put the bag in a cup of lukewarm water.

Once dd was older and taking several bottles of larger amounts, I'd freeze as much as I could per bag (10 or 12 oz? I can't remember) since I had to make three to four "big" bottles for daycare. I usually set those in the fridge the night before and then still had to set them out/put them in water the morning of to get them thawed completely.

And yes, the pp is right -- try to get all the air out and then lay them flat to freeze. It makes storing them in the freezer much easier.

kerryholmes · October 2011

jason&robin:
I usually just warmed a mug of water in the microwave and stuck the bag in to defrost.

ETA: When I would pump, I would seal the bag and then lay them flat to freeze so they wouldn't take as much room. This way, they defrost really quickly too.

This exactly

CalMum_Momma · October 2011

Run hot water on it in a dish or mug in the sink. I found this more effective than just heating water and then putting the milk in, because you are constantly refreshing the hot water. It takes a couple minutes, but no longer than a bottle warmer. We never had a bottle warmer. I also found that bags heated more quickly than bottles, so I would veen take milk in bags when we were out, warmed them under the faucet in a bathroom, and then poured to a bottle.

DEBBIE33CASEY · October 2011

We put hot tap water in a mug or a glass pyrex measuring cup and it thawed very quickly. Otherwise I ran it under warm water from the tap. It really didn't take long at all and my DD never suffered from waiting a minute for it to thaw.

BritanyV · October 2011

I EPd for a year. Like a PP mentioned, I laid the bags flat to freeze. Your baby will take a certain amount everyday, sometimes more and sometimes less, but you will know a range...anyway, I would pull out however much I needed for the next day and start defrosting in the fridge the night before. That would normally defrost it enough to pour into a bottle and warm with a bottle warmer, if not I would run warm water over the bag.

NiniJ55 · October 2011

Takes like 2 minutes in warm water - seriously. I would not worry -- it warms super fast, IMO.

I used to put them out the night before so that I did not have to worry about defrosting 3-4 bags in the morning. But, if for what ever reason I forgot or I needed a frozen bag right away - I just put it in cold water and jump in the shower. By the time I return it's all defrosted. If I needed it RIGHT NOW- then I would do the warm water -- again like 2 mintues tops to defrost.

MAMAxB · October 2011

jason&robin:
I usually just warmed a mug of water in the microwave and stuck the bag in to defrost.

ETA: When I would pump, I would seal the bag and then lay them flat to freeze so they wouldn't take as much room. This way, they defrost really quickly too.

This 100%!

Andreaw1124 · October 2011

We would run it under warm/hot water. 2 minutes is a LONG time to wait when you have a screaming baby. But, it works. The daycare that we take LO too has a Crock-Pot that is on all day with warm water readily available for defrosting breast milk. Apparently it warms up the milk fast, and very nicely (so much LO got spoiled and started to refuse only luke warm bottles). They had one for breast milk, one for formula. We might try the Crock-Pot thing out this next time around.

ThePrincessAndTheBumblebee · October 2011

Oh wow, thank you all for the great advice! The crock pot idea is pretty brilliant. I never would have thought of that! Since we won't be bottle feeding very often I'll probably just use a cup of warm water, but if we end up using the bottle regularly I will keep it in mind!

VABride2008 · October 2011

We used 5 and 6 ounce bags and never had a problem with thawing the milk in a warm water bath.

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