Wasting Breastmilk!

babyfeik · August 2013

When you thaw frozen breastmilk and heat it for a bottle, how long is the milk good for? Sometimes my LO doesn't finish the whole thing. Can I refrigerate the remainjng milk in the bottle and reheat it again? I hate to waste my precious, hard work down the drain.

CelticWife · August 2013

Have you thought about freezing it in smaller quantities? We have covered ice cube trays (they are actually sold in the baby aisle with feeding supplies). Each cube is half an oz. Once I pump, we pour it in the trays. After it is frozen, we put it in the freezer bags with the date.

DH can choose how much to thaw at once, and he usually thaws it one bottle at a time.

If you have extra, you can put it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

floridababy3 · August 2013

@celticwife I've never heard of using the ice cube trays before. How many do you put in each freezer bag? When you thaw it do you just take out a few cubes? Would love to learn more! TIA!

CelticWife · August 2013

@Seashell2002

We use these ones, but any covered tray would work. They sell similar ones at BRU, target, walmart, BBB, etc.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0007CS4EU

We freeze everything from one day in one bag. DH finds the oldest bag and pulls out however many half oz cubes he thinks he needs. (He can always thaw more if baby is still hungry.) He puts them in the bottle and thaws it in the bottle.

We also use the trays to freeze baby food once we make it.

If there if anything else you want to know, just ask!

eltar08 · August 2013

Agree with PP - just an FYI, our LO doesn't like when we heated and cooled down the milk more than once - I think the taste changed for her. She likes it cold but if she doesn't finish the bottle, I try to get it back into the fridge ASAP so it doesn't warm up too much (that way I don't need to throw it out). I liken it to skunking a beer....no one wants to drink that!

floridababy3 · August 2013

@CelticWife thank you!!

floridababy3 · August 2013

@CelticWife sorry to bug you with more questions but I am so interested in your system. I am EBF and will return to work when LO is 12 weeks and DH will be SAH. What freezer bags do you use? How do you gauge how many cubes LO will need? TIA, I really appreciate it!!

CelticWife · August 2013

@Seashell2002 ... Ask away!

In the beginning, it is trial and error. Most babies start out eating around 2oz per feeding. (~4 cubes) Eventually, they start eating more at one sitting. Your DH will just have to experiment and see how much baby wants.

When LO gets hungry, DH heats up a bowl full of hot water in the microwave. He puts however many cubes of the frozen BM he needs into a bottle, then dunks the bottle into the hot water to warm it up. If he needs more, he just thaws some more.

I pump while I am out. When I get home, I pour the milk into the trays. Before we go to bed, I transfer the cubes into storage bags, then wash the trays and my pump parts.

We use the lansinoh bags. Target makes their own version that we are going to try out.

opheliainwaders · August 2013

Also, DD is happy to drink milk cold, so we thaw it in the fridge, but don't bother to heat it.

If you don't want to do the ice cube trays, just defrost a couple of bags in the fridge overnight, and only heat a few ounces at a time (pour only one serving into a bottle, then warm it up).

floridababy3 · August 2013

@CelticWife thank you!!

tokenhoser · August 2013

I also wouldn't freeze everything you pump. If you think you'll need it within a week, leave it in the fridge. That way, you avoid the 24 hour deadline. I've reoffered many bottles and DS was fine - I usually tossed it after the second offering.

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