Espressing Breast Milk

[bambino]

Just a question...........I believe that when you espress breast milk, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
When you are ready to use it, do you have to heat it up like you would normally with bottled / formula milk?
I am confused as when you breast feed, the baby gets it straight from the boob, but when bottle feeding you have to warm it up. So would you warm up expressed breast milk if it's in a bottle?

[bigglet]

Yes you warm up breast milk - but the way I do it is I put the bottle into a cup of hot water. Don't microwave breastmilk - it kills off all the antibodies and spoils it.

[tanni_83]

expressed breast milk should only ever be heated in the bottle under a tap. never put it in the microwave, it kills all the goodies in it!!

hth tanni

[misskittyfantastico]

We used to warm ours by standing it in a pot of hot water - as the ladies said, microwaves are a no go.

[Mischief]

Hey there. I expressed exclusively for the past 3 and a half months!

Breast milk keeps:

• up to 4 hours at room temp
• up to 3 days in the fridge (but is best used within 24 hours...), dont store it in the door unless you are planning on using it SOON....its not that cold there!
• Up to 2 weeks in the freezer compartment of a fridge
• Up to 3 months in a freezer with a seperate door (ie, most fridges)
• Up to 6 months in a deep freeze

To warm fresh milk:

• Stand bottle in HOT water for a minute
• Microwave in 5 second bursts until warm (not recommended though, as the other ladies said...it kills goodies, and can be to hot if not shaken properly...BREAST MILK SHOULD NOT BE SHAKEN....it seperates!)

To warm frozen milk:

• Leave in fridge to defrost and use within 24 hours
• Run bottle or bag under WARM (not hot) water until its melted....gently shake (I usually tip upside down, then back again...) and use STRAIGHT AWAY

Goodluck! Any questions, feel free to PM me!!!!