freezing / thawing breastmilk question

[bubbybub]

Hi mommies, wonder if any of you experienced mommies can help. My son is now 2months+. I have been freezing milk to store since he was born so now I have 2mths+ old milk in the freezer. I have been hearing different stories as to how long we can store breastmilk for in the freezer.. even websites say differently.

I have decided to store for maximum of 3 mths. This means I will need to start feeding baby the frozen ones and re-freeze new ones. So here is my question.... will our milk change? I will be feeding him milk that I stored when he was just a week old .. will there be any nutritional problems?

Also, do your babies drink frozen milk without difficulties? I have yet to try but I am afraid that my baby may reject frozen milk as I heard it has a weird taste to it. I am going overseas in January without baby so it is important that he can take frozen milk.

1 more last qn.. 3mths old frozen milk will lose some nutritional properties.. but it is still better than FM right?? Else really waste my time storing.. might as well feed FM...

thanks in adv for any help!

 

[paperger85]

Hi bubbybub, if you store the milk correctly most of the nutritional properties in the bm should be retained.

Regarding the weird taste, my girl took to it quite well.

Lastly, yes, bm is definitely better than fm.

 

[gundam00]

Do storage bags have a shorter storage lifespan than bottles? I bought Pigeon storage bags and was very surprised when the instructions said I can only keep for 3 weeks in the freezer! This is a far cry from the 3 months I was expecting. Wondering how long I can store for! Help!

 

[puppydog]

Do storage bags have a shorter storage lifespan than bottles? I bought Pigeon storage bags and was very surprised when the instructions said I can only keep for 3 weeks in the freezer! This is a far cry from the 3 months I was expecting. Wondering how long I can store for! Help!

Hi Gundam00

Not true, breast milk storage bags have a longer lifespan than bottles. I do not know why Pigeon storage bags only mentioned 3 weeks, without prejudice, maybe their bags are not made under international FDA's guidelines. In fact, from this forum, I read many complaints and negative comments about Pigeon Storage Bags and The First Years Storage Bags.

I was like you, initially very confused about proper storage of breast milk. But through the process of breastfeeding, I read and shared info with other nursing mummies, I learnt alot and just want to share some info with you. Hope it helps This info, I got it from Women Breastfeedings' Support Group.

Human Milk Storage Information

This information is based on current research and applies to mothers who: have healthy full-term babies; are storing their milk for home use (as opposed to hospital use):

Wash their hands before expressing;
Use pre-sterlised storage bags, bpa-free or use containers that have been washed in hot, soapy water and rinsed.

All milk should be dated before storing.

Storage Guidelines:
Term Colostrum (expressed within 6 days of delivery)
kept at room temperature 27-32 C (80.6-89.6 F) - 12 hours

Mature milk
kept at 15 C (59-60 F) - 24 hours
kept at 19-22 C (66-72 F) - 10 hours
kept at 25 C (79 F) - 4-6 hours
refrigerated 0-4 C (32-39 F) - 8 days

Frozen milk
Freezer - 3 or 4 months
(temperature varies because the door opens frequently)
Deep freeze at constant -19 C (0 F) - 6 months or longer

What Type of Container to Use

If the milk will be frozen;
heavy plastic or glass containers can be used
freezer milk bags are available that are designed for storing human milk disposable
bottle liners are not recommended
cool milk in refrigerator before adding to a container of frozen milk

How to Warm the Milk

Thaw and/or heat under warm, running water; do not bring temperature of milk to
boiling point; shake before testing the temperature; do not use a microwave oven to heat human milk.

Thawed milk

If milk has been frozen and thawed, it can be refrigerated up to 24 hours for later use. It should not be refroz. DO NOT mix Forumla milk with breast milk. You are killing the nutrients in your breast milk.

I have been bfing for a few months already and my personal take is I use storage bags as opposed to glass bottles. One advantage is it will not clutter your fridge space. I bought Nanny Storage bags from this website. Maybe you want to check it out. Through trials and errors from using different storage bags, I like this brand the best....in terms of cost, reliaibilty and quality, it suits my needs and expectations

http://www.mummysg.com/forums/f81/excellent-nanny-breastmilk-storage-bags-8-50-7-85-per-box-free-delivery-46614/

Hope my little sharing clarifies any questions you may have. Happy breastfeeding....jia you...our milk is the BEST gift for our precious one

 

[gundam00]

Thanks for sharing your information! Been so busy with my 1 month old darling that haven't had time to log in. Will try the Nanny bags when I go back to work. Currently stopped freezing my milk, only pump enough for husband to feed 2 times a day and I take care of the rest. Read that milk that is pumped too long ago is also not nutritious enough for the growing baby (cause milk nutrients are constantly evolving).

 

[puppydog]

Hi Mummies

I am sure most nursing mums like me knows the many joys and benefits of breastfeeding. Even though, there are times when I feel like giving up......but I continue to perservance because I know our breast milk is the best gift we can give to our precious ones! Though freezing milk may lose some nutrients, it is still better than fm. Our breats milk contain 400 different types of nutrients including hormones and disease-fighting compounds that are absent in infant milk formula.

Just want to share the following article with nursing mummies out there and sometime reading article like the one below, keep me motivated to continue bfing.

Why is breast milk best - advantages and disadvantages of breastfeeding


Happy bfing...:wong19:

 

[happybaby]

Hi bubbybub, if you store the milk correctly most of the nutritional properties in the breast milk should be retained.

Regarding the weird taste, my girl took to it quite well.

Lastly, yes, breast milk is definitely better than fm.

Hi, i have tried bottle feed ebm 3 times so far. i notice that the frozen milk taste is not the same as the fresh ebm...frozen ebm after thaw got a bit of fishy taste...like salmon...while the fresh ebm taste really nice...

is it normal? my girl drink it without much fuss though...

 

[lovely0315]

Hi, i have tried bottle feed ebm 3 times so far. i notice that the frozen milk taste is not the same as the fresh ebm...frozen ebm after thaw got a bit of fishy taste...like salmon...while the fresh ebm taste really nice...

is it normal? my girl drink it without much fuss though...

Yes, frozen milk have stronger taste than fresh..is normal, I let my gal take it everyday (for one meal only, the rest of meal taking fresh one) in order to make sure all EBM are "up to date".