Here is everything you need to know when it comes to collecting, saving and storing your breast milk according to the CDC
***Combining breast milk: According to the CDC’s and AAP’s most recent statements, breast milk should not be combined at different temperatures. However, you can combine breast milk from the same day. Ex: You have breast milk in the fridge that was pumped in the morning, you just pumped that afternoon and want to store the milk. Before combining it to the container in the fridge from that morning, wait till the freshly expressed milk has cooled down. You can place the freshly expressed milk in a separate container in the fridge then combine them once they reach the same temperature.
HOWEVER, they seem to be going back and forth on this. If you want my two cents, as long as baby is full term and healthy you can combine them at different temperatures if pumped on the same day.
(Everything listed is based on the CDC guidelines)
•Freshly expressed breast milk can stay at room temperature for up to 4hrs
• Freshly expressed breast milk can stay up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Freshly expressed milk can go straight into the freezer
• Breast milk can be frozen up to 6 to 12 months
• You can thaw milk that has been in the freezer in the fridge. Once the milk has thawed in the fridge you have 24 hours to use it
• Once breast milk has been warmed up it can be out for 2 hrs. If the milk is not finished once 2 hours hits, it can no longer be consumed but can be used for milk baths!
•Never microwave breast milk. Microwaves can cause “hot pockets” in the milk that can go unnoticed until consumed by baby which could result in serious burns
•Once the milk has thawed it can never be refrozen.
I am a mom of four who likes to keep it simple when talking about all things pregnancy, motherhood, and breastfeeding. If you are a mom, especially a first time mom, lets connect so you can learn more! ❤️
