Helpful Tips for Storing Your Breastmilk

I wanted to share some helpful information about storing your breastmilk. It’s important to follow proper breastmilk storage guidelines to prevent it from spoiling & to keep your baby safe. You put so much work into pumping or expressing milk for your baby, the last thing you want is for it to go to waste! 

General Guidelines:

Freshly Pumped Milk:

• 4 hours at room temperature 

• 4 days in the refrigerator

• 6-12 months in the freezer 

Thawed Milk:

• 1-2 hours at room temperature 

• 24 hours in the fridge 

• Never refreeze thawed milk 

Leftover (milk your baby didn't finish):

• Use within 2 hours

I've created a free guide that you can download for a quick reference! 

How to Minimize Milk Wastage

1. Follow the "first in, first out" rule (use the oldest breastmilk in your fridge or freezer first, unless you are pumping & offering milk fresh) 

2. Freeze expressed breast milk in smaller bags (2-3oz at a time)

3. Rather than freezing in bags, you can freeze in these silicone trays for easy storage. They freeze 1oz at a time so you can easily avoid wastage. 

4. Transfer any milk from your fridge freezer to a deep freezer as soon as possible (milk in a fridge freezer is recommended to use in 3-6 months whereas a deep freezer is good for 6-12 months) 

5. Always label your breastmilk with the date & amount pumped 

6. If you have milk that is stored but you don't plan to use it before it will expire, consider donating it (you may need to search milk donation available in your area) 

What if you have milk that expires?

If you have breastmilk that expires, whether its from a bottle your baby didn't finish, or if a bottle was left in the fridge or freezer too long, don't throw it away! There are so many ways you can use breastmilk that's no longer safe for consumption.
Here are a few ways you can use old breastmilk: 

• Milk baths ~ great for eczema or any other rashes, You can pour thawed milk or plop a frozen chunk of breastmilk right in the bath. (More on milk baths here)

• For diaper rash ~ thaw some frozen breastmilk & soak a baby washcloth. Then dab in on the diaper rash. It works wonders! (I share more about it in this post) 

• Use on bug bites or sunburns (breastmilk has amazing healing properties!)