Here are some guidelines to keep your breast milk:



-At room temperature, you may keep breast milk for 4 ? 6 hours.

-In a refrigerator, it lasts up to 8 days.

-In a refrigerator freezer, it lasts up to 3 months.

-And in a deep chest freezer, your breast milk can last up to 6 months or longer.

Now, it's the time to talk about storage for your breast milk. As you decide to store your breast milk, you have to know exactly that your breast milk is kept in appropriate bottle. There are two types of bottles available in any stores you could find easily. They are glass bottle and plastic bottle.

If you usually breastfeed your baby from a bottle of expressed breast milk, glass bottle is the best choice. Glass bottle makes live antibodies in breast milk tend to stick less to the sides of glass then plastic bottle. But if your baby always gets breast milk fresh from your breast directly then plastic storage bag is an excellent choice. Many people say that breast milk storage bag has tendency to be cumbersome to use. So the best method is to put the bag into a glass bottle and then pour the breast milk in.

Below are some things to remember about breast milk?:

-Before freezing your breast milk, you must chill it first.

-Chill freshly expressed breast milk then add it directly to the bag that you have already frozen, if you pump more than once in a day. This can only be done for same day expressions.

-Never place plastic storage bag of milk in the microwave, stove, or bottle warmer or in a boiling hot water. Heat could boil chemicals and destroy the antibodies in breast milk and that's one of the major reasons for breastfeeding.

-You must also remember that warming breast milk in glass storage bottle in a microwave or stove could be potentially dangerous. Glass material could shatter, harming you and your baby.

-You can restore breast milk in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours but never reuse breast milk that has already been in a bottle your baby has sipped off.

-Once your baby lips have touched the bottle, you can only keep that breast milk for about an hour, due to the bacteria.

You know, although freezing breast milk could kill some of the beneficial antibodies but it is still better then formula feeding. Fresh breast milk, either milk directly from the breast, freshly expressed or refrigerated is best, but frozen breast milk is still a safe and better choice for baby. And I know that every mother always gives the best for her baby. So, make breastfeeding time becomes enjoyable experience for both of you.