breast milk storage question

[nessness]

I gave DD a bottle of freshly expressed milk (never refrigerated/frozen) and she didn't finish it. Is it okay to freeze the rest, or do I need to toss it?

[biogirl21]

I wouldn't freeze it. I would either dump it or save it for a little later. I think the general rule of thumb is to use in ~2 hours or dump.

[sent]

I wouldn't freeze it if she already drank it. Assuming you refrigerated it, I would re-offer it to her and get her to drink the rest as soon as possible.

[anna7602]

Ditto pp. sorry, no freezing.

[nessness]

Bummer. DD has been refusing bottles about half the time, even when she's clearly hungry, which has made me waste a lot of milk

[cookietime]

How much do you offer her? If she's doing it regularly, I'd only offer a little at a time. No need to waste a full bottle if she's rejecting before she finishes 2oz.

ETA: I know that is kind of a pain in the ass for the times she actually DOES want a good amount.

[anna7602]

Oct 25, 2014 17:18:26 GMT -5 nessness said:

Bummer. DD has been refusing bottles about half the time, even when she's clearly hungry, which has made me waste a lot of milk

Are you feeding her yourself? It sounds like it from the above. DD would never take a bottle directly from me or if I was even in the same room.

[sjh722]

Oct 25, 2014 18:25:03 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Oct 25, 2014 17:18:26 GMT -5 nessness said:

Bummer. DD has been refusing bottles about half the time, even when she's clearly hungry, which has made me waste a lot of milk

Are you feeding her yourself? It sounds like it from the above. DD would never take a bottle directly from me or if I was even in the same room.

Yes, DD would not take bottles from me until she was a lot older, like 6 or 8 months. (I only did a few times.)

[sillygoosegirl]

What's the rational behind dumping it? The lactation consultant who taught the class I attended recently didn't talk about this situation, but said completely fresh breast milk remains good at room temperature for around 7 hours, so I would have assumed it was totally fine to keep a half-finished bottle in this situation.

[anna7602]

Oct 25, 2014 18:31:23 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

What's the rational behind dumping it? The lactation consultant who taught the class I attended recently didn't talk about this situation, but said completely fresh breast milk remains good at room temperature for around 7 hours, so I would have assumed it was totally fine to keep a half-finished bottle in this situation.

Bacteria from the baby's mouth since she had part of the bottle.

[nessness]

Oct 25, 2014 18:26:37 GMT -5 sjh722 said:

Oct 25, 2014 18:25:03 GMT -5 anna7602 said:

Are you feeding her yourself? It sounds like it from the above. DD would never take a bottle directly from me or if I was even in the same room.

Yes, DD would not take bottles from me until she was a lot older, like 6 or 8 months. (I only did a few times.)

No, it is mostly DH feeding her.

[sjh722]

Oct 25, 2014 18:31:23 GMT -5 sillygoosegirl said:

What's the rational behind dumping it? The lactation consultant who taught the class I attended recently didn't talk about this situation, but said completely fresh breast milk remains good at room temperature for around 7 hours, so I would have assumed it was totally fine to keep a half-finished bottle in this situation.

I would keep it and offer it at the next feeding, or when she was older keep it and mix it with oatmeal. I am pretty loosey-goosey about BM storage and I wouldn't freeze if for later if she'd already had some (due to bacteria like anna said). 

[nessness]

Oct 25, 2014 17:24:57 GMT -5 cookietime said:

How much do you offer her? If she's doing it regularly, I'd only offer a little at a time. No need to waste a full bottle if she's rejecting before she finishes 2oz.

ETA: I know that is kind of a pain in the ass for the times she actually DOES want a good amount.

She's only 2 weeks old so I only offer her 1-2 oz. So it's not actually a LOT of milk wasted each time, but it feels like a lot relative to what I've pumped.

[nessness]

Oct 25, 2014 19:19:02 GMT -5 @astrid said:

Oct 25, 2014 18:59:16 GMT -5 nessness said:

She's only 2 weeks old so I only offer her 1-2 oz. So it's not actually a LOT of milk wasted each time, but it feels like a lot relative to what I've pumped.

We've been told not to start bottles until 3-4 weeks if I am breast feeding. May I ask why you started sooner?

They started her on occasional bottles in the NICU, since it wasn't really feasible to bf on demand when I couldn't room in with her. I was hesitant at first but the NICU nurse convinced me that nipple confusion is extremely rare in full-term babies.

They recommended I either keep going with bottles or restart them no later than 4 weeks so it won't be an issue when she starts daycare. I offered one today because she woke up hungry right when I got done pumping.

[curbsideprophet]

I would not freeze it either, sorry. I suppose you could offer it at the next feeding, but beyond that, I would say toss. If you really want to continue with bottles for now I would only offer an oz at a time so you do not waste too much. Really I would cut back on pumping/bottles and just nurse as much as possible if that is an option.

[anna7602]

Oct 25, 2014 20:47:55 GMT -5 nessness said:

Oct 25, 2014 19:19:02 GMT -5 @astrid said:

We've been told not to start bottles until 3-4 weeks if I am breast feeding. May I ask why you started sooner?

They started her on occasional bottles in the NICU, since it wasn't really feasible to bf on demand when I couldn't room in with her. I was hesitant at first but the NICU nurse convinced me that nipple confusion is extremely rare in full-term babies.

They recommended I either keep going with bottles or restart them no later than 4 weeks so it won't be an issue when she starts daycare. I offered one today because she woke up hungry right when I got done pumping.

Even after pumping, I would try putting baby to the breast first. Babies are more efficient than pumps and she might still be able to get milk from you, even if you pumped until "dry."