When Can You Freeze Breast Milk?
Freezing breastmilk is fast and easy. Breastmilk can last for up to 12 months when frozen. Through the process of freezing, breast milk can keep its nutrients.
But, you will still have to use it within a few months of freezing, and you cannot use it after the end of this window.
Freezing breast milk requires special equipment and skills from a professional lactation consultant. The nutrients are lost in frozen breast milk. But, it still contains antibodies and substances that help protect against disease.
If you decide to use your frozen breast milk, be sure to thaw it out at room temperature before feeding your baby.
When should you start freezing breastmilk?
The best time to start freezing breast milk is when the baby is born. This way, you will be able to store your milk for up to 6 months.
If you wait until after birth, then the quality of your breast milk may decrease. Also, you will need to pump more often since the baby is nursing less.
Freezing your breastmilk is a great way to have it on hand for when you need to use it or otherwise. It saves you money and feels so much better to give your baby the breastmilk made for them.
If you are going to freeze your breastmilk, remember that you want to cut the air in your bags. It would help if you squeezed out any air pockets before you freeze.
How to Freeze Breast Milk?
There are several ways to freeze the content of breastmilk.
1. Put it into ice cube trays.
After freezing, remove from the trays and transfer to freezer bags. If you don’t want to use ice cubes, place frozen breastmilk into Ziploc baggies and store them in a deep freezer.
2. Use a double boiler
This method requires two pans and boiling water in one pan while keeping the other cold.
- To do this, place your first pan at room temperature and pour about half of the boiled water into it. Then add the mature milk and stir until it starts to boil.
- Once it boils, please remove it from heat and put the second pan on top of the first one. Fill the bottom pan with ice cubes.
- Put the lid on both pans and let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, open the lids and stir the mixture.
- Repeat this process three times. Refrigerate the extra frozen milk immediately after thawing.
3. Use breast Milk storage bags or freezer bag
It’s best to use a breastmilk bag, like Medela’s breastmilk storage bags. Or Lansinoh milk bottles storage bags, but you can also use a standard type of freezer bag.
You should be fine as long as you have a good seal that you can squeeze. Freezing extra breast milk can be done using a standard freezer bag.
- The first step is to put the milk into small milk containers, such as ice cube trays.
- Place the tray inside a storage container and fill it with warm running water.
- Afterward, freeze for 24 hours.
- Once frozen, transfer the fresh milk from the ice cube trays to a freezer unit bag.
- To thaw, leave the bags in the refrigerator overnight for safe storage time.
Guidelines for using expressed breast milk
It is best to start storing your milk right after you have pumped it. You should pump for about ten minutes and then freeze the milk.
You can use a wide mouth, vacuum-sealed glass jar when you freeze milk. You can add a bit of milk to a clean pot and then add the thawed milk to that.
You can also use a smaller jar as a child grows older and needs less at each feeding.
But, some women do not know how to express breast milk, which may cause harm to both mother and baby.
Here are some guidelines for expressing breast milk:
1. Make sure to use clean hands
2. Do not use soap as it could damage the nipple
3. Do not refreeze; use thawed milk within 6 hours
4. Use within one hour after pumping.
5. Discard any unused milk after one hour.
6. Warm expressed breast milk before feeding.
7. Store a glass bottle in the back of the refrigerator, away from the door.
8. Clean breast milk bottles before each use.
How do I clean bottles and pump parts?
The best way to clean bottles and pump parts is to use dish soap, warm water, and a clean rag. Be careful when cleaning plastic parts, which may melt if exposed to heat for too long.
If you need to remove stubborn dirt from surfaces, try rubbing them with sandpaper. Using a bottle brush will help remove dirt from inside the bottle and pump parts.
If you do not have a bottle brush, you can also use a toothbrush to clean the bottles and pump amounts.
Use lukewarm water when cleaning bottles and pump parts to remove dirt from the surface.
Final Words
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding when to start freezing your fresh breast milk. It’s always best to be prepared so that you never find yourself without a way to store plenty of breast milk.
This post has cleared up some of the information you needed about the best way to store your breast milk supply.
I hope you’ll find these tips from experienced moms to be helpful. They’ll help you make your decision easier.
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below.
