By feeding your baby breast milk, you’re giving her one of the healthiest starts in life. According to Breastfeeding.com, breast milk contains antibodies and white blood cells that help protect your baby against disease and infection. In addition, breastfeeding might boost your child’s IQ, decrease the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and lessen the chance of developing allergies. If you want your baby to continue to receive the benefits of breast milk even when drinking from a bottle, you can express your milk and then freeze it for later use.
Step 1
Express milk with a breast pump. Make sure that both your hands and the breast pump are clean and dry before expressing. Dirt and germs can easily contaminate the milk and affect your baby.
Step 2
Pour the expressed milk into a clean storage container. Because milk expands when it freezes, be sure to leave at least 1 inch of space between the milk and the lid of the container. You should also be careful to seal the lid tightly.
Step 3
Label the breast milk container. The label should note the date the milk was pumped and the amount of milk in the container.
Step 4
Place the breast milk in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. Store the milk away from the freezer door so that it will not be affected by any temperature changes that may occur from opening and shutting the door. The length of time frozen breast milk can be depends on the type of freezer you have. If your freezer is contained within the refrigerator, you should use the milk within two weeks. If you have a separate freezing compartment, the milk should last three to four months. If you have a deep-freezer, then milk can be stored from six to 12 months.
Tips and Warnings
- Store breast milk in single serving sizes to avoid wasting milk. For example, if your child drinks 5 oz. of milk each serving, only put 5 oz. of milk in each storage container. Always use milk that has been store the longest first.
- Never unfreeze and then refreeze breast milk. Breast milk that has been unfrozen can easily become contaminated with bacteria harmful to babies. After unthawing frozen breast milk, you can either use it immediately or refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. If the unthawed milk has not been used after 24 hours, throw it away.
Things You'll Need
- Breast pump
- Breast milk storage container
- Label
