Storing Breast Milk

Storing breast milk is much like storing regular food. Really! You just need to be respectful of time frames and temperatures, and you're good to go!

You can keep breast milk in the back of your freezer for up to three months, some experts say, but your safe bet is to keep it in there for up to 30 days. Then, you can thaw it out by running the container under hot water, or by placing it in a pot of hot water. Do not microwave it, as you will kill important nutrients and risk scalding your baby.

In the fridge, it can last up to a week. You can heat it the same way as frozen milk, but will heat much quicker, of course.

And breast milk will keep up to 24 hours at room temperature. So if you're at work all day and can't cool it somewhere, the milk should be good until you get home. But some electric breast pumps have insulated storage, so just bring couple cool packs, and you're even safer.

These times and storage climates are your safest bet to deciphering if your milk is still good. Color and chunkiness have nothing to do with it, as breast milk will separate pretty quickly when out of the breast. Really smelly odor CAN be a sign of spoilage, though.

But if you follow the above tips for storing breast milk, you should be good to go!

By: Mamma M

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Mamma-M has a Bachelor's in Professional Writing, but she's also a professional mommy, who juggles running her own business while taking her kids to work with her. On top of running her blog, which includes info on storing breast milk, Mamma-M has been published in GI Jobs, Shades of Grey, Nuances, Poetry.com, North Hills Monthly Magazine, Living City, and more.