Storing breast milk in the freezer allows you to save it longer.
When you choose to breastfeed your baby, it's helpful to have breast milk stored for those occasions when you're not able to stop what you're doing and feed your baby. There are a few different ways in which you can store pumped breast milk, one of which is in the freezer. Storing breast milk in the freezer allows you to save it for three to 12 months if stored properly. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Write the date the milk is expressed on the side of the freezer milk bags, using a permanent marker.
2. Pour expressed breast milk into 4-oz. or 8-oz. freezer milk bags, leaving a space of 1 inch at the top of the freezer bag as the milk will expand as it freezes. Chill the milk in the refrigerator within four to six hours of expressing. Milk can be stored in the refrigerator for three to eight days before moving it to the freezer.
3. Dampen a clean kitchen towel. Wipe along the top edge and on the bag's seal, if that's how the bag closes, to remove any milk spills or dribbles. The seal should be clean to close it tightly.
4. Seal the freezer bag of fresh breast milk, leaving 1/2 inch of the seal open. Squeeze beneath the seal to remove any air trapped in the upper part of the bag. Close the seal the remainder of the way.
5. Place the freezer bags of milk in the back of your freezer if it's attached to your refrigerator and in the bottom of your freezer if it's a stand-alone. The freezer door, front of the freezer or top of a stand-alone freezer have slight temperature fluctuations as the door opens. The back or bottom of the freezer keeps the milk at a more constant temperature.
6. Store frozen breast milk in your refrigerator freezer for three to six months. Breast milk frozen in a stand-alone freezer can be kept for six to 12 months.
Tags: breast milk, freezer milk, stand-alone freezer, allows save, breast milk, breast milk freezer
