Storing breastmilk

[meiram]

I work every other day.  Should I throw the milk I pump at work in the fridge until the next time I work, or is it better to freeze and thaw the next time?  

[tiredbuthappy]

i used to just refridgerate it and send it with the baby the next day. it lasts several days in the fridge and some of its beneficial components are lost when frozen (although frozen bm is still better than formula!). plus, once it's thawed it has to be used in 24 hrs, so you risk having to toss some if the baby doesn't drink it all while you're gone.

[meiram]

That's what I wanted to know.  Thanks.

[PamelaBee]

I guess it depends on how much you can pump.  If your supply is plentiful, then yes, freeze it...but if you are pumping enough just for a day or two, then definitely store in the fridge.

[Diane1003]

But keep in mind that milk only stays good in the freezer for so long. The problem I ran into was that we were using the milk I pumped at work and the stored stuff was in the freezer for MONTHS!  After I was done nursing we had milk that was a year old in the freezer and had to be thrown out!  It hurt me to do it...

[Diva2317]

i would freeze it. It keeps indefinitely in the freezer. dont ever put it in the microwave to warm up. boil some water on the stove and put the container in that to thaw the milk.

[tiredbuthappy]

i'd probably serve milk that old as long as it smelled fine. but then again, we use a depp freezer for milk