EBM safety--please help!

[katenyc]

I am bfing my dd (4 weeks), but in the past two weeks have pumped a bottle a week just to get her used to the idea.

Anyway, I pumped 4 oz on Wednesday afternoon. DH fed her 2 oz--all she wanted--that day and we put the rest in the fridge "as is" (just popped a nipple cover over the whole thing and stuck it in). Was that a terrible hygienic mistake? He was going to give her the other 2 oz tonight, but now I am questioning how we stored it. If that was the wrong way, what's the right way (or is the right way only to store 2 oz at a time)?

TIA--I am new at this.

Kate, mom to Maya 6/18/04

[nitaghei]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - but that EBM's long gone bad. Do NOT give it to your DD. EBM should be used within a couple of hours when the baby's already drunk from the bottle.

Next time, put only 2 oz in the bottle, and save the rest in another bottle. EBM is good for about 10 hours unrefrigerated from the time of pumping; for 4-7 days in the refrigerator, and 3-6 months in the freezer. Once the baby's fed from the bottle, the remaining EBM is good for 1-2 hours. I know some people will pop it back in the refrigerator, and use it for the next feeding. I personally never took that risk, even though I cried every time I had to pour EBM down the drain. But, in any case, you cannot use it 48 hours later.

At the new born stage, I would highly recommend doing 2 oz servings to avoid wasting EBM.

HTH

Nita
mom to Neel, January 2003
dog mom to a cocker and a PWD

[sntm]

The usual recommendation is once the EBM has been in contact with saliva, it should be used within 4-6 hours (edited to add: MAX -- many say no more than 1-2 hours). I'm a more lax with this now with my son because he is 13 months, but I would be wary of doing it with a newborn. The bacteria multiply even in the fridge and the enzymes in her saliva break down the milk and may cause it to spoil. I'm assuming from your post that this was a bottle she was drinking from that you recapped and put in the fridge.

I'd toss it to be on the safe side. One bottle a week is probably enough anyway, and it's more the practice than how much she takes from the bottle. What I would do in the future is offer her only an ounce or two in a bottle, toss what she doesn't finish, and then freeze the untouched milk that you pumped for future use.

Try www.kellymom.com for more info, also. And congrats for 4 successful weeks! Good luck!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[jbowman]

Hi Kate,

First of all, congratulations on your new baby!

ITA with the advice Nita gave you! Those are the EBM rules by which I live. Ellie is almost 7 1/2 mos. and I still only give her EBM in 2 oz. increments to avoid wasting it! BTW if you are creating a freezer stash, I would suggest freezing in 2 oz. increments as well.

HTH!

[katenyc]

Thanks to all for the info. So far pumping has not been much of a chore for me--and I'd much rather be safe!

I guess I assumed dd was drinking more than 2 oz on the breast at one time, based on how long she stayed on, which was why I left 4 in one bottle. But I will stick to less from now on.

Kate, mom to Maya 6/18/04

[katenyc]

Thanks--I do have 2 2oz bottles in the freezer that I pumped and froze last week.

Kate, mom to Maya 6/18/04

[jbowman]

That sounds great! In order to thaw it easier (and save room in your freezer), I would suggest buying some EBM freezer bags. I love the Gerber bags! HTH! Sounds as if you are doing so well!

[spu]

I've heard these rules:
-- 8 hours at room temp once pumped
-- 7 days in the fridge
-- 6 mos in a super cold freezer

though if you know you're going to freeze it, I would scald it right away, cool, and freeze the same day. When I pumped, and gave the babies bottles, whatever they didn't finish, I put back in the fridge right away... but I'm not sure if that's truly the right thing to do. We never had any problems, but I didn't give them too many bottles either, so we could have been just lucky.

Freezing / storing in 2 oz is a great idea - better to use just a little than lose alot. They call it Liquid Gold for a reason! :)

Here's a link that has some great info:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html

And here's an excerpt from LLL:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html
Storage Guidelines

'Storing milk in 2-4 ounce amounts may reduce waste. Refrigerated milk has more anti-infective properties than frozen milk. Cool milk in refrigerator before adding to frozen milk.

Human milk can be stored

* at room temperature (66-72F, 19-22C) for up to 10 hours
* in a refrigerator (32-39F, 0-4C) for up to 8 days
* in a freezer compartment inside a refrigerator (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 2 weeks
* in a freezer compartment with a separate door (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 3 to 4 months.
* in a separate deep freeze (0F, -19C) for up to 6 months or longer.



susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte + else

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