Ever wondered how to express breast milk by hand? Does it seem difficult? Are you frustrated by what seems like a fruitless endeavor? Let's take a look at how to express breast milk by hand - with a few adjustments you may soon find you prefer hand expression over an electric pump! Over the fall break we decided to visit my family 8 hours away. We stopped every hour on the way up for the baby's sake. He just hated being back there for so long and he needed things like milk, diaper changes, and happy baby crawling time. My daughter helped keep him occupied, but he just doesn't understand why he can't see mama for the duration of long car … [Read more...]

Regardless of whether or not you are planning to express breast milk for your new baby, you'll want to be aware of these guidelines for storing breast milk. It's not always easy to foresee challenges and bumps in the road that may occur. Some women end up pumping breast milk for baby while in the NICU, some pump in preparation for going back to work. Some mothers pump milk for the occasional bottle for a date night or simply to enjoy some "mom time." Depending on your needs for your pumped milk, there are many options for storing your milk. As a seasoned mom you may find that there are more relaxed guidelines for storing breast milk, … [Read more...]

You've proudly watched that milk pour (or drip!) into those bottles. You take them into the kitchen and...now what? You've heard of freezing breast milk, but how? Storage Guidelines It is recommended that breast milk be refrigerated within five hours of pumping, used within five days of being refrigerated and thawed and used within five months of being frozen. And it is preferred to store breast milk in the refrigerator, instead of the freezer, if possible. However, just using fresh breast milk is certainly not always possible so freezing it is perfectly fine. If you are occasionally pumping for the random bottle for when you're away, pump … [Read more...]

Once you know how to properly express and freeze your breast milk, you will need to know how long it will stay good after you take it out of the freezer. So how long will thawed breast milk last? If you let the breast milk thaw out in the fridge, you can keep it in the fridge up to 24 hours after it has finished thawing. (Note that it can take around 12 hours to thaw depending on how much milk is in the container and how cold your fridge is). If you warmed the thawed breast milk, do not try to hang on to it. Warmed milk is far more likely to have been exposed to bacterial growth. Why Should Frozen Breast Milk Be Thrown Out Sooner Than … [Read more...]

"Shaken, not stirred." No! Stirred not shaken! Oh my goodness, who would have thought that it made any difference how you mix up your breast milk. Breast milk handling is important though. It needs to be done delicately. Gently swirling the breast milk is the optimal way to mix your expressed breast milk. For those of you mamas who take the time to pump for your babies (that takes some dedication), be sure to take an extra minute to gently mix your breast milk. Breast Milk Handling: Why you shouldn't shake it! Breast milk is amazing. It is made up of living cells: living cells that are susceptible to physical damage. When you shake … [Read more...]