Storage and handling of Bmilk?

[firsttimemom]

Hi moms,

Pls help me how to go about storing breastmilk, been researching but i know you have more practical and easier method.

I do not need the milk to be frozen as baby can consumed it everyday, i have to be out of the house only 3 hours everyday, so i just need for one feeding.

Once i pumped, i put in the refrigerator, i know i can only pump a little, then maybe after a few hours, i will pump again.

Questions:
1. What container should i put the milk if it won't be frozen? the storage bags too?
2. If i pump again later, can i mix it with the first one? If not, then i have to put in another storage bag?
3. From the Avent manual pump, i will pour the milk into the bag, then if ready to drink, pour into feeding bottle? that would require 3 transfer.
4. Do i need to sterilize the pump every use? or just put in ref and rinse with boiling water?

Thanks, i just don't know how to go about it.

 

[lylee]

this is what i did:
1) kept the milk in the bottle which i pumped into & then put it into the fridge. in your case, the avent bottle.
2) according to my lactation consultant, it's ok to mix the milk.
3) see no. 1... before drinking, just pour it from the avent bottle into baby's feeding bottle.
4) i sterilize the pump after use everytime, but i know some people just put it in boiling water. if your baby is 6mos & younger, best to sterilize to be safe.

hope this helps.

 

[firsttimemom]

Hi lylee,

Just realized the Avent isis comes with 5 small cups where the milk goes, it has cover too so i just store that in ref after pumping. But it says can only re-use for a certain times. Wonder what it means. Can i buy those small cups?

Yes, baby is 3 months by then, so better to still sterilize.

 

[joannek]

those cups w/ blue cap can be used up to 5 times i think. but i'm sure mine has been used more than that. i prefer to pump directly in the avent bottle cos i find it easier to make sure that it's closed properly. the blue covers are tricky to close well sometimes.

i wash the bottles & pumps all parts separated with natural dish detergent rinse well then sterilise.

 

[firsttimemom]

Joanne,

You mean the avent feeding bottles can be put directly into that pump? I'm using another brand of feeding bottle, not avent.

Can we buy those small cups with blue cover? or i just buy the feeding bottle so it's more convenient and less transfer.

 

[Koan]

1. What container should i put the milk if it won't be frozen? the storage bags too?
Keep it in the bottle into which you pumped. Saves on washing up.

2. If i pump again later, can i mix it with the first one? If not, then i have to put in another storage bag?
Yep, you can mix milk from different pumping sessions.

3. From the Avent manual pump, i will pour the milk into the bag, then if ready to drink, pour into feeding bottle? that would require 3 transfer.
Just pour from the pump bottle into the feeding bottle. Why use a bag just for short term storage like that?

4. Do i need to sterilize the pump every use? or just put in ref and rinse with boiling water?
No need to sterilise. You can just put your pump in a ziplock or an airtight container in the fridge. No need even to rinse it off. I do this when I pump at work because it saves so much time.

 

[firsttimemom]

Thank you! i got the idea on what to do now.

I have check and i can buy those small avent cups, so from pumping to fridge to feeding, it can be used.

I'm just not sure of item #2, i read some that it should not be mixed up. Or if you mix, it should be of lesser quantity than that in the fridge, not sure though, have to research on this.

 

[tstmum]

I used an Avent Isis pump, pumped directly into an Avent bottle, stored that in the fridge and used the same bottle to feed EBM to baby. So no need to transfer milk between bottles or storage containers. If I pumped milk more than once in a day, I did sometimes pump again directly into the same bottle.

 

[Shenzhennifer]

For Item #2, I also wondered a lot about this and got conflicting advice on different websites. but the main idea seems to be that it`s ok to mix from the same day, but not from different days. So you can pump a bit here and there during one day and then that is one portion. But if there is leftover milk, you have to throw it out.
Just start each day fresh, with milk and sterilizing.
oh, and when I was in the hospital I learned that you have to use the sterilised equipment within 24 hrs, or you have to sterilize it again.
Hope that helps some.

 

[firsttimemom]

I used an Avent Isis pump, pumped directly into an Avent bottle, stored that in the fridge and used the same bottle to feed EBM to baby. So no need to transfer milk between bottles or storage containers. If I pumped milk more than once in a day, I did sometimes pump again directly into the same bottle.

tstmum,

did you just use the cups 5 times as written in the instruction?