hi everyone so happy to see you all again I am here today to make another
video for you to help you on your breastfeeding journey I wanted to tell
you that I'm sad but my Hakka pump did not arrive in time for the recording of
this video I know I'm just as sad as you are but they say in the next day or two
so hopefully for the next recording session I will have Hakka pump in hand
and we'll be able to record that video for you today's topic is going to be all
about the handling and storage of breast milk and how to safely do so for your
baby so stay tuned to this video where you're gonna learn all the tips and
tricks for the best ways to store your breast milk
quantities to store it in how to thaw the milk once it's frozen and how long
it's safe to keep milk at various temperatures my name is Kassi Reyes I'm
a registered nurse, international board certified lactation consultant and I'm
one of the cofounders of people's lactation. our goal is to bring you the
best and most evidence-based information about breastfeeding and make it readily
available to you on our channe,l so make sure you hit the like button down below
subscribe to our channel, hit the bell so that you're notified every week when we
post a new video, there'll be a new video posted every Tuesday evening. all right
the first thing we're gonna cover is the 4, 4, 6 rule. how many hours we can store
milk at room temperature versus the refrigerator vs. the freezer, so stay
tuned for all that juicy information. number 1 room temperature room
temperature .breast milk can stay out for about 4 hours so that means if you're
out and about shopping or at work and you know that you're going to be near a
fridge within the next four hours it's okay to leave the breastmilk at room
temperature just as long as you make sure that you get it into the
before that four hours is up number two in the refrigerator in the refrigerator
you can store your breast milk for up to four days so if you're not gonna use it
within the four days go ahead and pop it in the freezer. you can combine milk from
various pumps in the same day or even from other days as long as it hasn't
been in the fridge for more than four days you want to make sure that you cool
the new milk first in the refrigerator before adding warm milk to cold milk and
to avoid bringing up the temperature of the previously cooled milk. number three:
in the freezer so in the freezer milk is good to be stored for up to six months
and that would be in a freezer that is separate from the refrigerator, so one
that has a separate door in a deep freezer for up to 12 months the
guidelines that I'm going to give you in this video are for a healthy full-term
baby, if your baby is preterm or in the NICU you would want to check with the
NICU staff at the hospital to find out what their guidelines are for milk
storage, usually the guidelines are a little bit more strict for these infants.
isn't this is this cup hilarious? it was given to me by my co-worker who is a fabulous
NICU lactation consultant. hopefully we'll be able to bring her on here and
do a little video for us about breastfeeding for NICU baby
so to thaw milk that has been previously frozen there are two ways to do this. you
can run it under a little bit of warm water the other options
take out what you think you're going to use the following day and put it in the
refrigerator, it can take up to 12 hours for this milk to thaw so go ahead and
pop it down into the refrigerator the night before you think you're going to use
it. Once milk has been unfrozen and has been sitting in the refrigerator you
want to make sure that you use it within 24 hours and once milk is thawed you
don't want to refreeze it. if you want to warm some milk that's been in the
refrigerator you never, ever want to microwave breastmilk it can create hot
spots that may burn your baby's mouth. so what you want to do is create a warm
water bath, just below a boil is best and then you can swirl the bottle or the bag
of stored milk in this water bath to warm the milk the milk should be
comfortable to touch on the back of your hand, another option is a bottle warmer
which is specifically made for warming. milk during milk storage the cream tends
to rise to the top you want to swirl the milk in the bottle to mix it you don't
have to shake it vigorously just a little swirl to mix the fatty milk in
with the rest of the milk and offer it to baby. To avoid wasting milk once it's
been frozen by taking out more than you need, some tips for quantities that are
best for storing milk you want to do different and varying quantities from 1
to 4 ounces, that way you can just take down what your baby is going to need for
the next day. if your child's going to daycare or a baby sitter make sure
that you not only put the date on the package but also include your child's
name on the bag or bottle that the milk was frozen in. so that's it in summary
there's a 4 for 6 rule for hours out of the fridge 4 days in the fridge and 6
months in the freezer remember these guidelines are for a full
term healthy infant and you would want to check for more specific guidelines if
your baby is premature or in the NICU
always gotta have my coffee. yes I know it is actually 6:00 p.m. right now when
I'm recording this it is my second cup of coffee for the day...mmm. and yes you
can drink coffee when you're breastfeeding, just in case you were
wondering, you're welcome. leave me a comment down below I'm happy
and always thrilled to see what you guys found useful in the video what else I
can cover for you. if you like this video and want to see more like it or please
give us a like, subscribe to the channel, and share our videos with any families
who you think would benefit from this information. thank you!