5 Tips On Storing Breastmilk And Bottle Feeding | Hea Boosters

Are you a working mom, or will you be traveling a lot following your baby's birth? If yes, then chances are you might not be able to breastfeed your baby on the go. If that's the case, then you might want to read our article.

In this article, we have suggested some storage and bottle preparation tips that can make your life simple and easier. Each tip that we have mentioned is 100% safe and healthy and has been compiled keeping in mind how to best use expressed breast milk for the baby's wellbeing.

These are general rules for storing breast milk at various temperatures. Different variables influence how long breast milk can be put away safely. Such factors incorporate milk volume, room temperature when milk is expressed, temperature variances in the fridge and cooler, and how to store them cleanly and healthily.

Before expressing breast milk:

Before expressing breast milk, you should clean your hands properly. If you don’t have soap and water handy, you can also use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. You can either hand or breast pump, both manual or electric, to express breast milk. In the case of using a pump make sure that the pump unit and tubes are clean. If not, dispose of them right away.



Storing, expressing, and feeding breast milk sounds simple, correct? It is! You simply need to follow a couple of rules to ensure you are doing it safely and cleanly! We've compiled the best tips for you here!!

Storing Fresh Breast Milk:

• When storing fresh breast milk, follow the 4-4-6 Rule
• The breast milk is useful for 4 Hours at 77° F or more room temp
• Useful for 4 Days in the Fridge (40° F or colder)
• When frozen, breast milk can use for 6-12 months

Storing Thawed or Previously Frozen Breastmilk:

• Follow the 2-1-0 Rule for defrosted breast milk i.e from the time the breast milk was defrosted, not when it was taken out from the cooler
• You can feed thawed milk that has been out for 2 hours at Room Temp of 77° F or more
• You can store thawed milk for 1 Day (24 hours) in the Fridge at 40° F or cooler temperature
• Thawed breast milk should not be restored or re-freeze

3. Defrosting Frozen Breastmilk:

• There are 3 different ways you can securely defrost frozen breast milk!
• You either leave it in the fridge compartment for 8-12 hours
• Place in a holder in the warm water bowl
• Or you can keep it under running lukewarm water

4. Feeding Breast Milk to your Baby:

• You can serve breast milk either warm, cold or at room temperature!
• If feeding warm breast milk, always test the temperature on your inner wrist
• If some milk is left, then you can feed it within the next two hours, but keep the milk in the fridge

5. Store breast milk in a little batch:

• 2 to 4 ounces is prescribed to forestall squander.
• Any excess breast milk left in a jug after your baby is done with feeding ought to be used inside 2 hours, or then again, if immediately refrigerated, used for the following feeding.
• You can generally defrost an additional holder if necessary.

Bottle feeding:

You can bottle-feed your baby using expressed breast milk, formula milk, or a blend of the two, but you need to be ready for everything. When bottle-feeding, you should have the right bottle and nipples for your baby. There are various kinds of bottles and nipples available in the market but you need to purchase the one that is right according to your baby’s age.

You can also purchase extra accessories if you like. For instance, some parents buy electric bottle warmers, or breast pumps to make their bottle-feeding journey easy.

Preparing the bottle:

When making up a bottle, make sure you sterilize the bottle with boiling water. With the measuring scoop that comes with the formula milk, add the instructed quantity of the powder to warm water and shake it well to remove any lumps.

Baby’s Hunger Cue: When to Feed:

When your baby is hungry, they will show some cues like sticking out their tongue, sucking their thumbs or clenching their hands. These are some of the cues that you should look out for to understand your baby’s hunger pang.

How to Bottle-feeding:

Keep your baby’s head near your breast. Keep their head and spine straight and make sure they are lying comfortably. Once you have achieved the desired position make eye contact with and keep talking with them to keep them awake and make contact with them.



How to Bottle-Feed:

Once you achieve your desired position, rub the bottle nipple against your baby's lip. Make delicate actions and urge them to open their mouth to latch on to the nipple. Tip the bottle slightly, so that the nipple is filled with milk and not air.

Conclusion:

Either you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, both choices are yours. You can do that either by expressing your milk or using formula milk as long as your baby maintains a healthy weight and meets all health markers, you don’t have to worry about anything else.

Every decision related to your baby is yours, whether it is right for others or not, never apologize for taking care of your baby as you seem fit. Till then happy reading and happy feeding!