storing expressed milk

[MrsCLH]

Tried to feed ds a bottle of breastmilk last night and he wouldnt take it so I ended up breastfeeding him. To be on the safe side I chucked the milk but did I definitely need to? Could I have put it back in the fridge for the next day (I'd only expressed it earlier the same day) or frozen it? It had been warmed in a bowl of warm water before the attempted feed. Thanks.

You did the right thing by chucking it.

Breast milk can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days I think, and stored in the freezer for around 3 months but you shouldn't do either if you have started to use it, particularly if warmed as milk is a breeding ground for bacteria.

I've ended up chucking quite a lot and it is awful when you have put all that effort in to getting it :(

HTH

Oh yes, definately needed to be chucked if it had been warmed up.

Also even if he sucked a bit of it from the bottle it would have had to be chucked anyway.

It's such a pain isn't it - It feels such a waste!

Thanks ladies, yes it is a complete pain! Such a huge effort to get the stuff, every drop is so precious! It was only our second attempt at a bottle, first time he guzzled the lot down, thought it was a bit too good to be true! Will keep perservering though cos hubby really enjoyed giving him that feed and the break for me was nice too :-)