prob stupid question re expressing

[fhdl34]

Okay, following disastrous expressing experience of last week, yesterday morning I expressed 2oz of milk. This went straight into the back of the fridge in a bottle with the lid on top and there it remains. Can I add whatever I express tomorrow to it and freeze it straightaway? The expressed milk has separated, is it ok to add fresh to this and then freeze? My memory says yes but a half hearted look at Kellymom this morning whilst trying to feed DD produced no answer and I'm now on my phone. TIA

I understand that you should keep EBM in separate amounts for each day... It always separates and this is normal - you simply swill it around and it goes back into one liquid again... Try not to shake it too much though - apparently it affects how it is digested...

The main thing about freezing it is about the soapy taste that can happen if it is frozen.. I've never had to freeze mine so can't answer that question - sorry

Hope this helps

It's best to add same temperature milk to same temperature (so yes, you can add today's milk to yesterday's as long as you chill it first). If freezing it, be sure to label it with the earliest date rather than the most recent.

And yes, excess lipase can cause milk to taste/smell soapy. Kellymom definitely has info on heat treating ebm if this is the case with you. Best way to find out is freeze some, thaw it, taste it! don't do what I did and freeze fricking LITRES of the stuff before checking if it would taste rancid

Sorry I can't link to Kellymom, but I know it's there!

Thanks both. Problem is I only have one bottle and the expressed stuff is already in that. I was hoping to express directly into it but I should perhaps put the expressed milk into a bag now, leave that in the fridge and then chill the new stuff tomorrow morning before adding together. God expressing is a faff, I only want the stuff to use when I start weaning so I can make DD porridge with it or for when I go back to work in October in case she wants expressed milk so I want to build up a freezer stock.

thanks mombo i have been wondering why my warmed refrigerated milk tastes weird even if i expressed on the same day! here's the kellymom link, very helpful!

kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/lipase-expressedmilk/

Expressing IS a faff, though there are some ace mamas out there who make it seem easy! You can store your ebm in any old container with a lid (provided its sterile) and you could freeze what you've already got in a bag then add refrigerated ebm to it later (that's ok to do).

You may well do better than me, but I had grand intentions of expressing for breakfasts but after a few days I just gave in to cow's milk (as long as it's full fat and not offered as a main drink). Lazy Mombo!

lol @ lazymombo :) I decided last night after finally dragging myself off MN that I'm going to just freeze the 2oz on their own although really I want to put them in a presentation box I'm so proud of them and then defrost it again to check the lipase issue. I have no desire for DD to drink ebm but feel that now I've learnt to express I should use this skill to perhaps build up a stock for just in case. Then if she does require it for any reason when I go back to work when she's 10 months, I've got some there as a start.

What happens if you combine diff temp milk? I'm trying to build up a store, and I suck at expressing. I was thrilled to get 10mls at my last two sessions, after several with only 1-2mls. I'd just been expressing into the same bottle, as the with the miniscule amounts I make, the little bit that sticks to the side of the bottle when you transfer containers is a significant loss! I was planning to freeze 1 oz portions, which I imagined might be every 3 days or so. I can't imagine a freezer full of bags with only 1-10mls each. I now have my first ounce -- is there something wrong with it as I added fresh milk to cold?

TBH it's better to freeze in small amounts as bf babies tend not to take huge quantities so 2oz is a really good amount to freeze as one 'block' for a ebm feed.

You can also freeze in ice cube trays (cover with a plastic bag while freezing) then pop them out into a freezer safe bag (ziplock type are good). Then you can defrost as much or as little as you need depending on if it's for a bottle/beaker or to mix with food.

If you plan on mixing two (or more) pumping sessions milk then chill all the milk separately in the fridge before mixing together into one container to freeze. There isn't anything terribly wrong with combining two different temp milks, it's just not best practice IYSWIM.

Here's a short article on not shaking milk if anyone's interested.