a question about expressed milk

[howiwonder]

Hi all,

I have an 8 week old who was born with a heart defect and had to have open heart surgery at 2 weeks old. He had a spell of having very little milk in hospital in the run up to his op and then being tube fed my expressed milk after, although in restricted amounts. All this time I was pumping to keep my supply up and, luckily had alot of milk, so ended up filling up the wards freezer with bottles and bottles of my milk!!
Luckily he went back on the breast as soon as he was ready and we have settled down into normal feeding on demand now. But i trekked all this milk home with me and transferred to my freezer. I havent any intention of giving him bottles any time soon though.

In March, I will be on some training for 2 consecutive days, just normal office hours not overnight or anything. my question is - will that milk be ok for him to have then? He will be 4 months old and I have a feeling I read somewhere that milk expressed for a newborn is not suitable for an older baby (not that he will be that old I suppose) as it is specifically designed to meet the nutritional needs of the age of baby it was produced for at that time. Cant find this fact anywhere online though so am I getting that wrong? The training will be 2 days every month so how long can he keep having that newborn milk for, if at all?

Seems such a shame to waste all that milk, even if he does have those few bottles it wont really make much of a dent in my stash. Have considered stirring it through my toddlers porridge, but that seemed a bit odd!!

I have read that too, but not sure about it, as you can 'tandem' feed both a baby and a toddler. Technically they would need different milks?

So he will be 4 months, and getting newborn milk? I'd say it was fine. If anything, the newborn milk will be fattier than 4 month milk I guess.

Not much help, sorry, hope someone a bit wiser comes along soon.

(you could donate it to other prem babies though)

I don't believe there is any problem in giving a 4 month old milk which was expressed when he was a newborn, but I don't have anything to base that opinion on! My prem DS has had bottles using frozen milk which I expressed several months before.

However, I would say if you want your son to take a bottle at 4 months while you do your training, it might be an idea to give him a bottle occasionally so he is still used to them, otherwise you may find he refuses it?

Glad he is doing well now

i think it will be okay - it's higher in calories, i think is the main difference.

if you express some of your now milk regularly, too, and have him drink both newborn and now milk, then it should even out okay.

ps: - it's also a good idea to use it for your toddler's porridge.
it's not weird, it's biologically normal! (how can it be weirder than stirring cow's milk in it?)

thanks very much for the replies all - i will go ahead and give it to him when the time comes, and maybe i will introduce a bottle or two in the run up to me leaving him so it doesnt come as a complete shock.

and nickel maybe i will use in big boys porridge too! i dont feel weird about him having my breastmilk (he was breastfed til after his 2nd birthday) but it sort of feels a bit odd to pop it in his food without telling him as hes very keen to tell me hes a big boy now and doesnt have milk like his little baby does. but its good stuff after all, seems a shame to waste it!