Practical considerations for leaving a breastfed baby overnight

[ananikifo]

My DS is now 10 weeks old, breastfed since birth. DH and I have been planning a night out for months. It's in 3 weeks and we'll be away overnight. I've never been away from DS for so long. DH's parents have very kindly agreed to stay in our house overnight and take care of DS. I'd like to leave prepared bottles in the fridge for them. I'm trying to research if this is ok but everything I read online either contradicts something else or doesn't address my situation.

Can I prepare bottles ahead of time and store in the back of the fridge? I know it's not encouraged/against UK guidelines with formula but is it ok with breastmilk?

If they need more milk than the bottles I leave, is there anything wrong with defrosting a bag of milk under warm running water and using immediately? I'd really like to avoid defrosting too much milk and wasting it.

Some of the bottles are big (250 ml). If DS doesn't finish a bottle, can the rest be used later? How long would it last?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any advice you have.

I'm also wondering what I'll have to do for myself to relieve engorgement. Should I take the electric breast pump with me to the hotel, or would a bit of hand expression be enough? I'll be away from him for more than 12 hours.

Congratulations on both your new baby and on organising a night out!

You can defrost breastmilk in advance in the fridge and have your parents give the bottles over the time you're away. I would keep the defrosted milk for up to 24 hours in the fridge.

I wouldn't reuse a bottle that your baby has fed from, as he will pass bacteria from his mouth back into the bottle during the feed. But if the 250ml is defrosted, you could pour it into different bottles before the feeding begins so that it isn't wasted. The guideline is that a baby over one month will take about 24oz per 24 hours, though this will vary for each child, and I wod recommend offering this in 2oz/3oz bottles to avoid waste.

Yes, it is fine to defrost a bag of milk under the tap and use it straight away. I would only keep milk defrosted this way for a few hours though, so have them defrost any large bags in the fridge (to use gradually) and any small bags under the tap for immediate consumption.

The formula rules about milk storage don't apply to breastmilk. It is fine to store it in the fridge, it certainly doesn't need to be heated to 70 degrees to kill bacteria (in fact heating breastmilk beyond body temp will destroy some of the nutritional value) and the volumes likely to be drunk are smaller.

If I was planning your night out, I would leave 1oz per hour defrosted in the fridge (use your big bags to deforest this amount, and it's fine for mix the bags once defrosted) and instructions to defrost more bags in the fridge if they think they're going to run out (they might spill a bottle, baby might feed a lot, they might warm too much at each feed and waste a lot) or under the tap if they need more milk now. If you can trust your parents to streralise bottles/only use a steralised stash, then I would leave the milk in the bags it was frozen in to defrost in the fridge and let your parents fill the bottles from the bags. This means that they can adjust the volume of each feed as they learn about your babies bottle-feeding preferences, and the milk moves between containers the fewest times.

It would also be sensible to plan a few afternoons out without baby to see whether your parents are able to persuade your baby to take a bottle.

If you feel very strongly that baby shouldn't have formula, then make this very clear to your parents. There are so many stories of grandparents giving formula because they think it's easier than faffing about defrosting milk, and mostly it all seems very well intentioned and the grandparent has no idea formula will upset the mother. Just be crystal clear about what you want them to do.

Kellymom.com has lots of great advice about expressing and stroring breastmilk.

Good luck!

Oh, and yes - take your pump!

I forgot my pump when I went away for 24 hours when my twins were one. I thought hand expressing would be fine. I expressed a bit before bed despite not feeling too full, and woke up with rock hard engirged boobs that I couldn't express from :( That made for the most painful day (I was sobbing on the final 2 hour train trip home, had to undo my bra, and staggered into the house dripping milk from both boobs. I couldn't even face letting my babies feed from these sore balloons as they were so painful - I had to pump it all off and then feed).

Please take your pump!

Thanks!

I should clarify 250 ml is how big the bottles are, so I was wondering if I could leave them a big bottle and let them use it for more than one feed. Sounds like a bad idea. My frozen bags have only about 60 ml each. I wish I could express 250 ml at once!

I was planning I leaving a carton of ready to use formula in the house for emergencies. I can't believe some grandparents would give that just for convenience! I guess I'm lucky to have in laws I trust!

I've not left my breastfeeding baby for that long but have had one occasion when a feed was refused . meaning that my boobs got very uncomfortable and hurt until I fed from them again.

Be prepared to pump at the usual feeding intervals bothto stop tthe engorgement and to keep up your supply. Even if you then have to dispose of the milk as you can't store it.

I see about the big bottles! It is very sensible to freeze in small amounts so that you only need to defrost as much as you need.

I really wouldn't keep a bottle that has been fed from for more than 2 hours or so. So an extended feed where it takes a while for baby to finish, fine, but repeated feeds from one bottle I think is quite risky.

Breastmilk is like cows milk in that it tastes ok when it is ok to drink, and tastes horrible when it has gone off. But I think you might be expecting too much to ask your PIL to do a taste test before feeding ;)

Yes you can leave made up bottles in the fridge or else they can defrost the milk as they need to. Kellymom is brilliant at explaining.

kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/milkstorage/#handling

I suggest you bring a hand pump in your bag express every 3 hours while you are out and pump from both boobs. I used a non sterile pump and pumped and dumped in toilets. Enjoy.

At the moment our feeds are so close together that he probably would take the whole big bottle over two hours max, but I guess I couldn't guarantee it.

On the formula, my mother gave 11 ounces is 3 hours the first time we went out and left him with her, he was fed to the gills before we went out the door. I never ever left formula again.

From Kellymom

To avoid waste and for easier thawing & warming, store milk in 1-4 ounce portions. Date milk before storing. Milk from different pumping sessions/days may be combined in one container – use the date of the first milk expressed. Avoid adding warm milk to a container of previously refrigerated or frozen milk – cool the new milk before combining. Breastmilk is not spoiled unless it smells really bad or tastes sour.To thaw milk
Thaw slowly in the refrigerator (this takes about 12 hours – try putting it in the fridge the night before you need it). Avoid letting milk sit out at room temperature to thaw.
For quicker thawing, hold container under running water – start cool and gradually increase temperature.
Previously frozen milk may be kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours after it has finished thawing. Do not refreeze.

To warm milk

Heat water in a cup or other small container, then place frozen milk in the water to warm; or
Use a bottle warmer.
NEVER microwave human milk or heat it directly on the stove.
The cream will rise to the top of the milk during storage. Gently swirl milk (do not shake) to mix before checking temperature and offering to baby.

If baby does not finish milk at one feeding, it is probably safe to refrigerate and offer within 1-2 hours before it is discarded.