v quick question,when giving expressed bm thats just been taken out of the fride do i need to heat it up ?

[kittenbaby]

hi just expressed some milk this am for the first time. its been in the fridge since this am
now i want to give it to my dd
do i need to heat it 1st ?
surely i cant give it to hr straight from th fridge it will be cold ?
if so hows do i heat it stand it in a bowl of hot water?

I don't suppose you have to, but I would. She'll be used to it warm from you so it would be strange to her otherwise. Yes, I would stand it in a bowl of hot water until it's body temperature.

Best to just take the chill off, as bb used to warm milk. Don't overheat as much easier when out if bb takes cool milk so better to get used to cool milk gradually.

Doubt she'll take it cold.

I would say heat to body temperature. Yes, in a bowl of hot water - don't microwave it. DON'T heat it all if you've expressed a lot - if she doesn't take it, you'll be heartbroken to chuck it away. Do an ounce or two at the most first.

Hunker - you don't have to throw milk that has been heated....it is usually fine to use again for the next feed, maybe longer....all you have to do is taste/smell it to see if it's still good! See this from the kellymom site:

www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/reusing-expressedmilk.html

Kittenbaby - you might find the kellymom pumping section useful:
www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

Thanks for link, Terramum - I did know you could reuse, but I never found mine was much good once heated and cooled - I did add chilled fresh to frozen in the freezer though, which is a handy thing to be able to do sometimes.

Eew, I don't think I'd want to save unused warmed breastmilk for the next feed.

thanks everyone xx
just givn it to dd she guzzled it down in mins !! took m an hour to express 2 and a half fl ox
i did warm it in hot water as you surgested but i was scared of making it too warm so i guess i just took the chill off
funny thing is as soon as dd guzzled the whole lot she then started crying and wanteed a bf top up
ill try to express more next time
thanks for your speedy help
this place rules xxx

thanks for the links terramum im gonna look at that now

It's a weird concept isn't it Twinkle....we are so used to cows milk that goes off at the drop of a hat that it's hard to get your head round the fact that human BM is different and actually contains anti-bacterial properties that help it stay fresh.

I know when I was expressing exclusively 3 years ago I threw any unused bm away most of the time, unless I was desperate & didn't have much left in the fridge....soooo wish I knew then what I know now...would have saved me a LOT of pumping

My DS is living proof of the amazing qualities of EBM. I don't store it in the fridge, I just express and then leave it at room temperature until he wants it (within 12 hours ish). I reuse uneaten EBM too, and he's still not had a single tummy bug yet at 11m of exclusive expressing.

hi me again
just wondered ive been on the pump again today and i got nearly 3oz in ovr an hour 2 sessions
does this sm like a really small amount to you ?
how much do you get and how long does it take?

Sounds about right tbh...I used to get about 2-4 ounces per session when I first started expressing...but then I was expressing exclusively & had major oversupply...

this might help:
www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html

I wish I'd known b out saving and re using. Also electric double pumps!!! might have lasted longer than 5 weeks exclusive bf! LOL