Do u discard milk after 1 or 2 hrs?

[Lollibert]

Google says 2hrs but HV said 1hr

Breast or formula?

information on breastmilk storage

https://www.nct.org.uk/baby-toddler/feeding/practical-tips/expressed-milk-your-questions-answered

@Twizbe formula

I think that it is 2 hours after making it up (so if you made it just before baby was going to have it or needed to change them first etc) but 1 hour after it has been started due to the introduction of bacteria from the mouth into the milk.

You can leave breastmilk for ages because it has antimicrobial properties (so don't follow the same info when making formula bottles)

If it’s in a bottle and they’ve had their mouth on it then I discard as soon as they’re done with the feed because they wouldn’t want anymore for at least 3 hours anyway. If I was making it with the kettle to feed later then I’d keep it for up to 2 hours. If it was ready made I’d poured out into a bottle then I’d put the rest of the carton in the fridge for a maximum of 24 hours but realistically just until the next feed. If I couldn’t refrigerate it I’d discard it.

@TropicalTrama oh no I’ve been doing it wrong the last nearly 10 weeks of her life I thought 2hrs meant from the start of the feed if she didn’t drink within 2hrs then I’d throw it out not 1hr will my baby be ok? She’s had really bad colic from about 2 weeks old maybe I’ve been causing it! She’s my first baby and she takes really long time to drink her bottle sometimes 2hrs or more but after 2hrs i usually make fresh milk I didn’t realise it was 1hr!

Don't blame yourself. Both my babies had colic and were formula fed using the one hour rule. Now that you know, just try to ensure that any milk left over after 1 hour is thrown away. This is just to be extra safe, I'm sure your baby hasn't suffered any ill effects from it being 2 hours. Your first baby means you will be on a massive learning curve, and just chalk this up to that. You are doing great, enjoy your little one xx

2 hours for a feed doesn’t sound right. How much are you trying to feed and what bottles and teats? I’ve formula fed 2 and as newborns a feed took like 30 minutes. Then they’d either have finished the bottle, fall asleep after having had most of it or just turn their head away because they were done. Then the next feed wouldn’t be for about another 3 hours. So we never ran into this as a problem. Maybe ask to see your health visitor again for advice?

Yes it's 1 hour once baby's lips have touched it, and 2 hours from freshly made at room temp if baby hasn't touched it.

Don't panic, all it would do is give your baby a dodgy tummy or a couple of bad nappies if you were unlucky! You'll not have done any permanent damage at all!

But colic is just unexplained crying, no way is the milk being 2 hours old a culprit. More likely it’s overtiredness or just general fussiness. My first used to have a hell of a witching hour (actually 3 hours) every evening and then just one day outgrew it. Never figured why!

with my first I always used the same bottle for 2 hours as she was just a snacker, I’ve done the same with the second too. I know I’m not meant to but I figured maybe there’s a bit of a leeway and I would be getting through so much milk otherwise.

@TropicalTrama ive spoken to the HV about it they just told me to take the bottle away when she’s done but she either falls asleep or pushes it out with her tongue sometimes she’ll give all the signals that she’s done but then when I take the bottle away she wakes up 5 minutes later crying for it she does the same when she’s awake and pushes it out with her tongue sometimes she’ll go 20 minutes but then she’ll cry for more milk dr suggested she might be comfort feeding but even giving her a dummy doesn’t work she wants the milk! according to her weight she needs to be drinking 30oz in 24hrs but she doesn’t drink that much she even dropped below her centile a bit she has reflux too but the silent one so most feeds are a nightmare that she cries all the way through I think now what I’ll have to do so I’m not wasting too much milk is give her 1 or 2 is at a time

What you could do instead is make the same amount of milk Ip then pour half into another bottle, then if she's really hungry she has both bottles but if she falls asleep for a little nap after the first one, the second (as it has no saliva in it) will be safe until the 2 hours are up. You could also make smaller bottles for her at a time and more bottles in a day.

Don't worry at all about what's happened so far if she had an upset tummy you would have known about it.

Colic gets so much better after about 12 weeks so hang in there!! Xxx

I’ve left the bottle up to two hours without issue. I highly doubt you’ve caused any issues.