how long does expressed breastmilk really keep in the fridge?

[bearhug]

There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice out there! How long does EBM really keep in the fridge? And if it goes off, does it go off in the same way as cows milk does? i.e. go sour?

We're trying to get DS, 9 weeks, used to taking a bottle occasionally so I can 'escape' him sometime soon for a few hours.

I know we've left it a bit late but it's been hard to find a calm time for DP to get DS to take the bottle.

Yesterday DP tried when DS was really hungry, but he refused it. I then tried the milk (is that a weird thing to do???) and found it tasted bad, sort of soapy if that makes sense. The EBM had been in the fridge for maybe 32 hours. And yes, both pump and bottle had been washed and sterilised according to instructions.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

hi this is the recomended storage times produced by the bfn

room 6 hrs
fridge 5-10c 3days
fridge 0-4c 8days
freezer 18c or below 6months
defrosted in fridge 12hrs
defrosted outside of fridge use immediatly

if breast milk smells off dont use it,i dont know why it would taste soapy
i have t say often if baby knows your there and theres the possibility of something better i.e mum they often wont take it hope that helps we all need some time

Soapy taste is a classic indicator of too much lipase in the milk. It's easily fixed by scalding the milk after expressing see kellymom for details x

The soapy taste can be due to excess lipase enzyme in the milk. It isn't harmful and the milk isn't off. Some babies don't have a problem with drinking it and some don't like the taste. I agree with mms guidelines on storage. Have a look at this link about lipase.

xposts

If you're going to express regularly it might be worth getting some of those breastmilk storage bags from Boots and immediately freezing any you express (I used to stand up the bags in a tupperware box in the freezer as they are a bit floppy).

Then it doesn't matter when you use them, and you can hopefully build up a 'bank' of it so there's always some there if you need it.

Thank you all very much for your prompt responses! Looks like I may have to scald the milk.

Still not sure if tasting your own milk is a reasonable thing to do though

Course it is, it's hardly poison is it?

Being non-flippant for a minute, it's well worth knowing what your milk tastes like, though if you're not a milk drinker of any sorts then I can see how it might be odd. And even if you are a milk drinker I can still see how it can feel awkward tasing one's own milk, but it's not an unreasonable thing though, I promise

i think everyone does it even if they say they havnt ;) and why not were all intriged first time round (i mean with your first child) its totally normal tastes better than formula though

V reasonable imo. I've tasted mine quite a few times, just out of curiosity. I like to know what I'm feeding DD. Tis quite tasty tbh but v sweet.

Yes, surprisingly sweet, I was amazed - no wonder babies take to sweeter solids more easily, bm tastes like liquid sugar practically! And not milky in the sense of cows milk either, more sort of..., just sweet really.

I thought it was like cows milk but watered down a lot. The warmth is weird though, it's a strange temperature. I can't say DD ended up taking to sweeter solids more easily, she refused sweet potato and carrot in favour of broccoli and spinach!

i alwas compared it to sugary water not like milk at all not in our sense anyway i think as far as taking to sweeter foods im not sure all flavours consumed by mum end up in bm just in such small traces we cant taste it babies can though thats why generally bf babies eat a better variety of foods yet another good reason to bf

Sugary, and SO STICKY!
I've had breastmilk go off. I found if the bottle lid fizzed when I opened it, bad sign. And then it smelled sort of dusty.