what should i store my exressed breast milk in?

[mum2b09]

Im breastfeeding my 5 day old DD and one of my nipples are realy sore and bleeding because of early latching problems. the other nipple is fine and shes still BFing from that one but i wanted to express some milk from the other breast as she is very demanding and im worried the breast will become engourged.

My question is once iv expressed the breast milk into the pump do i store it in the fridge in them and then pour into a sterilised bottle before giving it to her or can i just swap the fixed lid for a teat (providing that the pump was sterilised before i expressed into it?

How long can i leave it at room temerature if she leaves some?

how much should i express for a 5 day old baby that feeds every 1-2 hours

thanx girls x

im stillfeeding her with my other nipple bt this one is bleeding and shes was getting some of my blood in her feeds so i decided to express x

I have been expressing into the bottle attached to pump, then putting in fridge with teat and top on, then giving later that day - its all sterilized at the same time. Hope the bleeding stops soon and you can get back to feeding - but having baby taking from the bottle is great help when you are having probs so keep up the good work!!

i have herd that as gross as it sounds it doesnt actually matter if they get blood in with the milk

(have to say i would not feel great about feeding my tiny baby blood either though)

Please do not use ordinary plastic bags. They can leach chemicals into the milk and are liable to split. Avent do some little cups with blue lids which are reusable and will do for snacks/purees when LO is older. this is a cheaper option than the Lansinoh/Boots/Medela breastmilk bags. However, the latter are easier to store if you have a small freezer as they go almost flat. I didn't get on with them, despite a small freezer and use the Avent cups. Your sore nipple should be feeling significantly better within 24 hours of a latch readjustment. If it isn't please think about some RL help from a BF counsellor. It might just be a subtle tweak of position.

On storage
www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html As you will see, the guidelines are much more generous than you are likely to be given by a MW/HV.

GL (smile)

Sorry * up the bold type and emoticons

Firstly, good on you for carrying on despite having problems!!

If your dd doesn't finish the EBM in her bottle, you need to throw it away - sorry! Breastmilk can't be stored at room temperature. I used to make DH empty out the bottles if my dd didn't finish her feed as I couldn't bear to see my milk going down the sink!

Tesco sells their own breastmilk freezer bags which are a good bit cheaper than Boots, etc. They're quick thick too so should help to avoid any tearing.

I used to just empty the EBM into a sterlised bottle after expressing and put the teat and teat cover straight onto it. It saved from having to mess around with it when dd was screaming the place down, demanding to be fed!

This page on Kellymom should give you a rough idea as to how much EBM to feed your dd.

Hope this helps and that everything goes well for you from now on.

Hazie, you can reuse EBM after a baby has failed to finish a bottle, as long as it's not left about too long, and it can be stored for 6 hours, conservatively, at room temp! That's from Kellymom.

(I learned that after pouring stacks down the plughole, too.)

I've read that you shouldn't give unused EBM if baby doesn't finish it because germs from the baby's mouth will be passed on to the teat of the bottle and then into the milk. Cx

mum2b09 - it is better to feed directly than express. If you have got over initial latching problem then attach baby to sore nipple after giving good side first. Her suck will be less fierce with hunger. Blood is not a problem to your baby. Expressing does not empty the breast as well as feeding does TBH. If latch is OK, nipple will heal even with feeding.

If you do express then use EBM baottels or bags which you can get easily from Boots. Sterilised icecube tray is OK too.

BTW - milk she leaves in a bottle should be discarded.

Much better to give EBM by cup if baby is still learning to latch properly. Teats can cause nipple confusion at this age.

Using a pump to express can aggravate nipple damage so better to get latch fixed and feed directly from the breast.

oops - stand corrected. Just read kellymom link that you can reuse milk . Don't reheat though

Hi Mum2b09 Hang in there.

I was a teat/lid swapper. Sterlised the teat before the feed and plonked it onto the bottle after I'd warmed it. Didn't run into any problems...