Storing breast milk?

[Cosmogirl86]

I am completely new. My babies aren't due until August but lm trying to be prepared.

I have bought a haakaa breast pump and I'm planning to feed my twins and express when possible.

The thing is, what do I actually do with the milk once its expressed?? What do I store it in? Freezer? Fridge?

Any veteren nursers who can advise, I'd be very grateful

You can try freezing it in breast milk bags but my milk goes weird in the freezer and tastes awful when thawed so I gave up.
It depends what you want to do with it. Is it so you can get a break? Maybe you'd be able to pump, store in the fridge and use within 3 days.

www.breastfeeding.ie have useful info re: breastmilk storage.
I would recommend a stash in the freezer in case of emergency.

I froze loads for my DD and it all went to waste, she hated the taste of it when it was thawed and heated up, she was so fussy, I used to express a large bottle in the morning and then occasionally little bits during the day, and my DH would do one of the night feeds. Try freezing some and see what they think, and if they don't take to it then you know not to bother doing that in future. Don't do what I did and bank up a load then find out.

I didn't realise the milk taste was affected by freezing! My plan was to have a stash so my husband can help me with feeding

Some women’s breast milk goes off more rapidly than others and doesn’t survive freezing. Mine was like this and I found scalding before freezing it really helped. It does, as I understand, destroy a bit of the goodness in the milk but it’s still good for baby to eat.

www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/article/203/3-things-that-can-impact-breast-milk-taste-&-smell

Breast milk only generally tastes funny when frozen if you have high lipase in your milk. This isn't a problem with your milk, it's just some women have higher levels than others. Some babies are bothered by the taste, others aren't. Scalding before freezing can prevent the funny taste.

Breast milk is only good in the fridge for 6 days, freezer for up to 6 months, but is also good for the skin so can be used in baths. We also made ice lollies out of just breastmilk to help with teething.

It can be handy to have an emergency stash, or keep refreshing a small stash. But personally I wouldn't keep a huge stash as it may end up getting wasted after all your hard work getting it in the first place

I'm also concerned that I won't have much to spare for a stash if I'm feeding two