defrosting frozen breast milk
My Lo is 9 months and im back at work, ive built up a very good supply of frozen milk but over the month ive been back, as ive been on reduced hours, ive managed to keep up with fresh milk. Tomorrow though i think ill use some frozen milk for the first time as i dont think i can get enough off - plus i have a week off next week so lots of time to replace it.
The advice seems to be that as soon as its thawed to use it - however im worked 2pm-10pm so its for a bedtime feed, and im not sure how long it will take to thaw. Im going to get my mum to take it out the fridge a couple of hours before he needs it to get it to room temp, as he prefers this to cold or warm. Other advice seems to be that its safe to thaw frozen milk in the fridge overnight - which is a good 8 hours in the fridge - presumably it has long since thawed by the morning?!
am just a bit confused and dont want to do my LO any harm - would it be ok to put it in the fridge mid morn, take it to mums in a cool pack and then let her take it out to get it to room temp 2 hours prior to bedtime feed? Does this sound unsafe? Not sure how long it will take to thaw x
Replies
Hi! I am not sure about leaving it out of the fridge to get it to room temperature. I would be worried it may go off. However I take mine out at about 4pm and the next morning at 6am it can sometimes be a bit icey. It does take hours and hours to defrost in the fridge so you need to be taking it out at least 8 hours in advance, I freeze mine in bags rather than tubs as once it does start to thaw you can manipulate it and break up the ice which makes it thaw quicker. My baby likes her milk room temp too but because I am worried about it going off, I take it straight out the fridge and put the bottle in a bowl of boiling water for a few seconds, shake it, put it back in and keep testing it until the chill is off or you could heat it and let it cool to room temperature. Would only take about 15 minutes and as long as it is used within 60 minutes from removing it from the fridge, heating and drinking it will be fine. I sometimes do that and so does my two friends. Good luck
i used to get mine out the night before and leave it in the fridge, it then needed using within 24 hours i think, i prefered to wack it in a jug of boiling water to make sure it was warmed through thouroughly then cool it down x
thanks ladies. I defrosted it in the fridge then had it out toi get it to room temp. one of the peer supporters at my group said that breast milk that is starting to turn smells so bad its impossible to mistake and its pretty hard to give your bubba off milk by mistake.
as it happens he only had a few sips, so 7oz down the drain! i have to work over about one bedtime a week and its turning out my lo doesnt really want the bottle and just has a cuddle and goes to sleep. i then use what i expressed the next day in his weetabix and mashed potato to try and replace it - i can get about 4oz into him this way. Its strange because when i leave a feed in the day in a bottle he will take it!
i have to say that not all my milk was frozen completely fresh, some of it was in the fridge for a couple of days then realised it was freeze it or loose it so i froze it. im not binning it though as there is nothing wrong with it.
mine would be in the fridge before freezing as it often tookl me two night to get a full 6oz x