Storing your Breastmilk

Breastmilk can be stored in a plastic or glass bottle with a screw-on lid, or in a sterile, sealable bag. Store your breastmilk in amounts that you use every day to avoid wasting it. For example, if your baby eats 4 ounces in a feeding, put 4 ounces of milk into the storage container. Keep a few 2-ounce containers around in case your baby occasionally wants a little more. Label the containers with the date the milk was pumped and your baby’s name (if your baby goes to child care where there is more than one infant or if more than one mom is pumping at work).

Pumped breastmilk should be cooled in a refrigerator or other cooler as soon as possible. The milk can also be frozen if you aren’t going to use it right away.

Many moms notice the breastmilk in their refrigerator looks blue, yellow or brown, and wonder if something is wrong with it. The answer is no—that is normal. Breastmilk can vary in color depending on the foods you eat. It is also normal for breastmilk to separate, so that the fatty part of the milk rises to the top. Gently tilt the bottle or the sealed bag back and forth, and the fat will go back into the milk.

Thaw frozen breastmilk slowly by swirling the closed container of milk in warm water or by putting the container in the fridge the day before you want to use it. Don’t use hot water to thaw breastmilk, and never thaw breastmilk in the microwave. The milk could get too hot and burn your baby’s mouth. Microwaving can also damage valuable proteins in the milk.

Thawed milk can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours but it should not be refrozen.

	Refrigerator	Freezer	Deep Freezer	Portable Cooler with Ice Packs
Fresh Breastmilk	5 days	3 months	6 months	24 hours
Thawed Breastmilk	24 hours	Do not refreeze	Do not refreeze	8 hours