How to defrost frozen breastmilk? Help?

[JessTan]

Dear mummies,
How do you all defrost your breastmilk? How long can it stay in the freezer? the fridge and after defrost can it still be kept in the refridgerator? For how long can it last?

As am going back to work soon, will be putting my son in daycare, was thinking how to go about defrosting my breastmilk..

pls help, appreciate ur feedback!
THANKSSS!

 

[icy_haze]

Dear mummies,
How do you all defrost your breastmilk? How long can it stay in the freezer? the fridge and after defrost can it still be kept in the refridgerator? For how long can it last?

As am going back to work soon, will be putting my son in daycare, was thinking how to go about defrosting my breastmilk..

pls help, appreciate your feedback!
THANKSSS!

Frozen bm can stay in the freezer for 6 mths. For me, I normally transfer the frozen bm fr the freezer to the fridge to thaw one day before consumption. Dun know is it my fridge too cold. Coz I realized it will normally take 24hrs for my milk to be totally thawed. Once the milk is thaw, it MUST be consume within 24hrs. The milk can't be consume after 24 hrs.
Alternatively, u can buy the avent food n milk warmer. They have e function to thaw n warm up frozen milk. Sometimes my mum will use that when e frozen milk can't be thaw in time. I find this avent food n milk warm quite good n useful.

 

[adelynn]

depending on the type of freezer you use, it can be kept from 3 months to 6 months. 6 months for the deep chested freezer, 3 months is the normal fridge's freezer compartment.

as to how milk is thawed, i will take out frozen EBM the night before from freezer and into the chiller to thaw. by the next morning, it will be a mixture of liquid and still some frozen milk. you can keep the thawed milk for 24 hours, afterwhich it's not recommended to use. if you are packing into day care, you can put it into a freezer bag (i use fridge-to-go to transport) and bring it to day-care.

there are a few ways you can heat up milk.
1 is the conventional method is which is to stand the thawed milk into hot water until the milk is of the temperature and then test. Another way is to use the electric milk/food warmer. i use the conventional method.

 

[JessTan]

depending on the type of freezer you use, it can be kept from 3 months to 6 months. 6 months for the deep chested freezer, 3 months is the normal fridge's freezer compartment.

as to how milk is thawed, i will take out frozen EBM the night before from freezer and into the chiller to thaw. by the next morning, it will be a mixture of liquid and still some frozen milk. you can keep the thawed milk for 24 hours, afterwhich it's not recommended to use. if you are packing into day care, you can put it into a freezer bag (i use fridge-to-go to transport) and bring it to day-care.

there are a few ways you can heat up milk.
1 is the conventional method is which is to stand the thawed milk into hot water until the milk is of the temperature and then test. Another way is to use the electric milk/food warmer. i use the conventional method.

thanks alot! real helpful!

 

[JessTan]

depending on the type of freezer you use, it can be kept from 3 months to 6 months. 6 months for the deep chested freezer, 3 months is the normal fridge's freezer compartment.

as to how milk is thawed, i will take out frozen EBM the night before from freezer and into the chiller to thaw. by the next morning, it will be a mixture of liquid and still some frozen milk. you can keep the thawed milk for 24 hours, afterwhich it's not recommended to use. if you are packing into day care, you can put it into a freezer bag (i use fridge-to-go to transport) and bring it to day-care.

there are a few ways you can heat up milk.
1 is the conventional method is which is to stand the thawed milk into hot water until the milk is of the temperature and then test. Another way is to use the electric milk/food warmer. i use the conventional method.

Thanks alot really helpful!

 

[JessTan]

depending on the type of freezer you use, it can be kept from 3 months to 6 months. 6 months for the deep chested freezer, 3 months is the normal fridge's freezer compartment.

as to how milk is thawed, i will take out frozen EBM the night before from freezer and into the chiller to thaw. by the next morning, it will be a mixture of liquid and still some frozen milk. you can keep the thawed milk for 24 hours, afterwhich it's not recommended to use. if you are packing into day care, you can put it into a freezer bag (i use fridge-to-go to transport) and bring it to day-care.

there are a few ways you can heat up milk.
1 is the conventional method is which is to stand the thawed milk into hot water until the milk is of the temperature and then test. Another way is to use the electric milk/food warmer. i use the conventional method.

hi..so if there is still lumps of ice milk in the bottle, do you defrost it totally and pack it in the freezer bag or you straight away pack with the lumps of ice and bring it to day care????

 

[lingerbell]

there are a few ways you can heat up milk.
1 is the conventional method is which is to stand the thawed milk into hot water until the milk is of the temperature and then test. Another way is to use the electric milk/food warmer. i use the conventional method.

I thought it's not suppose to use hot water to thaw the frozen breast milk but lukewarm or cool tap water intead as it will destroy some of the breast milk nutrients???
Can anyone pls clarify, thanks.

 

[pangsn7376]

Ageed with don't use the hot water as hot water will destroy the breast milk nutrients. I use the cool tap water to thaw the milk from fridge (keep in refrigerator) for about 4 hours. The milk will totally thaw after 4 hours. When I’m going to feed my baby, I will take out the milk from refrigerator and put into warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes (will change the water 2 times as the warm water will turn out to be cool water after 5 minutes).
I don’t know whether this is the correct way, but I found that this is quite work to thaw the breast milk. Hope this work to you also.[/font]

 

[adelynn]

jesstan: if there are still lumps of ice, i just pack the lumps of ice together and bring it to daycare/

lingerbell & pangsn7376: when i said hot water, not the hot hot right out of the thermal flask. sorry if im unclear. i normally stand the hot water out of the thermal flask for 10 to 15 minutes until it's warm enough for me to put my hand in and not be burnt then put the bottle in.

 

[JessTan]

jesstan: if there are still lumps of ice, i just pack the lumps of ice together and bring it to daycare/

lingerbell & pangsn7376: when i said hot water, not the hot hot right out of the thermal flask. sorry if im unclear. i normally stand the hot water out of the thermal flask for 10 to 15 minutes until it's warm enough for me to put my hand in and not be burnt then put the bottle in.

thanks.. that means no hot water but warm water or cool water to defrost if not will destroy the nutrients?

 

[igal_76]

Hi mummies,
From what I have read, its best to warm breast milk at 40 deg celsius. I invested in a pigeon warmer when I realised hot water will destroy some of the nutrients.

For the frozen milk, I keep max 3 mths in the freezer although supposeddly, it can last up to 6 mths. Once thawed, it has to be used within 24hrs.

The following is taken from MOH 2002 Guidelines on breastfeeding:
Store breastmilk following the recommended guidelines:
Location and temperature Time
Milk stored at 25°C 4 hr
Milk in a cooler with ice pack (15°C) 24 hr
Fresh milk in refrigerator (4°C) 48 hr
Previously thawed milk in refrigerator (4°C) 24 hr
Frozen milk:
-Freezer with separate door from 3 - 6 months
refrigerator
- Deep freezer (-20°C)
6 -12 months

Thaw breastmilk in the refrigerator or by placing it in warm
water. Do not thaw or warm breastmilk in the microwave oven.
(D/4 - NHMRC, 1998)
.
Give warmed milk straight away and discard any left over. Do
not re-freeze or re-warm breastmilk.
(D/4 - NHMRC, 1998)
_____________________________________________________________________
If anyone is interested, I can email you the pdf copy, just let me know at igal_76@yahoo.com.sg


As to how to thaw frozen milk, it's very easy.
Method 1 (when you are not in a hurry)
Leave the milk overnight in the refrigerator and it will thaw. If there are lumps, put the milk bag in tap water and they will melt very fast. If you want to hasten the process, "rub" the lumps in the bag. If the lumps are small enough to pass through the feeding bottle, just transfer everything into bottle and warm as usual.
Method 2
Immerse the milk bag in tap water, once the tap water become cold, change the water and repeat the process. I do this usually twice or max thrice and the milk usually melts in 15-20 mins. Like I said before, you can "rub" the bag if you want the milk to melt faster.

I use to be more kan cheong and use my warmer to warm water to 40 deg then use the water to thaw milk but i think it's not very much faster than method 2.

 

[lingerbell]

Ageed with dont't use the hot water as hot water will destroy the breast milk nutrients. I use the cool tap water to thaw the milk from fridge (keep in refrigerator) for about 4 hours. The milk will totally thaw after 4 hours. When I’m going to feed my baby, I will take out the milk from refrigerator and put into warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes (will change the water 2 times as the warm water will turn out to be cool water after 5 minutes).
I dont’t know whether this is the correct way, but I found that this is quite work to thaw the breast milk. Hope this work to you also.[/font]

I did the same method as you

jesstan: if there are still lumps of ice, i just pack the lumps of ice together and bring it to daycare/

lingerbell & pangsn7376: when i said hot water, not the hot hot right out of the thermal flask. sorry if im unclear. i normally stand the hot water out of the thermal flask for 10 to 15 minutes until it's warm enough for me to put my hand in and not be burnt then put the bottle in.

Tks for the clarification

 

[littlemoomoo]

Hi mummies,
From what I have read, its best to warm breast milk at 40 deg celsius. I invested in a pigeon warmer when I realised hot water will destroy some of the nutrients.

For the frozen milk, I keep max 3 mths in the freezer although supposeddly, it can last up to 6 mths. Once thawed, it has to be used within 24hrs.

The following is taken from MOH 2002 Guidelines on breastfeeding:
Store breastmilk following the recommended guidelines:
Location and temperature Time
Milk stored at 25°C 4 hr
Milk in a cooler with ice pack (15°C) 24 hr
Fresh milk in refrigerator (4°C) 48 hr
Previously thawed milk in refrigerator (4°C) 24 hr
Frozen milk:
-Freezer with separate door from 3 - 6 months
refrigerator
- Deep freezer (-20°C)
6 -12 months

Thaw breastmilk in the refrigerator or by placing it in warm
water. Do not thaw or warm breastmilk in the microwave oven.
(D/4 - NHMRC, 1998)
.
Give warmed milk straight away and discard any left over. Do
not re-freeze or re-warm breastmilk.
(D/4 - NHMRC, 1998)
_____________________________________________________________________
If anyone is interested, I can email you the pdf copy, just let me know at igal_76@yahoo.com.sg


As to how to thaw frozen milk, it's very easy.
Method 1 (when you are not in a hurry)
Leave the milk overnight in the refrigerator and it will thaw. If there are lumps, put the milk bag in tap water and they will melt very fast. If you want to hasten the process, "rub" the lumps in the bag. If the lumps are small enough to pass through the feeding bottle, just transfer everything into bottle and warm as usual.
Method 2
Immerse the milk bag in tap water, once the tap water become cold, change the water and repeat the process. I do this usually twice or max thrice and the milk usually melts in 15-20 mins. Like I said before, you can "rub" the bag if you want the milk to melt faster.

I use to be more kan cheong and use my warmer to warm water to 40 deg then use the water to thaw milk but i think it's not very much faster than method 2.

Can't rewarm the milk? I usually rewarm it as my girl is a slow drinker and milk turns cold halfway. The rewarmed milk is usually discarded 1 hr later if she doesn't drink it anymore. Is it ok to do so?

Littlemoomoo

 

[saintbaby]

Can't rewarm the milk? I usually rewarm it as my girl is a slow drinker and milk turns cold halfway. The rewarmed milk is usually discarded 1 hr later if she doesn't drink it anymore. Is it ok to do so?

Littlemoomoo

hmm.. normally i don't rewarm the milk. Cos it's no good to keep on warming the milk. What i do is, if baby drinks halfway and stops for a while, i will just put the bottle back into the warmer (without turning on the switch as the water will still be hot). I will discard all BM that is not finished after 1 hour.

 

[adelynn]

Can't rewarm the milk? I usually rewarm it as my girl is a slow drinker and milk turns cold halfway. The rewarmed milk is usually discarded 1 hr later if she doesn't drink it anymore. Is it ok to do so?

Littlemoomoo

i usually don't rewarm milk, with the water that i used to warm up milk, ill just put it back into the water and stand. babies do not need to drink very hot milk, generally about room temp should be sufficient. if my girl decides not to finish her milk and want to continue later,ill give her a fresh bottle.

 

[igal_76]

Supposedly it's not good to rewarm but for my son, when his drinking pattern wasnt established initially, what i did was put the leftover milk back in the warmer at 40 deg (which actually is not very warm) and try to give it to him again within 1-2 hr. He was okay with it and it didnt happen quite often. And I used my hubby as guinea pig to taste the milk cos I dont dare to do it muhaha

 

[JessTan]

Supposedly it's not good to rewarm but for my son, when his drinking pattern wasnt established initially, what i did was put the leftover milk back in the warmer at 40 deg (which actually is not very warm) and try to give it to him again within 1-2 hr. He was okay with it and it didnt happen quite often. And I used my hubby as guinea pig to taste the milk cos I dont dare to do it muhaha

hi mummies,
that means we can't even use hot water to heat up milk but purely warm water?

 

[jas2909]

Hot water will destroy the milk nutrients.. as a simple guideline if u're unclear how warm is acceptable.. u can try dip ur finger in the water for a few minutes without wanting to withdraw it immediately the water temperature is ok to warm the milk up.. of coz the down side is that there are some people which are more immune to hot stuff too..

 

[igal_76]

At first, I placed hot water in a mug and put the bottle in. Many a time, my son couldn't wait and cried a lot while waiting for the milk. I decided to invest in a warmer and keep the milk constantly warm and ready for his feeds.
According to the instructions given for the pigeon warmer, 40 degrees is the optimal temp though sometimes if I'm in a hurry, I adjust up accordingly.

 

[JessTan]

At first, I placed hot water in a mug and put the bottle in. Many a time, my son couldn't wait and cried a lot while waiting for the milk. I decided to invest in a warmer and keep the milk constantly warm and ready for his feeds.
According to the instructions given for the pigeon warmer, 40 degrees is the optimal temp though sometimes if I'm in a hurry, I adjust up accordingly.

so placing in the pigeon warmer is fine?
Maybe i should get one myself..