I've heard that breastmilk can be good for only 3 days in the fridge, and I've also heard it can be good for 4 weeks. That's a big difference and I'm trying to figure out which one is right.
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I've seen best by 3 days, okay through day 7 or 8. I think it would be spoiled by 2 weeks, let alone 4. I usually taste mine if I use it past day 5, just in case. So far, I haven't gone past 8 days, and I pitched some funky milk that was 7 days old.
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optimal at 3 days... Still ok for 4-5 days though if need be. I store the bottles at the very back of the fridge too.
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The sources that seem trustworthy to me (kellymom, the medela pump guidebook) say about 6-8 days so that is what i go by. I always taste it it is close to a week old to make sure it is okay.
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if i don't use by 3rd day, i freeze.
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I freeze within the first 24 and use what's in the fridge no longer than 8 days (brought milk back from vacation that DS did jot drink which fell into this category). The was the recommendation I found on the CDC website, as well as kellymom.com.
I try to use what's in my fridge within 24 hours also but have learned not to freak if it goes past that time frame. I've also heard that breastmilk is only spoiled if it smells spoiled and that some breastmilk is better than no breastmilk.
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In the NICU we go by use by 48 hours, if not it goes in the freezer. 4 weeks is how long we let it sit in our fridge freezer before we discard, and we discard after 6 months of storage in a chest freezer.
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i heard no more than 72 hours. although in the past, they used to say 24 hours.
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Once I had a feeding/pumping schedule down, I'd freeze my pumped milk into as many 6 oz bags as I could get whole ones and separate the leftover into single-serving bottles I stored in the fridge. I had about 3-4 bottles going at once in the fridge and I'd feed the oldest first. So I guess the oldest refrigerated milk I'd feed him was about 3 days old.
Oh, and if the breastmilk is bad, you will know it! Just sniff.
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My breastfeeding class said 6-6-6. That's 6 hours on the counter, 6 days in the fridge, and 6 months in the freezer.
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I like the 6-6-6 rule.
I try to use within 3-4 days but definitely within a week (I also store in the back of our really cold fridge).
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@anbanan15: I was also going to reference kellymom.com that is what I go by. I try to use or freeze within 24 hours but sometimes it goes to 3 days.
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@MsMini: quick question... If they start feeding breastmilk but don't finish, how long til I need to discard the milk? Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!
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@tequiero21: In NICU we go by the 1 hour rule, they have 1 hour to finish the milk or else we discard it.
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my litte medela magnet that has the breastmilk guidelines states that at
32-39 degrees F, freshly expressed milk can last 5-7 days & previously frozen, thawed milk is good for 24 hours -
@MsMini: thx! unfortunately, that's what I figured... Liquid gold, right?
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15 comments