Suitable container
For freezing milk, specially designed bags are produced with a scale indicating the volume; they can be connected to a breast pump. But this option is not convenient for everyone. Those mothers who do not use a breast pump use plastic and glass bottles, food containers, and baby food jars for similar purposes.
However, there are certain risks in this case. It is better not to use glass containers at all for freezing milk. Such dishes may crack in the freezer. As for plastic, it should be a material that can be stored in the freezer and does not contain harmful impurities.
For example, polycarbonate is not suitable, since this plastic contains Bisphenol A. If the plastic container is marked “BPA free”, the material is completely safe. New sterile test jars are also suitable as containers.
Why does breast milk smell bad after defrosting?
Quite often you can notice that milk that has been frozen smells. The smell is somewhat reminiscent of a slight smell of soap, which is unpleasant and poorly associated with food. Let us assure you right away that this is a completely normal phenomenon and there is no need to be alarmed. The explanation is quite simple: during defrosting, an active substance is released - lipase, which gradually breaks down the fats of breast milk, and the consequence of this process is an unpleasant odor.
Most often, children do not notice the slight specific smell and do not refuse food. But in rare cases where the child is very susceptible, this can become a problem
In this case, you should pay special attention to the moment of pumping. Hands, container, lid - everything must be sterile, the liquid must be packaged very tightly and immediately stored in the freezer
After defrosting, give it to the child immediately.
Alternatively, to get rid of bad odor, immediately after expressing, place the milk in a pan of water and place on low heat. Wait until bubbles appear in the water at the edge of the pan. This will help prevent unpleasant odors. Keep in mind that this procedure destroys some valuable substances in the milk itself, so do not try to abuse it.
If the milk has a characteristic smell of curdled milk, it will most likely turn sour. You can't feed your baby this kind of milk.
Therefore, be sure to pay attention to the food before feeding your child.
And remember, no matter what difficulties and obstacles you encounter on the way to breastfeeding, do not rush to switch your baby to formula. Try expressing and freezing breast milk. There are no hopeless situations; you and your baby will definitely be able to find the optimal solution for proper nutrition.
Portion volume, freezing rules
Before use, the container must be sterilized in order to have complete confidence in the safety of this storage method. Containers cannot be filled completely. Milk should not occupy more than 3/4 of the volume, because liquids expand during the freezing process.
Freezing rules:
- Freshly expressed milk cannot be immediately put into the freezer, otherwise it will lose some of its nutrients due to the sharp temperature contrast. It is first placed in the refrigerator and only then frozen.
- The container is tightly closed with a lid. If a special sterile bag is used, the air is released from it before filling.
- It is better to freeze milk in small portions of 60, 100, 120 ml (depending on the age of the child). Then you can use it without any residue. Portions can be combined if necessary after thawing or supplemented with fresh breast milk.
If you manage to express a small amount at one time, you can freeze it and replenish it later. First, breast milk is cooled in the refrigerator and then added to a container with a previously frozen portion.
How to express properly
If you decide to stock up on food for storage and freezing, then approach it correctly. Don't fuss, don't rush, and most importantly, don't worry that this behavior will lead to a decrease in milk supply. After making sure that your baby is full, start pumping, collecting it several days in advance, so you can collect the required amount of invaluable liquid. Collecting using a breast pump will not take long and will be less painful; you can use the manual method of expressing.
You should remember about personal hygiene, wash your hands, chest, it is better to take a shower. Dry your breasts using a clean diaper. In case of cracked nipples, before expressing, remove any remaining ointment used in the treatment. In such a situation, the product must be carefully pasteurized. Pasteurization is carried out at a temperature of 60 °C and lasts 30 minutes. Sterilize all breast pump items in a way convenient for you (boiling, microwave), milk collection containers and start collecting.
Expressed milk is not the same as what your baby receives on a daily basis. After the milk has settled, its modification will occur. The product differs in fat content and color, it may separate, but don’t let this scare you, after shaking it will become homogeneous again, and the color depends on the mother’s diet, i.e. from what she ate the day before.
Conditions and terms of storage of frozen breast milk
To store milk correctly, it is necessary to maintain a stable temperature. It is better to place it closer to the back wall, where the temperature hardly changes. The regulator should be set to -20° C.
This is the optimal temperature for storing milk, at which its quality will be fully preserved for 5-6 months. A product valuable to a child will last longer at a lower temperature - up to a year. In this case, some of the beneficial properties of milk will be lost.
How to sterilize a container
Disposable plastic containers are convenient because they do not need to be sterilized, but if you don’t have the money to buy disposable bags all the time? Many mothers use glass jars for this or buy reusable plastic containers
And here we need to pay attention to sterilization. After use, simply washing the jar or container is not enough; milk particles may still remain on them, in which microorganisms quickly begin to multiply
Therefore, before each use, the reusable container must be sterilized.
Glass jars can be processed in a sterilizer, double boiler, microwave, or simply boiled. But how to sterilize a particular plastic container depends on its material. Therefore, it is still worth spending money on branded containers - at least they indicate the composition and method of sterilization.
How to defrost and to what temperature to heat
Breast milk is a delicate product that requires special defrosting. It should thaw gradually. The easiest way is to move the container from the freezer to the refrigerator and let it defrost completely. The process takes, on average, 12 hours (the exact time depends on the size of the portion).
Some people use a microwave for these purposes. In this case, the milk will defrost faster, but will inevitably lose some of its nutrients due to uneven heating. Pediatricians recommend refraining from this method or using it as little as possible. Moreover, when defrosting milk in a microwave oven, it can be overheated, which is best avoided.
Sometimes mothers practice defrosting under running warm water, but it is no better than the microwave option. After defrosting, the milk is heated in a water bath by placing the jar in warm water. Heating temperature – 37° C. You can use a special device used to heat bottles with the mixture. In it, the heating temperature is controlled automatically.
Before giving it to the baby, shake the bottle thoroughly to return the milk to a uniform structure. Milk cannot be re-frozen. Thawed milk can be stored for no longer than 2 hours at room temperature and no more than jokes in the refrigerator.
Of course, there is nothing better for a baby than fresh breast milk, but sometimes there is a need to stock up. This situation may arise due to the mother’s need to leave home for several days or for another reason. For example, if a parent gets sick, milk stored in the freezer will also come to the rescue.
Useful tips
Do not heat thawed breast milk in the microwave or in a ladle. Such milk will not be healthy for the baby. Bring it to the desired temperature - this is 36-37 ° C - it is better in a bottle warmer.
When storing milk, you must indicate the date of expression on the container. When defrosting, you should choose older pieces.
Thawed milk separates into bulk and fat. To return it to its original consistency, you need to mix it carefully. It is more convenient to do this in a bottle from which the baby will be fed.
Milk prepared in the refrigerator can be used to feed the baby within 24 hours. If water was used for defrosting, then the baby needs to be fed within 4 hours after thawing the workpiece.
If the milk is defrosted correctly, the baby will receive all the substances he needs. And this will happen even if mom is not around for some reason.
Why freeze it?
Most mothers choose to stay with their baby and breastfeed breastfeeding. But there are situations in life that force women to be separated from their children:
- going to work;
- business trip;
- departure of a student for a session;
- having to go to hospital with another child;
- illness of the mother, requiring temporary cessation of breastfeeding due to medications, etc.
Close people will help with care and supervision, but what about feeding the child? Freezing breast milk for the entire period of mother’s absence will be a salvation. Do not switch temporarily to formula, depriving the child of the best. So you may not return to breastfeeding.
Some mothers, due to a lack of information, are wary of defrosted food. And in vain.
Studies have shown that frozen breast milk retains almost all of its beneficial properties. After defrosting, the main indicators decrease slightly: lactose, fat, calorie and nitrogen content, and enzyme activity returns. Vitamins and microelements remain largely intact.
The nutritional value of natural baby food remains almost at the same level, allowing you to fully feed and raise a child even in the first six months of life. The limitation, perhaps, exists only in relation to premature infants with low birth weight. Doctors do not recommend separating mothers and freezing milk until they reach normal weight and health levels for their age.
But the main task is to freeze breast milk in compliance with the necessary requirements, starting from pumping and ending with defrosting. If the process is disrupted, there is no guarantee that the nutrition will remain complete.
How to determine quality and safety
Don't panic at the sight of frozen milk because it is different from unfrozen baby food. Frozen has a different consistency, the color and smell change slightly, but this does not mean that it has lost its valuable qualities.
There may be a slight soapy smell and several shades of color (gray, blue, pink). This shouldn't be scary because naturally, as breast milk separates into several layers, the fats rise to the top and the watery part stays at the bottom. The color changes from the dyes present in the mother’s food and changes with temperature changes. Babies do not notice such subtleties and drink mother’s milk with pleasure.
You should pay attention to the presence of a specific sourness in the taste and a rancid smell - these are indicators that the product is unsuitable for consumption.
Now you know all the subtleties in preparing this valuable product for the formation of a milk supply. We learned how to freeze correctly, observing all the necessary technological processes, and not forgetting about personal hygiene products. Choose the right dishes, do not skimp on your child.
For babies, every day of breastfeeding is important, and this period can be extended with the help of frozen mother's milk. This product has an alternative - a dry mixture. But you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to feed your baby natural mother’s milk, which is so necessary for his growth. Even if this product is defrosted, it is much healthier than any milk formula.
