Storage Guidelines of Expressed Breast Milk:
Freshly-Expressed Milk
Warm Room : 3-4 hours
Room Temperature: 4-8 hours
Insulated Cooler/Ice Packs : 24 hours
Refrigerated Milk
Refrigerator (fresh milk) : 3-8 days
Refrigerator (THAWED milk) : 24 hours
Frozen Milk (do not refreeze!)
Self-Contained Freezer of Refrigerator : 6 months
Deep Freezer : 12 months
Mixing Expressed Milk:
Only mix milk at or near the same temperatures.
Freshly-expressed milk can be added to room temperature milk within 4-8 hours. Otherwise, refrigerate milk and then combine. Add refrigerated or partially frozen milk to already frozen milk.
Oops! I didn’t use/need what I HEATED!
Thawed milk needs to be used within 24 hours. Keep refrigerated until next feeding. Heated or warmed milk needs to be used within 2-3 hours. Simply smell milk if you think it may be bad. Don’t toss the milk! Use “bad” milk in the baby’s bath!
Does the milk have a metallic taste or smell funny?
See link for more info:
