is my breastmilk ok if it took 2 days to freeze?

[*Christina*]

I just notice that a bag of milk that I put into the deep freezer 2 days ago did not get frozen and was slushly (partially freezing, getting there, etc). I since moved it to a different part of the freezer and it is not rock solid.  However is this milk still good? 

On another note, I notice that some of my bags of milk are creamy white and some are watery white.  What does this mean - do some bags have more hindmilk (aka the creamy stuff) than the other?  All my bags of milk are all from the same time on different days.

Thanks for any help.

[A pair of Charlies]

Hmmmm. I am not sure. If it was me, I would pitch it if only because I would be on red alert when I gave the milk and wouldn't be able to relax in case there had been something wrong with it, then beating myself up for it if there was. Phew, rambly!

If it was me, I would ditch it for my own piece of mind because I know I would constantly worry about it.

Okay. So some bags are creamy and others more watery and white? When you express, do you express the whole breast each time or just x minutes? Just trying to work out why it is.

The creamy is usually the fattier milk and watery the foremilk - the milk all starts out the same in the breast and is essentially, the same milk except that as the milk passes through the ducts, the fattier molecules tend to stick to the sides a little more while the watery foremilk molecules flow through more easily. So, what happens is that the feed at the start has more foremilk particles and at the end of the feed, the babe works harder to get that milk through - drawing out the fattier molecules that build up. So I am told. 

So, if you express the entire breast - the balance should be right. And if it isn't, may be it's something we need to look at?

What do you think?

Charlotte

[First Time Mom]

If the milk were slushy then it would have sat cold enough before it froze. I think I would only be concered if it were left outside of a fridge (then I'd toss it). I pump nightly and put the container in the fridge, then the 2nd night I pump a 2nd container and then in the morning I combine the 2 into one bag and put it in the deep freezer. So, the milk has been left cold in my fridge for 2 days before going into the freezer. I've been doing this for a year now and have been using the frozen milk since ds was 6 mths old for his cereal with no issues.

[*Christina*]

it was slushly so it it would have been cold enough before it froze.  i marked the bag so when I start going thru my frozen milk, I'll probably skip that bag or use that bag last.  it's probably okay but for peace of mind, I'll use it last. Thanks ladies.

as for the creamy &  non creamy part, I'm not sure.  I express first thing in the morning, 5 mins double pump, and viola, milk for storage.  I'll keep an eye on it tomorrow and see what tomorrow mixture looks like.  maybe it was just extra creamy one night.

[First Time Mom]

I always pump at around the same time each night and it often looks different. Sometimes it looks thick and creamy, other times more watery, and other times it even looks like it has a blue hue to it. I don't time it when I pump (I wish I could do it in 5 minutes though!) and I figured it was because of what I eat and also because of what is left in the breast after ds's last feed of the day which varies in length on the breast depending on how hungry/thirsty he is.

[*Christina*]

5 mins sounds good eh? The flip side is that I easily get lumpy boobs and engorgaement.  Plus, I leak like there is no tomorrow.  Hence I really limit myself to how long I pump.  I'm on holidays right now and left my lecithin at home.  not good at all.

Anyways, thanks for your help. 

[First Time Mom]

The lumpiness and engorgement will settle down in time. Wish I could say the same about the leaking, I'm still leaking at 13 months of bfing! I don't remember leaking with dd. What does lecithin do for bfing? Does it help supply or something? Just curious.
Enjoy your holidays!!

[firsttimemummy]

my milk used to separate  when i froze it and it seemed ok (just gave it a shake) - DS took it fine and had no ill effects - think it's just the fatty bits separating ....

[A pair of Charlies]

I'm in the "swirl don't shake" camp 

Research suggests that shaking the milk breaks reduces the BM's super BM abilities. It's less pleasing to the eye when it seperates but there isn't anything wrong with it. A gentle swirl is thought to be ok.

...  shaking isn't recommended as it denatures the shaped molecules of the protective proteins in the milk, leaving only the pieces - amino acids - the parts.  Lactoferrin, lysozyme, and other protective components work their protection magic when they are in their original shaped molecular structure. So, it's best to gently swirl the milk if at all. I was told (when DS was at the end of his EBM road) that it was best in its separated form; while it's not pleasing to the eye, it's more similar to the feed itself. But I don't know / haven't seen any research on that. 

The common explanation why not to shake the milk is this: Imagine a set of pop-beads assembled into a necklace or bracelet. When the beads are acting as a bracelet or necklace, they are doing their job as protective elements. When you break apart the beads, you have in your hand many individual chunks of amino acids which are then digested. Cellular components are also susceptible to damage by physical stress. After all, they are living cells.

Now I feel like a right old anorak 

[*Christina*]

I was told lecithin helps thin out the milk so as to prevent them from clogging up in the boobies.  Thin out might not be the best way to describe it but something along those line.