A question about EBM *New Question!*

[Roseii]

I have expressed a bottle for DD2, I did the first half at about 9am today, decanted into another bottle and put it in the fridge. I then did the other half about 3pm and decanted it into the same bottle as the 9am expressed milk, put it back in the fridge.

How long do I have to use this milk as it's two mixed expressed loads?

TIA xxx

[anna*]

You time it from the first (oldest) milk - so 3 days in the fridge

[Roseii]

Brill, thank you-I thought it was 24 hours for some reason but hoped it was longer!

Also-if I warm it (in a cup of hot water) how long will it last if she doesn't take it all in one go?

[anna*]

Once it's been warmed up it needs to be used up in 4 hours.

[Roseii]

Great, thanks

[mkaes]

Oh, didn't know once it was warmed it could be used up to 4 hours!

[Roseii]

ok one more question! Going for a meal Sat eve and would like to take ebm along for DD2. It's Thursday morning now so I will start pumping today as it could take me 2 or 3 sessions to get a decent sized bottle for her.

So I am confused...Should I store all 3 lots separately in the fridge? I had been adding new ebm to refridgerated ebm but then read on the internet that I shouldn't be doing that

If I do have to store it all separately, when should I put them altogether?

TIA x

[koe2moe]

Hi Charli, i would put the later ebm in the fridge separately to let it chill and then mix it with the earlier ebm later in the day or night because every time you mix the fresh ebm with the chilled one, you're warming it up ever so slightly.  That will not be good for hygiene and safety.  If you mix all chilled ebm together, they are all done on the same day, like anna said, they can keep in the fridge for 3 days.  HTH xx

[Roseii]

thanks Koe So I have pumped this morning, put it in the fridge. And I may well pump Fri and Sat morning too, put them in the fridge seperately. Then I'm OK to mix all 3 lots, chilled, yes? To use on Saturday night. It's v confusing lol! x

[koe2moe]

It's v confusing lol!

lol indeed... especially when some of those sites only tell what to do without explaining why so that we, not long post partum with sleep deprived mind, can work it out logically!!  lol... but i must admit, i hated expressing lol

[mkaes]

I put in the fridge separately, chilled the same temperature and then mix. (If I couldn't mix, I would never make a full bottle). It is very confusing, especially since different sources say different things!

[Roseii]

Thanks mkaes, that's what I'll do