When you refrigerate your breast milk or freeze it and then let it thaw back out, you'll notice a white residue that often sticks to the sides of your bottles or milk storage bag.  That's the fat in your breast milk, it's perfectly normal for breast milk to separate when cooled.

When you give the bottle to your baby, be sure to gently swirl the bottle around to mix the important fat back into the milk.  Do not vigorously shake the milk to mix it together as some research says this breaks down some of the milk proteins.

Most spouses aren't going to understand completely what you're going through when you're balancing taking care of baby and pumping. That's why it's important to talk about the importance of breast milk with your spouse and why you want to pump breast milk.  Showing your spouse why this is so important to you will help them understand and provide support for your decision.

Talk about why you're pumping.  This is also very helpful, when a mom decides to exclusively pump because you will run into questions and comments from others like... Are you breastfeeding? Breastfeeding is so much easier, Pumping is SO much more work etc, why don't you just use formula?  Decide how you want to respond to these questions in advance, remember its up to you to decide what you want to reveal.  Some moms simply answer "my baby gets breast milk" while others choose to provide in-depth explanations of why they chose to pump and the importance of breast milk.  It's important to let your spouse know your feelings and responses to this question in case they encounter them and so they can show support when they're with you and you're asked questions.

Tell your spouse how he can be helpful and make pumping easier for you - taking night time feedings, washing pump parts, etc.  Many spouses want to be supportive or helpful but don't know how.

The most important part is to communicate!  With a new baby, less sleep, and plenty of changes happening in your house this is no time to assume your spouse has mind-reading capabilities. 

Happy Pumping!

Yes, if you give your baby a bottle of breast milk and they don't finish the bottle, you may leave the bottle out and offer it again within 2 hours.   Some may argue this is just a rule for formula and not breast milk, we recommend throwing the bottle out after 2 hours because bacteria from saliva can for in the nipple of the bottle.

If the bottle has been heated or warmed, you need to use the bottle or toss the unused amount after 2 hours.  Do NOT put the bottle back in the refrigerator.

It's important to keep breast milk in the right temperature range, leave it in your diaper bag on a hot summer day and you risk the milk going bad if it's not drank in time.  If you're going for more than 2 hours or so you have to keep the bottle cool, but then if you're bottle is kept cool - how do you warm it up while you are out?

• Pump in the Car.  I had a car adapter for my pump and was always pumping on the go.  It also came in handy when we went to family outings in the park or long day trips.  I pumped in the car right before arriving or excused myself to go pump on those day-long outings.  When I finished pumping I made a quick bottle and was ready for the next feeding because fresh milk can last up to 8 hours (if you keep it out of the sun).
  
  
• Bottle Coolers.  If you're going to be gone for several hours and need to keep your milk cool, you'll find LOTS of different coolers made especially for bottles.  I liked the Munchkin Cool Wrap Bottle Bag because it kept the bottles cool for our longer outings.  It claims 13 hours, however I'd say it kept cool for more like 8 hours while riding in a stroller on a 80 degree day. The Munchkin Bottle Bag operates with ice packs that you slip in; I stored my ice packs in the freezer so I was always ready to go.  Other coolers require you to put the entire cooler in the freezer - this may or may not convenient for you.  Also, the Munchkin bag claims to hold 3 standard bottles, I used Avent and could fit two of their bottles in the bag.
  
  
• Ask for Warm Water.  If you are quick running out the door and toss a bottle in a cooler, chances are the bottle will still be cold when you go to serve it.  There are lots of ways to warm a bottle up... warm it in your hands or between your legs, take it out 15-20 minutes before you think you need it, even try serving it chilled (some babies don't mind).  My baby always wanted a warm bottle, so I often would find a nearby Starbucks (why not treat myself too) and request a 1/2 glass of warm/hot water (just about every fast food place will do it too).  I'd drop the bottle in for a minute or less and we would be warmed up and ready to eat. Be sure to ask for 1/2 a glass so you do not overflow the cup when you put the bottle in!
  
  
• Bottle Warmers.  For the on-the-go mom, you can also purchase travel bottle warmers.  They make ones with car adapters and ones with warming packs that you can activate, boil, etc. before putting the bottle in to warm.  Personally I haven't tried many travel warmers, but do know some moms that rave about them.  If you want to save some money, you can warm the bottle in advance and put it in a coolie sleeve (they make tall ones for beer bottles) and it will keep the breast milk fairly warm.  If you do warm the milk be sure to use the bottle within 2 hours.

Determining whether breast milk has gone bad or not is actually not much different that checking your regular milk.  Breast milk is typically a slightly sweet tasting milk (depending on what you previously ate it can change a little).

If you open a bottle or thaw a bag of milk and it smells like its gone bad or tastes sour then it likely has gone bad and should be thrown out.  Many times a baby will reject milk if it does taste like their regular milk (not all babies will reject bad milk).

If you are finding that a lot of your breast milk seems to be bad, you might have extra lipase in your breast milk.  This causes the milk to break down faster than the average milk, hence it goes bad faster.  Don't worry you can still pump and give your baby breast milk, but you should scald your milk before freezing it and pay extra close attention to the breast milk storage guidelines.

No breast pumping Mom ever wants to throw out their "liquid gold," which begs the question... How Long Can Breast Milk Sit Out?  A lot of the answer depends on what happened to the breast milk prior to sitting out. 

Freshly pumped breast milk will usually last about 6-8 hours at room temperature.  This is assuming you don't have lipase issues which break down your milk faster than normal.

Freshly pumped breast milk stored in a cooler with an ice pack is good for about 12 hours before it needs to be refrigerated or giving to your baby.  This is a very loose estimate since cooler and ice pack temps can vary greatly, but it gives you a good idea for instances like pumping at work where you do not have a refrigerator on hand.

Breast milk that has been frozen and then thawed has a MUCH shorter lifespan since some of the breast milk is broken down in the freezing process.  It is best to defrost your breast milk slowly in the refrigerator, which takes about 12 hours.  Once the breast milk is completely thawed it should be used within 24 hours.

Thawed breast milk has a lifespan of about 2 hours at room temperature, after 2 hours it should be discarded.

Once heated (in a glass of warm water or a bottle warmer, never in the microwave) breast milk should be given within the two hour time frame or be discarded as well. Regardless if previously refrigerated or thawed.

Once a bottle has been partially used, it is best to only offer the same bottle within the original two hour time frame that the breast milk was heated or served. Much controversy exists here between LCs, Moms, Experts, etc. because little research exists at the moment.  To avoid bacteria risks we choose to recommend staying within the two hour time frame.

All this being said, it's still best if you plan to freeze the milk to do so within 24 hours and if you're not planning on using fresh milk to refrigerate it as soon as possible.

There is little research on expressed milk and thawing/use, so please remember these are just guidelines.  You milk should not taste sour, most of the time it has a sweeter taste/smell to it.  Although, some mothers have reported a soapy smell/taste once thawed, which is thought to be safe as long as baby will drink it. Also, please note these these guidelines are for full-term healthy babies. 

When to start adding in pumps if you are going back to work is really up to the mom and what her milk/feeding plan is ideally.  I say "ideally" because we all know baby runs the show! 

If you want to maintain breastfeeding and pumping once heading back to work practice  pumping at home the same pumping schedule you plan to have at work for the week or two before you go back, so your body and baby are adjusted.  See if you can have your lunch and break time at work spaced similar to when your baby normally eats. Continue to nurse in the evenings and on weekends.  This method has you pumping for the next day's supply at day care and requires the least amount of storing and pumping.

If you plan to pump exclusively or switch the majority of your sessions to pumping once you start working, start pumping 4-6 weeks before heading back to work.  Once or twice a day add 5 minutes of pumping in after your baby is done nursing. You can start with any session, but I highly recommend starting with yomorning session when your hormone levels are higher.  These extra pumps will signal to your body to make more milk and you'll start to collect any milk in your breast that your baby didn't finish. Continue to pump after every few sessions,  then 2-3 weeks prior to heading back to work (or when you have a little stash of milk built up) you can start swapping feedings for pumping sessions and transition in bottle feeding.

Regardless of the method, it's also a good idea to start bottle feeding at home a week before during the day when your baby will be getting a bottle.  This often helps ease the transition into daycare, so you baby doesn't have to adjust to body feeding and being away from mom at the same time.

Many Exclusively Pumping mom's do not breastfeed because for one reason or another they cannot.  However, if you can get you baby to latch, one of the best methods for unclogging a milk duct is to let your baby do it through nursing.

You can do this by having your baby latch onto the breast that has the clogged duct and let them feed and feed until your breast is completely empty.  A completely empty breast often feels saggy or deflated and has no lumps or hard spots.  Once your breast feels empty continue to let your baby comfort suck (if they like) just to continue to that sucking pressure on your milk duct.

This works best when combined with breast massages while the baby is nursing.

Happy Pumping!

In theory I guess it's possible for men to pump breast milk.  This topic seems to reappear every few years, yet it always intrigues me.  The article goes on to say with nipple stimulation and/or the help of drugs many pumping moms with supply issues take like Reglan or domperidone it may be possible for males to produce milk.

My next question is... whose husband wants to start pumping?   Many pumping moms praise their husbands for being helpful and supportive - my own husband included.  However, I'm pretty sure even mentioning that males might be able to pump milk, he'd drop the freshly washed pumping parts and run for the hills!

Happy Pumping!

click to read full Man Milk Article

This really depends on your pumping plan but here's a few tips & suggestions...

   ~ Keep a day's worth of milk in the fridge and maybe an extra bottle for safety and you can freeze the rest if you're working on building up a "stash of liquid gold"

   ~  Milk is good for up to 3 months in a regular freezer or even longer in a deep freezer.

   ~ Remember thawed milk should be drank in about 24 hours.

   ~ I always took enough milk for the next day out of the freezer the evening before and put it in the fridge. Then in the morning the milk was almost completely defrosted so I made up our bottles for the day at one time.

   ~ If you're planning on quitting pumping and just going to frozen milk plan for about 1,000 ounces a month to be consumed.  This gives you 25-30 oz a day for your baby, plus a little extra for growth spurts, wasted bottles, and mixing into food.

   ~ If you're freezing most of your milk remember to start rotating your stash by using at least some of the milk in the freezer so it doesn't go bad.