how long does your milk last in the fridge?

[nandodianenicole]

I pumped at work on Thursday and I was off Friday-Monday. Today(Tuesday), my caregiver informed me that the milk I left there on Thursday (and a bit may have been from Wed) was spoiled. I tasted it, it was bad. I cant seem to make my milk last. If I freeze it, it is bad (no matter if I scald or boil it) it is always bad when it thaws. Anyone else have this problem? How long does your milk last?

[lil_miss_understood]

I've never heard of scalding or boiling milk to freeze it. I've always just froze it either straight from a pumping or after it's been in the fridge for a few hours.

This link from kellymom provides the suggested guidelines for breastmilk storage:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

HTH

[nandodianenicole]

I was told (and read) that I should scald or boil my milk prior to freezing due to it having a high lipase content. I had to throw away 200 bags of frozen breastmilk with my dd because it was all bad. I was an overproducer and EPer.
So, that kellymom link says 8 days and mine was only 5-6 days at the most. Is there a better way to keep fresh milk in the fridge? Is it the lipase that makes it go bad so much faster?

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Lipase...who told you that your milk is high in this? Has a medical professional medically tested your milk and gave you results? Typically breast milk seperates the fat rises to the top and the fore milk is on the bottom, if you gently swirl the 2 together then the taste is much different...If you just taste the fatty part of the milk it can seem sour. but really it's not. Breastmilk can stay in the frig for 5-7 days. And in the freezer for up to 6 months. Stored bm can smell odd. But that does not mean it is soured. Please please dont throw away anymore of your milk. If you pumped it and put it right in the frig. or freezed it right away...it is fine. Really it is. Maybe your child care provider is not familular with how bm should smell. It has a distinct smell after a few days. But this does not mean that it is bad. Scalding or boiling your milk will cause it to go bad. It takes all the immunities out, actually it kills all the good stuff. No need at all to heat bm other than in a coffee cup of warm water. The higher the heat to warm it the more likely for it to sour. Big hugs to you.

[RachelGS]

Excess lipase CAN make milk spoil quickly, and the OP is correct that scalding her milk will reduce the lipase content.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/l...essedmilk.html

[superlori]

Here's some more info on storage.

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org....ng&Storing.pdf

[CathMac]

Is this a recent development?

Originally Posted by nandodianenicole

... If I freeze it, it is bad (no matter if I scald or boil it) it is always bad when it thaws. Anyone else have this problem? How long does your milk last?

Has this been happening for as long as you've been pumping and storing or is it possible that it correlates with the warmer weather? It may be that your milk has a shorter shelf life because it needs to be treated more carefully in the heat. For instance: putting the ice on top of the milk when transporting (because heat rises and cold falls), keeping the milk deep in the fridge (rather than on the door which you might be able to get away with in the winter for convenience), perhaps freezing it after 2 or 3 days rather than 7 or 8 days, etc. I would also talk with DCP about how she handles it once she gets it.

Otherwise if it is a definite lipase issue then check out Kellymom.com regarding how to scald it before storing it. I'm not sure but you may need to scald it as soon as possible after pumping to prevent the lipase (enzyme) from starting to break down the fat. And it may need to be frozen sooner than it would be otherwise once you scald it because the immunological factors have been killed by the heat.

~Cath

[nandodianenicole]

It's not a recent developement, as I said, I had to throw away frozen bm with my dd and that was over the winter. I pumped constantly with her, so the milk in the fridge was always fresh.
My caregiver is my grandmother, and we both tasted the milk and it was spoiled. We did however, mix Wed's and Thursdays milk together to consolidate bottles. Maybe that was the issue. I will try it again. Every other week I have Friday-Monday off, so I have some testing to do.
Thanks for all your input. Any suggestions are always appreciated.