How to warm breast milk from the refrigerator

The life of modern women is filled with a huge number of events. Many active mothers do not want to fall out of life after giving birth and stay all the time with the baby. They have to combine work, family, child care, household chores. Fortunately, a huge number of useful household appliances allow them to do so. You can throw dirty diapers in the washing machine, food in the slow cooker, run a robot vacuum cleaner and that's it. All household chores are done by themselves. However, taking care of children is not so simple. If a young mother leaves home, she should take care of what her little child will eat, staying with her grandmother or nanny.

Of course, the easiest way to feed the child adapted mixture. However, why do this if the mother has a lot of her useful and irreplaceable milk.Everyone knows that breast milk is involved in the emergence of strong immunity, protects against the development of various allergic reactions. And in general, if a woman is not yet going to complete breastfeeding, why give a mixture? You just need to know how to express, store and reheat the milk.

How to collect and store breast milk

If a woman leaves home and leaves her child for no longer than 6 hours, she can pre-pump fresh milk and leave it at room temperature. Such milk does not lose its properties and is absolutely safe. If the mother leaves the crumbs for a longer period of time, the milk should be placed in the refrigerator. Such milk is stored no more than four days. Before you give milk to the baby, it must be heated.

It so happens that the mother will have long-term treatment, surgery and other reasons for which for some time she will not be able to feed her child. Then in advance for her, for a few weeks you need to stock up with a large amount of breast milk. To do this, in the pharmacy you need to buy special containers of small size, approximately 100-150 ml. The size is not accidental - children eat up to half a year just that much for one feeding, and since it is impossible to reheat milk again, this volume of container is very convenient.In addition, special containers are made of safe plastic, which does not change the taste and smell of the product.

You can strain the milk by hand or with the help of a breast pump. Women who go to work do it during the lunch break in order to free up their full breasts. Strained milk should be placed in the freezer. There it can be stored for up to several months. This way you can make decent stocks, especially if a woman has a lot of milk. This allows you to feed the child, regardless of the maternal presence.

How to warm up breast milk

Breast milk should not be boiled. At the same time it loses its vitamins, it becomes useless. If milk is frozen, it should be thawed gradually, without sudden temperature changes. Simply put the milk container in the freezer in the fridge. When it melts completely, it can be heated. You can do this in various ways.

Hot water
This is the easiest and best way to heat a bottle of milk. Just put it under running hot water and shake it periodically.Milk will be warm in a couple of minutes. It so happens that you need to immediately warm the frozen milk, and there is no time for long thawing in the refrigerator. In this case, you need to place a container with milk under a stream of cool water. And only after the milk has completely melted, it can be heated with hot running water. This is done in order to preserve useful enzymes.

Water bath
Breast milk can be heated with a water bath. To do this, put on a fire pot with water, wait for it to boil. After that, place the smaller dish on top so that its bottom is above the steam. Boil the pan should not be much, otherwise the milk will warm unevenly. This is the safest way to heat the food, because there are no extraordinarily high temperatures with a water bath.

Special heater
There is a special device that works on a couple. It is multifunctional and very useful for a young mother. It can be used as a sterilizer for bottles, as well as for heating cold milk. In the future, when the baby begins to eat complementary foods, this device can be used as a steamer for making lean food.

The bottle warmer heats the milk very quickly and safely. The main thing is that it does not allow overheating and gives a signal that the milk is ready when its temperature reaches the norm.

Stir the milk thoroughly, because it may not be completely warmed. Whatever method of heating your breast milk you use, do not forget to check it before you give the bottle to the baby. Put a few drops of liquid on your wrist - the milk should be warm and comfortable.

Is it possible to warm breast milk in the microwave

On this subject there is a lot of controversy. When milk is heated in the microwave, it loses all its beneficial properties, vitamins, enzymes. Such milk, of course, is not harmful, but absolutely useless. In addition, the microwave can warm up the food unevenly, which can lead to overheating if it is not shaken well before feeding. Watch your time carefully. Do not keep the milk in the microwave for more than a minute - it can be curtailed, which will lead to problems with the baby’s chair. Let warming up in the microwave oven be possible for you only in the most acute situation - when the baby needs to eat here and now.

Council for the storage and heating of breast milk

There are a few tips that are useful when storing and heating milk.

1. Do not store breast milk on the refrigerator door. The temperature is higher there, besides the door is constantly opening, and the milk is poured over with hot air. This impairs its properties. It is better to store breast milk in the depths of the refrigerator.
2. Thawed milk can be used not only for self-eating. They can be diluted porridge, add it to the mashed potatoes. It is not only useful - breast milk in food allows the baby to feel the familiar taste and begin to eat complementary foods with pleasure.
3. Sometimes after defrosting milk loses its usual taste and color. This is normal, nothing wrong with that.
4. If you notice that the milk is divided into layers, do not worry, this is also normal. So, by the way, you can determine the fat content of your milk. The thicker the top layer, the fatter the milk.
5. If you are afraid of giving your baby too hot milk, measure the temperature of the liquid with a thermometer. The temperature should not be above 37 degrees.
6. Milk should not be reheated or frozen.

Breast milk for a baby is food and drink.With proper freezing, milk retains 95% of its beneficial properties. Proper heating of the milk will help you not to deprive the child of valuable vitamins, even if you are not around.

Video: freezing and storage of breast milk