How to Store Breast Milk

Store the milk in clean bottles with screw caps, hard plastic cups that have tight caps, or nursing bags (pre-sterilized bags meant for breast milk).You can buy these items at stores like Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. Whichever you use, make sure the bottles or bags are closed tightly and securely to prevent leakage or spoilage.

It's easiest if you store your breast milk in amounts that you use at each feeding to avoid wasting it. For example, if your baby consumes 6 ounces in a feeding, put 6 ounces of breast milk in the storage container.

Write the date on the bottles or bags so that you can be sure not to use any expired milk. The general rule is that breast milk can be stored:

• At room temperature (less than 77?F) for 4 to 8 hours
• At the back of a refrigerator for 3 to 8 days
• At the back of a freezer for up to 3 months

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