How much milk can you express with a manual pump at a time??? At first I could only get about an ounce from each breast. Now I am able to get 2 from my right breast but still only 1 from my left. Even this doesn't sound like it's very much. I couldn't b/f my first and I pumped then too but only got an ounce and a half from both breast together every 3 hours.
How much can you get and how do you do it????
I would like to store some away for emergencies and date nights but I can't seem to get that much. My little man is 7 weeks old today and drinks a lot as he is very big. (13 or 14 lbs now). I don't know how much he eats at a feed anyway.
I am so confused :confused: Any insight would be helpful.....

If you're getting 2 ounces a time (one from each breast) you're doing good!! Breast feeding full time and pumping to start a freezer stash is hard. You're esstentially going to end up increasing your supply because you're pumping more then your baby needs, so it can take a few weeks to get going.

I always store my milk in the freezer in 2 ounce bags. I made a goal to store 2 ounces day. It doesn't seem like much, but it add up. I have a whole shelf now EBM. I'm not sure how much, but I would guess about 40 ounces.

It also depends on your pump. I had luck with the Avent manual pump, but when I needed a bigger one for my supply issues I got the madela double electric. I can get about 3 ounces in 15 minutes with that one. I haven't tried their manual pump, yet.

I do know that if you pump at the same time every day that your body will adjust and make enough milk for that session, even if you breastfeed first. I ALWAYS pump after her first feed of the morning and before I got to bed. I get about 2 ounces each time. I put 2 ounces in the freezer and make a 2 ounce bottle incase I go out the next day and she stays with hubby. I think over time my body has adjusted to the added demand at those times and compensates, because before pumping in the evening was not very fruitful.

Just keep in mind that if you're gung-ho about pumping and you stop you may end up with an over supply because you're baby may not need that much. It works out good though, because if you can squeeze in a pumping session per day you'll end up with a good stash. I wish I had started sooner. It's comforting to know I have a days worth in there incase anything happens.

;) I have not had any luck with the "manual" pump. i use my electric pump and I get about 4 ounces from each breast every 3 hours...I am strictly pumping and bottle feeding. also use a hospital grade Medula doble pump.I get about 8 ounces a pump. I have about 54 ounces in the fridge now..I am an over producer. ;)

I think if you are getting that much AFTER breastfeedng you are doing great!

I don't use a manual pump...I have the Medela Single Electric.

When I first started pumping (DD was 3 weeks old), I think it took about a couple weeks of pumping and figuring out a pumping schedule for my body to start making more and figuring out when the best time was for me to pump.

I feed DD off 1 breast at a time (I don't switch sides halfway into a feed) and have been doing it this way since DD was about 5 days old (she 9 mo now). When DD started to sleep really well thru the night, that's when both breasts would be full in the morning...and that's when my freezer stash was serious business. I'd feed DD off 1 breast and pump the other. I could pump 6-7 oz off 1 breast every single morning consistently as long as there was no growth spurt going on, I was eating & drinking well, and not stressed out. The 1 pumping session off 1 breast in the morning was the only pumping I did in a day.

Basically, I took advantage of DD sleeping all night and pumping like a madman...it was not fun to pump that much extra milk off myself...but I got such a good stash that I decided to keep the momentum going and pump as much as I could so I wouldn't have to pump much in the future.

I'd take pumping days off by feeding DD a little off 1 breast to take the pressure off for a while...and feeding her off the other as her meal.

At one point, I had 250 oz of EBM in my freezer (no kidding!). That was 3 months ago (when DD was 6 months old). I haven't pumped in 3 months now because of all the hard-core pumping I did...mostly in months 3, 4, and 5. I have so much frozen EBM, I don't think I'll need to pump again before DD is weaned.

I guess my recommendation is to try out different routines that fit into your day and keep going with what is convenient and comfortable; otherwise, you might come to hate pumping real quick.

I'm really happy with the way I did it. I made a ton of milk over a few months time...it was kind of gruelling at the time...but I can look back and it seems like time has flown by...and it's over now. I can leave DD with my H pretty often...or I can take DD to the mall or wherever and bottle feed her in public (I won't BF in public), and I won't have to pump again unless there's a special circumstance.

That's how I did/do it.

Wow! 6 or 7 ounces each breast?! That's amazing. My ds is 7 weeks today and I just had him weighed at the Doctor's this afternoon. He's a whoppin' 13lbs 12 ozs!!! :eek: My Doc said he is a very big baby for a b/f baby. He said I must have plenty of high calorie/fatty milk.
Anyway, I have two more quick questions in regards to this topic.
1. How do/did you store your milk in the freezer (I saw bags that were $15.00 for 25 pre-sterilizer baggies!!!??? CND$) There's got to be a cheaper way to store it.
2. How about EBM in the fridge? How long is it good for? If I pumped at 12:00pm one day could I feed it to him the next afternoon? (24hrs).

Thanks girls.

LOL! Actually, when I first started pumping, I'd read this board & see people were pumping that much and I serioulsy thought there was no freakin' way! Give yourself some time. You'll be doing it before you know it. That's what happenned to me.

1. How do/did you store your milk in the freezer (I saw bags that were $15.00 for 25 pre-sterilizer baggies!!!??? CND$) There's got to be a cheaper way to store it.

I got the gerber brand storage bags. They are about $5.00 for 25 bags...ziplock style. I liked them & had no problems. They were the only brand I used, so I can't comment on any others.

I stored mostly in amounts of 2oz, 3oz, and 4 oz. Mostly 3 & 4 oz after DD got past a couple months old & ate more. I used to make 1oz bags, but didn't use them very often when still bottle feeding. I made & used more 1oz when I introduced solids & used the EBM for making cereal.

After pumping, I bagged the milk, then refrigerated for at least 30 mins before putting in the freezer. The shock of warm to freezing supposedly kills off more of the antibodies than necessary. It should go from warm, to cool, to freezing.

You can thaw milk and heat it up once...but you aren't supposed to take that heated milk and chill/heat for a second time. Again, too much shock on the milk and the antibodies die off. It's not UNSAFE for the baby to drink if you heat a second time...you are just depleting the good stuff in the milk...so what's the point, basically.

I marked the bags with the date and oz in a sharpie marker, then filled the bags with however many ozs, shut the bag, and refrigerated/froze them laying flat in my freezer. If you lay them flat, they freeze flat, are all uniform, and store/organize much neater & compact in the freezer than small little odd-shaped blocks of milk at the bottom of a bag.

Do not rely on the markings on the bags for knowing how much milk you put in...they aren't accurate and I never did figure out why they even put the markings on the bags. Use your own bottle, measuring cup, or whatever to measure the milk, then pour into the bags.


2. How about EBM in the fridge? How long is it good for? If I pumped at 12:00pm one day could I feed it to him the next afternoon? (24hrs).

This recommendation has changed over time. 24 hours is definitely good. 48 hours is definitely good. I even think I read that it can stay up to 4-5 days in the refrigerator, bit I never researched if that was the newest info or if it's older info. I never tested that 4-5 days because if I thawed milk, I used it...so I didn't worry too much about that length of time.



Something more to add...I talked to both my Ped & lactation consultant about this and both agreed...I said in my above post I pump/feed off 1 breast at a time. By doing that, I was confident each batch of pumped milk had a good amount of all 3 stages of milk (foremillk, milk, and hindmilk)...so every batch I froze was consistent. No 1 bag of milk was mostly foremilk, or mostly 1 of anything...it was all a mix of everything so baby gets enough fat in every bag.

My Medela pump bottles hold 5 oz...so I had to get a second pumping bottle going when the first was full. I made sure I mixed both bottles of milk together so the fat was distributed evenly before I bagged, refrigerated, then froze. Hope that makes sense.

Those are my tips.

Gayle - Did you pump at the same time as feeding DD? Like held the pump there while she ate?

My DS is 10 wks...I'd like to be able to figure out a pumping schedule to store milk. We give him a bottle of EBM or formula instead of nursing for his night feed (around 7 or 8) before bed and then I pump around 11pm which I get 4oz. This is usually for the next night's bottle but I still want extra for when we are out during the day. I am not sure how to go about building up this extra.

baby#2 - milk in the fridge is good up to a week - those are the new guidelines from medela

Wow Gayle! Thanks so much for the info.
I also am wondering how and when I can build up that extra to start storing. I feel guilty even trying because I feel like I am stealing food from my little man. I try to pump right after a feed to stimulate the amount of milk production and I pump between feeds sometimes too so I get all the milk in one pump. I find however, that I have to feed him the pumped milk anyway because he still seems so hungry after the next feed. FRUSTRATING!
I can't even imagine getting that much milk at one time! What a dream that would be. I'm impressed when I can get 2 ozs from one breast at a time! LOL.
BTW - I have an Avent ISIS manual pump. I was considering spending the money and getting an electric. Maybe this would help get more milk out at a time. Not sure what to do there. I seem to have a problem with let down in my left breast especially. Maybe I'm not using the pump properly?

I would definatly get a good pump..it will make ALL the difference in the world! I used a Playtex electric pump that was not worth 2 cents, then rented a good hospital grade pump. I produce twice the amount of milk and can empty both breasts in under 10 minutes. It has also really boosted my milk production.

I used to pump al lthe time.. meaning I pumped and bottle fed breatsmilk instead of breastfeeding. Since I had to pump alot I bought one of those heavy duty pumps. I found it was much faster, and I produced alot more milk than I did with a manual pump.

laurabelle...when I was pumping at my heaviest, I pumped in the morning. It was never at exactly the same time. Just whenever I woke up. If I woke up before DD, I'd pump before she woke up...if I woke up at the same time as DD, I'd feed her first, then pump the other. Just whatever worked out best on any given day. I never tried pumping at the same time as feeding her. I thought about it...but that seemed like it would be awkward & distracting to DD.

Baby#2...when I first started pumping, I pumped 2-3 times a day, but I didn't get much at any 1 pumping. I remember DD would only take 2 oz of EBM at a time for a long time (I have a small baby)...and it would take me 2-3 pumpings to get that 2 oz for a bottle at night. I didn't have anything in the freezer right away in the beginning. It took a couple weeks of pumping to start making more and more milk.

I TOTALLY remember myself thinking that everytime I pumped I was taking away from what DD needed to eat (when I was pumping a few times throughout the day). I thought that every single day. I would make a point to pump 1 breast right before or right after I fed DD off the other one. There was always enough milk for her 2 hours later.

I also made a point to only pump in the day...not pump in the evenings because DD would tend to cluster feed at night and I wanted to make sure she was getting filled up...because that was what she wanted. I didn't want to pump anything off at night and then have her sucking and not getting milk.

The only times I had to stop pumping were early on when she was having growth spurts and eating about every hour.

The majority of my frozen milk came from when DD started sleeping thru the night. That was when my breasts were totally full in the morning and any pumped milk just went straight to the freezer.

My recommendation on pumping extra milk for storage is to start with a pumping schedule the best you can and stick with it for a couple weeks. You will alter your schedule along the way to accommodate things that come up, but as time goes by, you will make more milk. For me in the early days of pumping, first thing in the morning was when I had the most milk to spare.

I know it's hard trying to figure it all out. I had no idea what I was doing or what was considered correct. The correct way to do it is whatever way works best with you and your routine.

I never used a manual pump so I don't have any pointers for that. I stuck with the Medela Single Electric (about $80) and 1 box of extra storage bottles (about $20). I love my pump. It's perfect for me since I SAH and really don't need the heavy duty pumps.

I did like Gayle suggested this morning and fed on one side and pumped the other. I got FOUR ounces! I actually did pump while she ate. It was a bit awkward at first, but I managed to get hands free once I figured it out. It was also neat to see the milk flow in the pumping breast match what she was doing with the other one. When she popped of it slowed down, and she she started sucking again it sped up. Weird.

She seems content for only having had one boob. I might try doing it like that through out the day to see how it goes.

About the storage bags - I use the First Years. They're about 8 bucks for 25. I tried the Gerber ones in a sample I got and two of them leaked when I thawed them out (in the fridge). I still have the other 3 in the cupboard that I'm scared to use in case it happens again. I might just double bag them. Who knows, maybe it was a fluke.

I also agree not to use the markings on the bags. LOL. You'd think I had a freezer full of 4 ounce bags. I WISH. They're all 2's, but the markings are so far off it says 4.

LLL also says EBM is safe for a week in the freezer, away from the door (variable temperature). Never store it in a shelf on the door. They say to put it at the back. It's also good for 8 eight hours at room temperature if it hasn't been fed on. Once it's been fed on they don't have an indication for that. I have often re-refrigerated and heated up a bottle (fresh, not from the freezer) instead of wasting. I work so hard for that stuff, it's like liquid gold to me. I know it's not the best for the milk, but I just can't throw it away if she barely touched it.

I also never knew about shocking milk by putting it in the freezer warm. Good tip. I have some milk in the fridge just chilling now. ;)

North (and others)....LLL says that milk can be frozen in a freezzer for 3-4months, not just 2wks. Here are the current milk storage guidelines:

- at room temperature (66-72°F, 19-22°C) for up to 10 hours
- in a refrigerator (32-39°F, 0-4°C) for up to 8 days
- in a freezer compartment inside a refrigerator (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 2 weeks
- in a freezer compartment with a separate door (variable temperature due to the door opening frequently) for up to 3 to 4 months.
- in a separate deep freeze (0°F, -19°C) for up to 6 months or longer.

North (and others)....LLL says that milk can be frozen in a freezzer for 3-4months, not just 2wks. Here are the current milk storage guidelines:

Yup. Not sure where the two week thing came from... perhaps someone mentioned that for the fridge? :confused: I know I wouldn't use milk that had been in the fridge for 2 weeks. I do, however, feel good about our freezer. We have a super fridge and the freezer compartment (seperate door and all) is supposed to be comparable to a deep freeze.

I also take EBM bottles out shopping and such without keeping them cool (unless I'm outdoors, because it's HOT here) without any problems. They warm to room temp and she takes them better then chilled ones. I'm actually less nervous about handling milk then I am about formula. I'm paranoid with formula and never take any chances. Weird, huh?

I also take EBM bottles out shopping and such without keeping them (unless I'm outdoors, because it's HOT here) without any problems. They warm to room temp and she takes them better then chilled ones. I'm actually less nervous about handling milk then I am about formula. I'm paranoid with formula and never take any chances. Weird, huh?

Do you tke cold EBM from the fridge and take it in your diaper bag, not in a cooler? Do you let it come to room temp while out and then feed the baby? Just curious becuase I use to do this thn got nervous about the milk.

North...about being paranoid with formula...I am so unsure about formula too...probably because I know very little about it. I watched my best friend's baby a couple months ago for a day...that baby is the same age as my DD...and her baby is on formula. I had the hardest time being confident that I did it right. I was scared I was going to starve the baby or cause digestion problems if I did it wrong.

I've thought of a few more pumping tips for everyone based on my experiences:

1. When DD started on solids at 4 months old, I used 1 oz of EBM at every meal to mix with/make her cereal. So, in addition to my daily morning pump, I started pumping 1 oz at each mealtime (3x/day) for the cereal. Some days I would take a break and just take 3 oz from my morning pump and save that in the refrigerator for cereal that day. I used EBM in cereal for 2 months before I started using water. Ugh!.

In hindsight, I'm glad I started with the EBM for cereal. For me, I felt DD was more familiar with the taste...and I was scared to use water for some reason...I guess I just didn't want to take away any opportunity for her to get more nutrition. However, when you think about the amount of breastmilk they drink in a day...plus being on solids & the nutrition there...water for mixing cereal is really just fine. After all, it's only an oz or so. The baby is primarliy bfing anyway...the food is a supplement...so if to do all over again, I wouldn't have pushed myself with pumping milk just for cereal for 2 whole months...in addition to the pumping for freezing. I would do it for a few weeks, or as long as it takes for baby to get used to solids.

2. I found when using EBM for making cereal...there's something with the EBM that makes the cereal liquify really quickly. DD likes her cereal on the stiff side. I had to make the cereal with EBM and feed it to her right away or the mix would go to a liquid really fast (within 5-7 minutes). Weird.

Because of that, I couldn't make up a serving of cereal to take with me if I was going out & feeding her away from home (unless I wanted to tote the cereal, EBM & supplies with me separately & mix on-site.

When I started using water, I never had a problem with the cereal liquifying. I'll be curious to know if that happened to anyone else.

3. If your H is not the type of guy who helps out a lot, this is your opportunity to teach him how to handle the EBM and get him to help out with night feedings every once in a while. I taught my H how to handle the EBM, but he still doesn't respect the work it took to pump it all, so he doesn't understand that he CANNOT waste it. At 9 months, my H still wastes EBM if I don't watch him like a hawk.

This is a good reason for storing milk in 1oz bags. If you're not sure of your baby is going to take a 3, 4, or 5 oz bottle...you can thaw 3 oz...and there will be 1oz bags available IF BABY NEEDS/WANTS MORE. That way DH is not thawing another 3oz bag and the baby only ends up eating 1 oz.

If you have to dump anything, it's much easier to do it in less than 1oz quantities than finding a 3 oz bottle of EBM sitting in baby's room for who knows how long & having to dump that.

Boy am I ever glad I started this thread! This is the kinda stuff I need to know about.
I have a problem though with the one breast at a feed idea. My ds is always still rooting and seemingly hungry after one breast so I almost always have to offer him the second. I guess this means I just need to pump more after feeds to increase the supply before I can start storing.
I am nervous about this. I know it seems silly but I am. I don't even know where to start. Also, what if we don't end up needing the milk and what I store ends up going bad?! I don't know. I wish I knew more about it. I guess I will just give it a go and see how it works.
I'm a little excited to get my supply up and really hope it works for me.

Do you tke cold EBM from the fridge and take it in your diaper bag, not in a cooler? Do you let it come to room temp while out and then feed the baby? Just curious becuase I use to do this thn got nervous about the milk.

We live in south Florida, so during the summer time it's HOT. If we're going to be outside, like at a BBQ or something, I'll throw one of the ice blocks in the diaper bottle compartment. But, I'f I'm going to the mall, or shopping, or just over to a friend or something I don't bother. It comes to room temp while I'm out, and I just feed it that way. It's safe at room temp for up to 8 hours, so as long as it's not sitting in the sun I feel pretty good about that.

Gayle, you say your DD only ate 2 ounces at a time for a long time. Mine too. When did your daughter start to eat more? I wonder because I see so many moms here talking about their babies the same age as mine eating 5 or 6 ounces at a time. DD is 3 months old and still only takes an ounce and a half, sometimes 2 ounces.

Baby#2...I didn't know what the heck I was doing when I started pumping. I read anything I could about bf-ing before DD was born, checked out every library book on it, and took a class, met with lactation people before & after the birth. I honestly think I over-educated myself & was trying too hard to do things exactly right....but I couldn't figure out what exactly right meant. Just start pumping and doing it. You will make it work. Things will fall into place in a way that works best for you.

I also do what North does with carrying around EBM. If I'm going to use it within a few hours, I don't bother keeping it frozen or chilled....I just let it stay at ambient temperature. If I'm carrying milk for a long day, then I'll carry a cold pack for the milk to be used later on.

North...seem to recall it was around 3 months old when she started taking 3 oz. Maybe around 4 months when she took 4 oz. After starting solids...she dropped back down to about 3 oz per bottle. DD is 9 months old and has never drank more than 4 oz at 1 bottle feeding.

I always kind of worried about the ozs too, but I figured I was feeding her every 2 hours or so..even at 6 months old. Occasionally 3 hours would go by here and there, but I'd never make it a habit. Based on the # of times I fed her throughout the day, she was getting plenty.

How much does your baby weigh? Mine weighs:

birth: 6lbs, 7oz / 19 inches
2 months: 9 lbs, 2 oz
4 months: 12lbs, 6 oz / 23.75 inches
6 months: 14lbs, 5 oz
9 months: 16lbs, 3 oz / 27 inches

When I'm at home with her, I cannot believe how big she's getting...but when we're out and seeing other babies her age, then I cannot believe how small she is. I guess the advantage with smaller babies is the infant carrier/carseat gets for use for the $$, and they can wear their baby clothes a little longer. DD is still wearing size Medium sleepers & onesies still.

Birth - 9.2, 20.5 inches long

4 weeks - 9.10 (Weight issues, she actually lost weight before this)

7 weeks - 10.12

9 weeks - 11.14, 13 inches long

She's almost 14 weeks now, and I'm guessing well over 13 pounds.

She's a big girl. :D

When you take frozen or cold EBM out with you, if you need it before it is unfrozen, then what do you do? When my DS is hungry, he's usually hungry NOW. While he can wait a little bit sometimes...he can't usually wait the 5 minutes it would take to warm it up under a faucet of warm running water. So I end up taking formula out because its so much easier. I just put water into a bottle and keep it in a pouch that has an insert to be heated up in the microwave. So the water stays warm for a few hours. Then I add the formula when needed.

Do you think it would be okay to warm up the bottle of EBM and keep it in that warm pouch for a few hours? DS won't tolerate his milk cold or room temperature yet. If not, then whats a fast way to warm it up without having him go crazy while waiting? I eventually want to try to get him used to room temperature bottles. But right now, he needs them warm.

[QUOTE=North_of_60]We live in south Florida, so during the summer time it's HOT. If we're going to be outside, like at a BBQ or something, I'll throw one of the ice blocks in the diaper bottle compartment. But, I'f I'm going to the mall, or shopping, or just over to a friend or something I don't bother. It comes to room temp while I'm out, and I just feed it that way. It's safe at room temp for up to 8 hours, so as long as it's not sitting in the sun I feel pretty good about that.

I was aware that EBM was good at room tejp for 4-5 hours uf just pumped, buut my lactation consultant said if it was refrigerated then it had to remain cold until warmed...weird! It would be SOO much easier to just let it come to room temp and feed that way.

I don't take frozen EBM with me. I'll thaw it under cold water at home, put it in a bottle, then go out. Unless she eats 10 minutes after we leave the house it's usually room temp by the time she's hungry.

Skeeter, perhaps your LC was not aware of the new standards? I had a nurse in the hospital tell me that milk could not be frozen, at all. :rolleyes: Refridgerated and even frozen breast milk, in my opinion, is fine at room temp for a few hours. Would I leave it out all day? No, but I feel pretty safe putting a bottle in the bag to go shopping.

Can you warm up EBM and keep it in an in uslated warm pack until it is ready to be used? Or would the warmth grow unwanted bacteria?

Can you warm up EBM and keep it in an in uslated warm pack until it is ready to be used? Or would the warmth grow unwanted bacteria?

I did this on saturday mornings when we went to garage sales. I bought an insulated thermal bag and a hot pack. I heated the bottle at home and thenn kept it warm while we were out until DS was ready to eat. I asked my lactation consultant about it and she did not recommend it. I stopped doing it all together.

Instead, I started to let it come to room temp while out and feed DS but was even concerend about that. I guess doing this is ok.

To heat them up quick I go through and brive thru and get a cup of hot water. The water is almost boiling and heats them up in less than 5 minutes.

I guess I will just have to get DS used to room temp bottles.

When you take frozen or cold EBM out with you, if you need it before it is unfrozen, then what do you do? When my DS is hungry, he's usually hungry NOW. While he can wait a little bit sometimes...he can't usually wait the 5 minutes it would take to warm it up under a faucet of warm running water. So I end up taking formula out because its so much easier. I just put water into a bottle and keep it in a pouch that has an insert to be heated up in the microwave. So the water stays warm for a few hours. Then I add the formula when needed.

I totally understand not wanting the baby to cry while you're getting the bottle ready...but in the 5 minutes it takes to thaw EBM...it takes just about as much time to make your formula. Your baby is crying either way. I certainly am not criticizing you...you need to do whatever works for you. I guess my point is just about every baby cries when they want a bottle. No matter how you prep a bottle...whether with EBM or formula...the baby is going to be crying. You can't make any bottle fast enough when the baby is crying.

Anyway, to answer your Q...If I know I won't have access to a kitchen or ideal conditions to make/heat an EBM bottle, I take frozen milk out the night before & thaw to cold in the fridge. Put the cold milk in the bottle, and tote around the bottle with a cold pack. Run the whole bottle under hot water, swirl around to distribute the heat until the chill is taken off.

OR.....or just tote around the frozen milk without a cold pack & expect it will be thawed totally or for the most part in a couple or few hours. Then you can transfer to a bottle & heat the bottle with hot water.

I guess you could carry a thermos of hot water and a bowl or something to set the bottle into if you know you won't have hot running water. I've never done this...just something I thought of if I knew I would be in that situation.

Do you think it would be okay to warm up the bottle of EBM and keep it in that warm pouch for a few hours? DS won't tolerate his milk cold or room temperature yet. If not, then whats a fast way to warm it up without having him go crazy while waiting? I eventually want to try to get him used to room temperature bottles. But right now, he needs them warm.

I understand about wanting the milk warm. You said your baby is 10 weeks. I think that's about the time I started slacking when it came to warming bottles. My H was the one who started slacking actually. I was appalled that he was giving DD room temp milk. It was ALWAYS warmed up in the past. I learned warm milk was more of an issue with ME that it was with DD. Try it when DD is more hungry...in the morning or after a longer nap. I think you will be surprised.

Actually, I do not like to give EBM that is still chilled. I notice sometimes the fat in the milk isn't melted out totally if the bottle is too cold...kind of like little globs in there that don't pass thru the nipple sometimes. I've found at least a room temp bottle is all I need to achieve so the fat melts back into the milk.

I personally don't see a problem with warming milk and carrying it that way if DD was going to drink the bottle within an hour...2 at the most. Any longer than that and I wouldn't do it. That's just me.

Is it safe to tote around warmed milk? I don't know. I do know that the more you change the milk from it's original state...cooling, heating, freezing, thawing, letting it sit away from it's original state, the more the anitbodies die off. I'm sure some are more agressive about this concept than others. Some days I'm perfect about handling my milk, and other days I just do what I have to do to get by. As long as I'm not making DD sick with spoiled milk, I'm happy.