Thawed, frozen breastmilk going bad fast! What do I do?

Danielle - posted on 08/17/2010

i had the same problem. i would thaw milk and keep the rest in the fridge for later. When I would get the left over milk out it smelled and tasted just like throw up.. it was so gross. So I only freeze four ounces at a time. I figure the baby will eat about four ounces in a bottle or eight ounces max and then i'm not thawing tons of milk and not wasting it. I found that I only used about four ounces in the cereal too. I suggest you put the milk you want frozen in the back of the freezer.. if you keep it too close to the door when you open and close and open and close it can make it thaw and refreeze again.

Jennifer - posted on 08/14/2010

if it is freshly expressed milk, it can stay in the fridge for up to 5 days.

you can "re-use"milk that baby didn't drink, but only if it hasn't been previously frozen. thawed milk needs to be used within the hour, and i don't think can be "re-used." if it is freshly expressed, some sources say it can be left out for 10 hours, some sources say 5 hours. i exclusively pump for my son and i've left milk out for him at room temp overnight (it makes night feedings waaaay easier than heating up milk) for 10-12 hours and it was perfectly fine (i would always check it before giving it to him). i think the best way to know if your milk is still good is by becoming familiar with the taste of it when fresh, refrigerated, and thawed...then you'll know if it tastes "off."

Sarah - posted on 08/14/2010

Ok thanks for your comments, that makes sense, I will try that. But also in the past a couple times the baby drank a little from the bottle and I put the rest in the fridge for her to drink later... but then it smelled different when I got it out a couple hours later, and I thought it was bad. How long can you keep breastmilk in the refrigerator before it goes bad? How can I tell if its ok to drink, if it looks/smells different? I don't want to force her to drink something that tastes bad, even if its not technically bad... And how long can I keep it out before it goes bad?

Jennifer - posted on 08/14/2010

to thaw you should hold it under cool running water and slowly increase the temperature to warm. hot water should not be used. its best if you can let it thaw in the fridge overnight, but it should not be in the fridge longer than 24 hours.

thawed breastmilk will look, and sometimes smell different than freshly expressed milk and thats normal. sometimes the lipase in milk can make it smell sour, or soapy after being thawed...it is still safe for baby, though baby may reject it.

if you are careful about how you store your frozen milk (in the back of the freezer), and you thaw it slowly using cool/warm water and it still smells a bit sour, chances are that it is fine and will not harm your little one. if it smells rancid, however, it should be discarded.

Selia - posted on 08/14/2010

They usually recommend thawing under warm water. It is possible the hot water is scalding it, which can cause lumps and smell change. Try letting it thaw in the fridge at least once and see if it still does it. If the milk is near the front of the freezer it can get too many doses of warm air when the door is opened and go bad faster.