Expressing and Storing Breast Milk
Breastfeeding perfectly meets your baby’s physiological and psychosocial needs during the first six months after birth. It plays an important role in the natural bonding between mother and baby. The World Health Organization recommends exclusively breastfeeding your baby for the first six months and, after that, continuing breastfeeding alongside solids until the age of two and beyond.
Every drop of breast milk is a miracle from nature, with thousands of benefits for your baby. Today we will focus on one of them.
“The composition of breast milk changes throughout the day and according to the baby’s needs.”
Breastfeeding is not just about feeding your baby. It plays a very important role in strengthening the bond between mother and baby. Also, it is a natural sedative for the mum and provides reassurance to the baby. Interestingly, the composition of breast milk changes throughout the day and according to the baby’s needs. While it energises your baby in the morning, it helps him to relax and sleep in the evening.
The level of cortisol, one of the hormones that increase the body’s energy level, is quite high in the morning. Morning breast milk prepares your baby for the day and makes him feel energetic. Another hormone, melatonin, known to promote sleep and digestion, is almost non-existent during the day, but night milk is full of it.
A baby who drinks night milk will calm down and sleep more comfortably. Researchers have shown that babies develop their body’s internal clock in the first months due to the hormones and immune components transmitted via breast milk. This amazing feature of breast milk, called chrono-nutrition, helps babies to distinguish between night and day. It provides the right nutrients in sync with the body’s daily rhythm.
So, What If Your Baby Drinks Expressed Breast Milk?
In the past, babies could only breastfeed live. Today, many mums express their milk and give it to their baby in a bottle because they go back to work, are away from their baby for a while, suffer from illness, or when their baby is going through a nursing strike.
Of course, even when you properly store your milk, you usually do not separate the night and day milk.
So what happens when your baby consumes night milk in the morning and vice versa?
The answer is quite simple: If your baby drinks the milk at the wrong moment of the day, he may struggle with sleep or experience some digestive issues. The solution is quite straightforward: when you express your milk, write the time on the label of the milk storage bag, and try to give your baby morning milk in the morning, afternoon milk around lunchtime and evening milk at night.
However, don’t worry if there is no other option than giving morning milk in the evening or evening milk in the morning. It may make your baby slightly drowsy in the morning or cause him some trouble falling asleep at night. But breast milk in all its forms is still incredibly beneficial. Every drop is golden and supports your baby with his development. You are doing great, offering breast milk to your baby at any time of the day!
Just a quick reminder about breast milk storage guidelines: We advise you to follow your country’s guidelines regarding how to store freshly expressed breast milk.
In the UK, the general guideline is to store freshly expressed breast milk in a sterilised container or special breast milk storage bag. If your fridge’s temperature exceeds 4°C, you must use the milk within three days. If the temperature is 4°C or lower, you can store it for up to eight days. In the ice compartment, you can keep it for up to two weeks. If you have a freezer with a temperature lower than -18°C, you can store your milk for up to six months.
For more details, you can look at the UK NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/breastfeeding/expressing-breast-milk/
How Should You Give Expressed Breast Milk to Your Baby?
In the first few months, you should give your baby expressed milk only with a spoon, baby bottle spoon, syringe, or cup. Because the baby gets used to an easy flow of milk, using a bottle early on is one of the biggest causes of breast rejection.
Don’t forget to check out this article, too! 7 Important Topics in Breastfeeding – https://www.bebek.com/en/important-topics-breastfeeding/
If you have any questions about breastfeeding or need support, share your thoughts as a comment!
Have a lovely day!
