Advice from Nursing Moms About Mixing Milk?

No you shouldnt. Its called cross contamination and can make lots of icky stuff. Maybe you shouldtry only pumping once.

Mixing milk should be fine as long as you're careful about hygiene and are aware of the dates that you pumped the milk. I do think it would be best to refrigerate the milk separately and then mix it when both bottles are cold, just because you have the issue of warming the cold milk which could potentially reduce the shelf life.

B.

No you can't mix them. But you can pump and put them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Then if you need to thew more then one and mix then you can do that.

yes it is ok -

good resources are kellymom.com and pumpingmoms.org

My son was breastfed for 15 months and I was working outside of the home for 6 months of that time. I kept a "stash" of milk in the freezer and regularly mixed breastmilk when needed for supplementing what I had pumped during the day at work. We had no problems whatsoever. Of course, I was careful never to use any milk that had not been properly stored and I dated all milk that was kept in the freezer to ensure that I never used milk that was too old. My advice would be to just be aware of when milk is pumped and stored, label it, and follow the guidelines for breastmilk "storage life" found online at the La Leche League website. I APPLAUD YOU for nursing while working. I know it can be hard at times, but hang in there. :)

Interested in responses

Hi B.,
I congratulate you on the effort it takes to continue to breastfeed and express milk for your baby. That's fantastic.

I was a La Leche League leader for 8 years but I cannot remember the answer to this question. I have looked up on the La Leche League website to see what I could find.
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug07p168.html

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

I could not see anything about mixing the milk....but you can read more about milk storage on the two links I have included.

Hopefully this will help some what. Also you can find a listing of leaders in your area and lactation consultants, that way you can call someone that is close by and ask them if you are willing to do that.

Regards,
E.
http://elyorganics.com/

I used to do the same thing. pumped milk in the fridge is good for several days. It is safe to mix it, i did it with both of my kids and neither one of them ever got sick. I wouldn't worry.

hi, congrats on your new baby, and your dedication to pump at work. Do you have your milk in the fridge at work, or do you leave it out. If after you pump in the morning and place it in the fridge, and then clean your pump by all means you can mix milk. If milk is left out more than about 4 hours i wouldn't use it. you can mix milk from different pumpings in the same bottle, and if you have milk from a different day you can mix those as well. Here is a rule of thumb for breast milk. if pumped fresh and stored in the fridge it remains good for 3-4 days some studies say 1 week. If frozen after pumping it remains good for three months if stored in the freezer that is in your refrigerator, and 6 months if in a deep freezer. After milk is thawed it's good for about 2 days some studies say 3. I am a neonatal intensive care nurse and i deal with a lot of breast milk. I have 2 children of my own whom i breast fed. I hope that nursing continues to go well for you!!!
L.

Congratulations on your sweet baby! Great job keeping up with the pumping!

I asked this same question to my lactation consultant. I have a difficult time pumping. I can only get a few ounces at a time and my son wants to eat 6 or more at a time.

She told me that it is fine to mix your milks. I pump in to the same bottle all day long. I will mix days if I know he will be drinking it soon. If I plan to store it I try not to mix my days just so I know the exact expiration date.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Hi B.,
It is fine to mix milk from the same day. I would not mix different days most of the time; refrigerated milk is good for 3 to 5 days, and you don't want to chance some of it spoiling and then getting to her; you also want to be sure older milk gets used first.
E.

Hi B.-
Looks like you have already gotten lots of responses, but I noticed some saying different things...like not to mix formula with breast milk, that it's not OK. I did that with both of my children and they were fine. I wasn't able to pump as much extra as I wanted, so I mixed breast milk together as long as it was from the same day but I also would mix a little formula in with some breast milk if I didn't have enough to make a full bottle of just breast milk! I'm not sure why this isn't OK, the person who said you can't didn't say why but I have a couple of other girlfriends who did the same thing and didn't have any problems. What I was going to recommend to make sure you have the right info is to check with your pediatrician. Did the hospital you gave birth at have lactation consultants? My hospital did and they were a huge help! If you have that option, I would check with them as well. They are really up to date on what's good and bad. I also noticed someone said the milk is only good 3-4 days, but I believe it's up to 8 days if it's kept cold in fridge the whole time. Good luck and congratulations on your little girl!

Hey there!
First of all, it great that you are willing to brestfeed while you are working. I think that takes a lot of commitment. I have heard that the brest milk has different nutriental values at different times of the day. The milk in the morning and the milk at night is different. It's like having cereal and then pasta and vegetables for you and me. So, I think the best thing to do is use two seperate bottles and lable them for the baby. You can always supplement if you need to.
Good Luck!
Sounds like you are doing a great job!

I breast fed all my babies, and when my husband and I went on little weekenders to "get away", I *had* to pump! I always mixed my milk and didn't have any problems with it. They all took it just fine later on. There were no adverse side affects or anything. I'm sure you already are doing this, but make sure it's being refrigerated or frozen in between times, til your daughter drinks it.

Hope this helps! : )

First GOOD JOB! its hard to pump and work! I think it's fine to mix. Just make sure you aren't keeping the older milk around more than 3 or 4 days because its not pasteurized it won't keep like store milk. and I don't keep it after its been reheated either.

I don't see any problem with pumping into the same bottle, I did, as long as it kept cold at all times. This site has great info...

http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/tips-and-solutions/1...

A.

it is ok to mix as long as the milk is similar in temp. so if you have milk in the fridge and are mixing in milk you just pumped you need to make sure you are putting in LESS of the warmer milk. I generally just put my milk in the fridge and then once they are close to the same temp will put them either in a bottle or in storage bag and stick in the freezer. I pumped when I was at work and did this all the time. Your milk should also be fine while you are at work as long as you have an ice pack in a smaller cooler or if you have a fridge you can put it in.

Hi B., Congrats on your little one! I believe you can mix milk that has been pumped within the same 24 hours, so mixing the milk from your a.m. pump session with your p.m. pump session should be just fine.

Hi B.,
I have always been told to NOT mix the milk because of the potential for bacteria. My daughter spent some time time the NICU after birth so we had alot of time with nurses, Dr's, and lactation specialists. The best and safest way is to just keep it separated until your ready to use it...then you can mix it. But remember to throw away anything that she does not drink. I found that breast milk storage bags were a very cost effective way to store even small amounts of milk and dont take up much space *) Good luck to you.

My friend is a lactation consultant and she was alright about mixing milk..if it is breast milk, it is your breast milk and that is SO GREAT that you are pumping and feeding her the best thing your child can get right now...your milk. Way to go! :)

I was advised by my pediatrician to mix, not only because I wasn't producing enough milk, but so that he would take formula when I needed him to. You may just want to check with pediatrician on what type of formula, just in case there are milk allergies.

It should be Ok. Breast milk can be left out for 8-10hours before going bad.

As long as the milk isn't on the verge of spoiling its fine. I mix milk all the time. Just remember that milk in the fridge is good for about 8 days, in the freezer its good for up to 6 months and it is good at room temperature for a few hours, i think its 4 or 5 hours.

too am a breastfeeding mother, so i do not think it matters if you mix the milk as long as you have both the same temp. so do not put freshly pumped milk that is warm in to milk that is in the frig. Good luck and keep nursing!!!

B.: My understanding is that you run a risk when you mix milk because of the temperature issue. Warm milk going into cold milk can increase the temperature of the older milk and cause bacterial growth.

There is no problem mixing. I would keep to one day just for freshness sake but sounds like she is consuming it quickly. Breast milk is incredibly amazing. I have heard it can go quite a long time without being refrigerated because of all the alive properties in it. It is not like formula which can go sour.

When my preemie was in the hospital and I was pumping around the clock for him, the nurses said that if the freshly-pumped milk was going to be used within a couple of hours, it retained more nutrients if it wasn't refrigerated at all. It should be fine to mix it as long as it's all no more than a few days old.

Yes it is okay to mix. My son was born premature and was in the hospital for 7 weeks so I had to pump at home and bring it to him. The nurses would mix it together in order to give him the appropriate amounts...keeping the dates in mind of course.

Hi there, I also pumped at work and plan on pumping when I return to work after my maternity leave...just had baby number 2 2 wks ago.

From what I read with baby number 1, it said not to mix cold and fresh milk. You can put them together when they are both the same temp,(you can pump from both breasts and put in the same bottle right away because they would be the same temp.) but it is better to pump into separate containers if you are pumping at different times, and combine later. (this makes for a little more work and clean up, but the medela microwave bags are great ways to clean and sterilize pump supplies and bottles etc.)

I would pump at work, put everything in the fridge and then combine them when you got home. Good luck to you!
B. :)

Hi B.,
When I nursed I mixed my milk. I have 3 kids and none of them had problems. Mixing it allows you to make the perfect size bottle too (so no waste). Enjoy the baby time. It goes by way too fast!! :)

I mixed as necessary with no problems. The one thing that doesn't work is mixing formula and pumped milk together - ugh.