Pregnancy Info HOME

sorry, i don't have a great answer, but am also wondering this...i'm just quessing no though, since the breastmilk IS over 10 hours old, you know? the rule for food in general is for it to not be in the temperature danger zone (40-140 degrees farenheit) for over 4 hours... and that's TOTAL... so if fresh pumped BM was sittting out for 2 hours, got refrigerated for a couple days, it could technically only be out at room temp again for 2 more hours.. but since it contains antibodies and all that good stuff, i really don't know if the times would change at all... i just carry mine around in the small black insulated case w/ the ice packs that came w/ my medela PIS to be safe...

Yes...that's another thing! If I pump, then refrigerate and then put it in my back for a few hours, then put it back in the fridge, does the ten-hour count start all over again for that bottle? Maybe it just comes down to using good judgement.

Brenda

I've been wondering the same thing. Why not take a cold bottle out of the fridge, put it in a cooler with an icepack to keep it cold, and then simply warm it up at the restaurant? You could run the bottle under hot water in the rest room or ask for a large glass, pitcher, or bowl of hot water to warm a bottle. I would try to keep the bottle cold for as long as possible, and bring it to room temperature just before use. Or heck, just bf at the restaurant! :)

Regarding the in and out of fridge thing - my gut says that's not a good idea. Even bottled beer goes bad after being cooled and warmed over and over. Once you bring a bottle above fridge temperature, bacteria start to grow and multiply. Even if you cool the bottle again later, it doesn't kill the bacteria, just keeps them a bit dormant. Look at it from your point of view. If you had a glass of milk in the fridge, then put it on the counter for a few hours, then back in the fridge, then out again... would you want to drink it - or would it gross you out?

Bean...what you say makes perfect sense, and I know that you're probably right. I just wondered because of those times that I do throw it in the bag. My son is six weeks old now and I'm getting better at feeding in (semi) public, but when I'm in the middle of a delicious linguini dish, the bottle makes life so much more enjoyable!

Brenda

Brenda - kudos to you for venturing out to restaurants with a 6 week old! Yah! I agree that so often the bottle would make it much more enjoyable. Since you know when you're going out to dinner, could you just pump right before leaving the house? That way you have 10 hours without worry...

Thanks Bean--I'm not sure if it's brave or silly! We've only gone out three or four times, and usually it's just to the local pizzeria. We're such newbies that we start freaking out at the first whimper or cry that he makes because the last thing I want to do is annoy the other customers with a screaming baby! Usually I feed him right before we leave, then we toss him into the Jeep and run like crazy people so he isn't hungry during the meal. Nuts, isn't it?

You may laugh : ) But whoever has wrote these milk times in pg bks must have never had a child that BF. Just smell it if it's old it will smell sour just like regular milk. b/c BM should not smell at all or have a bit of a sweet smell if any: ) I usually tried to pump as we were walking out the door & then took the bottle w/us but honestly I only could leave milk out for about 3hrs no matter if freshly pumped or if it had been in the frig & it would start to get a smell LOL

Sorry I 4got to add(3hrs was my limit if I did'nt take an ice pack w/me)
To be safe ice or no ice use your nose
it gets easier when you can use juice that way you can save the juice bottle for going out : )