Yes, you can mix your own breast milk, but there are important considerations to keep in mind, especially regarding temperature and storage.
Understanding Breast Milk Mixing Guidelines
It's essential to understand the best practices for mixing breast milk to maintain its quality and safety for your baby. Here's a breakdown:
Why Temperature Matters
- Rewarming Older Milk: Mixing freshly expressed, warm breast milk with already cooled or frozen milk is not advised. This can rewarm the older milk, potentially compromising its quality and increasing the risk of bacterial growth. The reference explicitly states, "Mixing freshly expressed breast milk with already cooled or frozen milk is not advised because it can rewarm the older stored milk".
Recommended Practices
To ensure the safe mixing of your breast milk, follow these guidelines:
- Cool Fresh Milk: Always cool freshly expressed milk in the refrigerator before combining it with older, previously cooled or frozen milk. This prevents the older milk from warming.
- Consider Storage Durations: Be mindful of storage duration guidelines for breast milk. It is essential to use the oldest milk first.
- Gradually Mix: When combining, add the cooled freshly expressed milk to the older milk in small amounts. This is not always necessary, but can be helpful if you have a significant difference in temperature and/or amounts.
Storage Duration Guidelines
While the provided reference doesn't specify exact durations, it does stress the importance of knowing them. Generally, guidelines for breast milk storage are:
- Room Temperature: Freshly expressed milk is safe for up to 4 hours at room temperature.
- Refrigerator: Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Breast milk can be stored in the freezer for up to 6-12 months.
Practical Example:
Let's say you have 2 ounces of frozen breast milk from yesterday, and you just pumped 3 ounces.
- Cool the fresh 3 ounces in the fridge.
- Once cooled, you can combine the 3 ounces of cooled, fresh milk with the older frozen milk after thawing it. Remember that you will now need to use the mixed milk within the refrigerator timeframe.
- Use the combined milk for your baby's next feeding.
By following these simple guidelines, you can effectively manage your breast milk supply and provide your baby with nutritious milk.
