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Hello!

When I was pumping last fall I was pumping about 8oz at a time... so I stored the milk in 8oz bags... my concern... using the lactaid now, and making some milk but not up to a full supply yet... can I thaw the milk and keep it in the fridge for the day to use for the feedings through the day if I don't use 8oz all at once? I don't know what I was thinking storing it in 8oz bags... **sigh**

Yes, that is fine.

Thawed milk is good for 24 hours. But I have used thawed milk 2 and 3 days old.

The amount of time you can use the milk will depend on how long before you froze it. If you chill and freeze pumped milk the same day, you can generally use if for a couple of days but 24 hours is usually sufficient since you are only defrosting as much as you need right?

To save freezer space, most moms today use breastmilk storage bags that have a ziplock and then put a few of those into a larger ziplock bag and pack flat. Then to thaw, you take one of the small storage bags, put it into a small ziplock freezer bag and run warm (not hot) water over it until it thaws which takes about 5 minutes. Be sure the milk is not hot when you give it to baby. Unused milk can go back in the fridge for the next feeding. No matter how tempting, NEVER re-warm breastmilk in the microwave. It can lead to hot spots you can't detect and scald baby's mouth.

Best, Lenore

I also read that microwaving destroys the nutrients in breast milk. I know when my oldest was in the NEO Natal the nurses were warming breastmilk that way. And were told to NEVER do it again.