Pumping and Storing Your Milk

How you pump and store human milk depends on how soon you want to use it. If you are unable to directly breastfeed your baby, it’s important to remove milk during the times your baby normally would feed. This will help you continue to make milk.

Ways To Express Your Milk by Hand or Pump

Click below to learn more about the different ways to express milk.

hand-exp
HAND EXPRESSION
manual
MANUAL PUMP
electric
ELECTRIC BREAST PUMP

Storing Your

Milk

Human milk can be stored in:

  • Clean glass bottles with tight-fitting lids
  • Hard BPA-free plastic bottles with tight-fitting lids
  • Milk storage bags, which are made for freezing human milk

*Never store human milk in disposable bottle liners or plastic bags that are not intended for storing human milk.

Storage Location and Temperatures


Up to 4 Hours


1-2 Hours


Use within 2 hours after baby is finished feeding. After two hours, leftover human milk should be discarded.


Up to 4 Hours


1-2 Hours


Use within 2 hours after baby is finished feeding. After two hours, leftover human milk should be discarded.


Within 6 months is best.
Up to 12 months is acceptable.


NEVER refreeze human milk after it has been thawed.


Use within 2 hours after baby is finished feeding. After two hours, leftover human milk should be discarded.

Before Expressing or Handling Human Milk

  • Wash your hands with soap and water
  • If using a pump, make sure the pump kit and tubing are clean

AFTER EACH PUMPING

  • Label the storage container with the date
  • Refrigerate or chill milk right after it is expressed
  • Store human milk in an insulated cooler bag with an ice pack for up to 24 hours

Tips For Freezing Milk

  • Freeze human milk in small amounts of 2 to 4 ounces (or the amount that will be offered at one feeding) to avoid wasting milk that might not be finished
  • Try to leave an inch or so between the milk and the top of the container
  • Store milk in the back of the freezer

Tips For Thawing and Warming Milk

  • Use the oldest stored milk first.
  • You can thaw frozen milk in the refrigerator overnight, hold the frozen bag of milk under warm running water or set it in a container of warm water. Test the temperature by dropping a little on your wrist. It should be comfortably warm.
  • Find the right milk temperature for your baby. Human milk does not necessarily need to be warmed. Some moms prefer to take the chill off and serve at room temperature.
  • Do not put a bottle or bag of human milk directly on the stove or in the microwave. Microwaving milk creates hot spots that could burn your baby and damage the milk.
  • Swirl human milk to mix the fat. Shaking the milk is not recommended because it can break down valuable parts of the milk.
  • Use thawed human milk within 24 hours (this means from the time it is no longer frozen or completely thawed, not from the time you took it out of the freezer). Do not refreeze thawed human milk.

Safely Clean

Pump Equipment

  • Take apart pump tubing and separate all parts that come in contact with your breast and milk.
  • Rinse the pump parts by holding them under running water to remove remaining milk.
  • Do not place or wash parts in the sink. Germs in the sink could contaminate items.
  • Clean pump parts in a dishwasher or by hand in a clean basin with soap and water.
  • Air dry the items on a clean dishtowel or paper towel.
  • Using clean hands, store the parts in a clean, protected area.
  • Discard and replace moldy tubing immediately.
  • If using a shared pump, clean pump dials, power switch, and countertop with a disinfectant wipe. Pump kits should not be shared.

Sanitize for added safety:

Sanitize pump parts, wash basin, and bottle brush at least once daily after they have been cleaned. Items can be sanitized using steam, boiling water, or a dishwasher with a sanitize setting.

Sanitizing is very important if your baby is less than 3 months old, was born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system due to illness or medical treatment.

hand-exp

EXTRACCIÓN MANUAL

Cómo funciona

Use la mano para masajearse y comprimir con suavidad el pecho a fin de extraer la leche.

Qué se necesita

  • Requiere práctica, habilidad y coordinación.
  • Se vuelve más fácil con la práctica y puede ser tan rápida como si se usara un extractor.
  • Sirve si no está alejada de su bebé a menudo o si necesita una opción siempre disponible. Todas las mamás deberían saber extraerse leche manualmente, en caso de que tengan una necesidad imprevista.

Costo promedio

Gratis

manual

EXTRACCIÓN CON EXTRACTOR MANUAL

Cómo funciona

Use la mano y la muñeca para manejar un dispositivo manual de extracción de leche.

Qué se necesita

  • Requiere práctica, habilidad y coordinación. Sirve para extraerse leche ocasionalmente si está alejada de su bebé cada tanto.
  • Puede suponer un riesgo mayor de infección mamaria.

Costo promedio

$30 a $50 (a veces, lo cubre el seguro)

electric

EXTRACTOR DE LECHE ELÉCTRICO

Cómo funciona

Usa baterías o se enchufa en un tomacorrientes eléctrico.

Qué se necesita

  • Puede que sea más fácil para algunas mamás.
  • Es posible extraerse leche de un pecho o de los dos al mismo tiempo. Hacerlo en los dos pechos al mismo tiempo permite recolectar más leche en menos tiempo, y eso es útil si regresará a trabajar o estudiar.
  • Se necesita un espacio para limpiar y guardar el equipo cuando no se usa.

Costo promedio

$150 a más de $250 (a menudo, lo cubre el seguro)

hand-exp

HAND EXPRESSION

How it works

Use your hand to gently massage and compress your breast to remove milk.

What’s Involved

  • Requires practice, skill, and coordination.
  • Gets easier with practice and can be as fast as pumping.
  • Good if you are not often away from your baby or you need an option that is always with you. All moms should know how to hand express, in case they need to do it unexpectedly.

Average Cost

Free

manual

MANUAL PUMP

How it works

Use your hand and wrist to operate a hand-held device to pump the milk.

What’s Involved

  • Requires practice, skill, and coordination. Useful for occasional pumping if you are away from your baby only once in a while.
  • May put you at higher risk of breast infection.

Average Cost

$30 to $50 (may be covered by insurance)

electric

ELECTRIC BREAST PUMP

How it works

Runs on battery or plugs into an electrical outlet.

What’s Involved

  • Can be easier for some moms.
  • Can pump one or both breasts at the same time. Double pumping may collect more milk in less time, which is helpful if you are going back to work or school.
  • Need a place to clean and store the equipment between uses.

Average Cost

$150 to more than $250 (often covered by insurance)

Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.

Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

Tips

Mom new born home

Breast milk and formula feeding:

Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

feeding solid foods

Feeding solid foods:

Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

  • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
  • Opens their mouth when they see food.
  • Can close their lips around a spoon.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter or nut butter thinly on a cracker.  Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

Feeding Cues

Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

Growth Spurts

Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

They often happen at these ages:

two-three-weeks

2 to 3 Weeks

6 Weeks

three-months

3 Months

six-months

6 Months

What foods can I get?

Authorized Food List
Authorized Food List

Where can I shop?