A common concern among new mothers who bottle-feed or those who breastfeed but also use bottles is to know when milk is at the right temperature for feeding. Then, the other side of that concern has to do with storing milk – how long can it be kept in a bottle, in the refrigerator, can it be frozen? These concerns are all a part of being a new mother and to help, we have provided answers so all the guesswork is eliminated.
Just as with adults, remember that babies like a little warmer beverage in the wintertime and cooler beverage in the summertime. However, because a baby’s mouth is so sensitive, it is important that you make the milk a safe temperature. One of the most important things is if warming formula via microwave, you need to be extremely careful in that the formula can heat more than you realize. Therefore, a few seconds to take the chill off the milk is all that is needed.
Typically, all a baby wants is milk around body temperature. In other words, you would do your baby a favor by providing milk more on the cool side than on the warm side. Then, for every bottle, use the old method of dropping milk onto the inside of the wrist. This part of the body is very sensitive, giving you an accurate temperature reading.
For storing milk and/or formula, you never want to keep it in the refrigerator longer than 48 hours. Most experts recommend that once formula is prepared, it should be used within an hour. Feeding baby formula is not rocket science but a few precautions should be considered. For this reason, we see a growing number of women who choose to breastfeed. With this, the milk is stored without worry of contamination, it is always at the exact temperature, never has to be prepared, and is loaded with all the nutrients and immune-building factors needed.