Mothers who breastfeed their babies often have to travel out of town for business or work. Such moms can’t breastfeed their babies but they can express their milk and store it for their babies.
The freshly expressed breast milk can be stored for a few days like 4-5 days in a refrigerator. But if you put this milk in the freezer, its lifespan can be increased twofold. If you put the breastmilk in the freezer, it can be stored for a period of six months.
Can Breastmilk be Stored in a Mini Fridge?
Mini fridges are perfect for breastmilk storage because they have a lower cooling temperature than a regular size fridge and store breastmilk at the right temperature.
A mini-fridge takes less space than a standard refrigerator and consumes less power to keep the breast milk fresh for a long time. A mini fridge combines refrigerator and freezer in a single unit.
This allows mothers to store breast pumped milk to store in bottles in small refrigerators. Besides, these fridges have dividers and compartments to store plenty of other food items along with milk bags or bottles.
There is a range of mini fridges that can store breastmilk for hours and days that remains available for babies. You can check out the list of best mini fridges for breastmilk storage to get one.
Is Mini Fridge Cold Enough for Breastmilk Storage?
Right after the expression of milk through breast pumps, the milk can be stored in the fridge. Many mothers are curious to know whether the mini fridge is too cold for milk storage or not.
Truly speaking, mini fridges are better than regular fridges because they maintain a good temperature in the bedroom, kitchen cabinets and even in the office.
Mini fridges have long proven a blessing at home. They serve a variety of purposes and definitely a good option to store breastmilk at home.
These fridges can hold the recommended temperature to keep breast milk fresh and preserve it for later use.
How Long Is Breast Milk Good for In a Mini Fridge Freezer?
Breast milk remains good as long as it is frozen. The breast milk in the freezer has a long life and its lifespan can last as long as six (06) months.
Naturally, it can be frozen for a maximum of six months but it will not retain its natural taste because as you melt the frozen milk, the amount of water in the milk increases and its thickness will reduce.
Freezing milk for a long period is not a good idea as long as you can pump fresh breast milk to feed your loved ones.
How Cold a Mini Fridge Should Be for Breast Milk Storage?
A refrigerator with 39 degrees Fahrenheit or higher is perfect to hold breast milk for 6-7 days. If you want to store it for a longer period, then you should put milk in the freezer.
A freezer with 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder can hold the milk for months. It is advised not to fill the milk bottle or bag full because milk expands when freezes.
How do you store pumped milk in the fridge?
There are many ways for breast milk storage. You can use milk containers, bottles, or bags to store the freshly pumped or expressed milk in a mini fridge or freezer.
Make sure the milk containers or bottles you use for storage are properly sterilised and hold caps or lids to airtight the milk containers. This way the milk will remain fresh and usable for a long time.
Can I put breast milk back in the fridge after a baby drinks from it?
Definitely not! It is not recommended to store breast milk back in the fridge after consumption by a baby. Normally, we store milk in small containers or milk bags that hold a small quantity of milk.
These bottles contain a small amount of milk that is fully consumed by babies at one time. So, if there is any left milk, then don’t store it back as it will not be fit to consume anymore when thawed and stayed at room temperature.