I also have a sample of one, and we broke many of the rules.  That  
said, I didn't break the basic food handling rules, so I never added  
warm milk to cold, or warm to frozen, just as I wouldn't with any  
food.  Still I rarely combined milk that wasn't cold, because I always  
expressed more than one feed at a time, I would take one feed out and  
then combine the remainder to make another.  I also froze in bags, so  
couldn't really add to them, I combined the amounts in the fridge  
regularly though.  I never threw milk out if I could avoid it, then  
again, I had some that made it well over 12 months in the freezer and  
it went out because Michael didn't like thawed milk.  I actually gave  
up on freezing for a while, as it was a waste of freezer space.  I  
also changed a few definitions, one feed lasted until the bottle was  
empty so I never threw out the last of the milk in the bottle.  My boy  
never got sick, however, he was healthy to start with.

On the shaking, I read an article by Lara (can't remember her surname,  
but she's on lactnet) that debunked the theory, I can copy and paste  
it for you, but I can't forward the original email as its in the web  
archives for another online group.  Good think too, as we carted the  
milk around in a red insulated bag and it got thrown, and dropped and  
all manner of hard usage, especially once Michael was older and knew  
what was going on.  The milk was always perfect, he grew really well,  
so I don't worry about shaking.  Actually it doesn't make a lot of  
sense to not shake milk, its the only way to get the fat off the  
sides.  I also stopped warming my milk and he drank it at the temp it  
came out of the bag.

Freezing recommendations, not sure of the science, but in Australia  
the NHMRC recommends that it be stored for 2 weeks in one of those old  
freezers inside the fridge, for 3 months in a freezer section of  
fridge with a separate door, and 6-12 months in a deep freezer (-18C  
or lower).  So it depends on how cold your storage place is.

Normal food handling recommends that milk be stored at the back,  
because if you store it in the door it gets exposed to hotter air  
everytime the door opens, I never worried about that, it really  
doesn't sound reasonable because the door is only open for moments,  
its not like you hold the fridge door open for 30 minutes trying to  
find things, or do you :)

I suspect that there isn't a lot of science for many of these things,  
most are based on regular food handling and some on passing statements.

Jenny

Jenny Doncon
Breastfeeding Counsellor, IBCLC, Australia

(read my expressing story here: http://www.lrc.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41257 
  and my weaning diary here http://www.lrc.asn.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40015)



On 13/04/2011, at 3:13 PM, gonneke van veldhuizen wrote:

> Dear fellow Lactnuts,
>
> In all kinds of publications and
> communications rules for handling human milk are shared. These may  
> vary
> from how to express or pump to in what container to hold at what
> temperature for how long and how to thaw, heat, handle and feed.  
> Some of
> the recommendations are evidence based (like overheating destroys
> bio-activity), but for many I can't seem to find any scientific basis.
> Who can provide me evidence for the following (or are they just
> assumptions and old-wife tales?):
> - do not ever shake human milk (I
> really would like to know what has been observed under controlled
> laboratory circumstances with shaken milk!)
> - place human milk at a
> certain place in the fridge or freezer for fear of temperature changes
> (now, really, folks, how are the odds of rising the temperature of  
> cold
> milk in a container up to dangerous temperatures for bacteria growth  
> by
> opening the fridge door?)
> - never mix fresh milk with milk already stored (or not untill they  
> have the same temperature)
> - never heat human milk up to body temperature twice
> - don't use human milk after deep-freezing for 4 or 6 months
> - finish or throw away within an hour of the start of a feed
>
> Warmly,
>
> Gonneke, IBCLC in PP, LC lecturer in southern Netherlands
>
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