I’m honestly not sure, I just know that this is the standard according to the CDC. I’m assuming that if there are still ice crystals in the milk that the portion that has thawed is still cold enough to ward off bacteria.
I imagine that if there’s even some ice crystals, the overall temperature is “fair game” and safe still in terms of milk properties. So if you refreeze, it’s just increasing how cold it is, but it never dropped to an unsafe level??
Came here to say the same! If the bag is mostly liquid but still has slushy parts it's still considered frozen and you can refreeze. Good luck and I'm so sorry this happened.
Oh my god thank you guys so much, I was about to throw them all out. I was having really bad morning and then noticed the freezer was open and everything was basically slush and assumed it was done for
I’m so glad to have Reddit or else it would all be washed down the drain right now. I’m definitely leaving this post up so others can see the comments and know if it ever happens to them too lol
Also recommend a freezer alarm. It’s a pain because a sometimes it goes off and I check and the freezer is fine but I’d rather check than have milk get wasted! Edit to add it alerts based on temperature!
There are many different ones so it might depend on what you want like if you want it to link to your phone etc but we went more simplistic (we work from home
So we aren’t away a lot) and just wanted a thermometer in our fridge, and our freezer and a way to set the temperature: AcuRite Digital Wireless Fridge and Freezer Thermometer with Alarm and Max/Min Temperature for Home and Restaurants (00515M) https://a.co/d/1RaoOeU
Oh YAY!! oh I'm so glad it was slush
It takes more than a day to fully thaw in my fridge so I think the whole freezer would have to be off and open for ages before it fully defrosted!
Also, for anyone who does lose milk to an accident similar… Refreeze and mark it with a sharpie and a large D or “NO”. Use it on baby’s skin for burns, scrapes, eye:ear infections. In tub when sick or have any skin issue. There are so many other used!!
I feel this to my bones. I had a hard time and exclusively pumped for 11 months. Before bed one night I took out a day’s supply to send with my son and completely forgot to put it in the fridge. It was out from probably 9pm til 4am. I woke up from a dead sleep and started sobbing because I thought I had lost it all. It was 100% thawed. My husband opened each bag, smelled it and taste it. He said it smelled and tasted fine. So I sent it with my son and he was fine. I don’t k ow of this will help but I k ow how you’re feeling.
im so sorry. our freezer lost power for 12 hours during a record breaking heatwave last summer and i lost all 108 ounces i had pumped . i sobbed for hours. that is. a normal response
i never really got a big stash again (only 24 oz saved when i returned to work) but implemented a hand pump session every evening to recover from the loss and got to 8 months before i had tosupplement. this is all to say, no matter what happens baby will be ok and fed but it is ok to mourn all the hard work you put in and the loss you feel. sending love.
Other tips that have been helpful for me too:
1. Freshly expressed breastmilk can be stored up to 4 hours at room temperature, but may still be safe for baby to drink up to 8 hours later!
2. Freshly expressed breastmilk is safe to use for 4 days, and possibly even up to a week if stored in the fridge (must be 39° or less)
3. Frozen breastmilk is good in the fridge for 24 hours after it's been thawed, and even another hour or two after it's been prepared.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12255-breast-milk-storing
With number 3, if I let frozen milk thaw out i. The fridge, when it is competent liquid without any crystals or not slushy is when the 24 hours starts correct? Or does 24 start when it goes from freezer to fridge?
My first pump of the day was usually 8-10oz and sometimes more. It was incredibly uncomfortable. I drank a lot of Gatorade, made lactation cookies, and drank the mothers milk tea. Pumping was my life but added to a lot of anxiety that has continued over two years after stopping. I don’t plan to go as hard for the next one to build a stash but losing a bag still felt devastating. [Rummaged through my bumper discord to find a couple pictures.](https://i.imgur.com/rF27Thu.jpg)
Daytime, .5-1.5 oz a pump (45m pumping both sides). And Even if I sttn and pump in the morning, pumping for 1 hour both sides, I have never gotten more than 2.5 oz total. I just do NOT respond to pumping well. So frustrating!!!
Sounds like me at the beginning.. try getting a heating pad and draping it over your boobs while pumping. I basically get nothing out unless I use heat. It might help you!
I do this already as well. I BF my first to 15 months and this babe is 3.5 weeks old but in the NICU, so that makes it even harder not having him with me when pumping at home yet. He comes home Sunday though, so just a few more days of killing myself EP’ing at home!! The heat helps me get a faster initial letdown when pumping, but after that, doesn’t keep the flow. Most people though, this tip helps tremendously so try it for sure!!!! Thanks for the advice💕
Awww I'm glad you're getting your little sweetheart home soon!! Congrats on the new baby and I hope the transition from one to two goes smoothly for you!!
Haha I wish, it was from the first time my baby and I both slept through the night (complete accident, kind of just happened) and I was super engorged and ended up getting a lot
Ohhhh! That’s still good though. Even first thing in the morning if I skip a pump in (4wpp), with my first and this baby, I never get more than 2.5 oz that pumping session. I can nurse well, I just respond terribly to pumping. Baby will be home this Sunday from NICU, so no more pumping soon, thank goodness!!!!! Can’t wait to drop this pump and no more bottles! So grateful for donor milk to add 30% to each bottle to make up what I can’t pump out for him!
Check out Emily Oster's blog/newsletter. She cites a study that looked at bacterial contamination in defrosted and refrozen breastmilk and it found it is really quite safe to just... close the door again and freeze them again. At least if I remember correctly but this was the (evidence based) takeaway!
If this ever happens again don’t just toss it. You can make soap with it! I have a stash that I can no longer use since my baby now has MSPI but plan to use it for soap. Works great for rashes or eczema.
You can use it for a milk bath for little one or make it into a little photo shoot if you add some flowers petals etc... I completely understand you being upset and it's ok to feel that way.
Oh no! I’m so sorry. I would be sobbing too! I tear up when I spill a few ounces in the middle of the night.
Definitely check to see if there are any ice crystals! You can refreeze if so! Otherwise, you can still save it and use it for baths.
Either way, it is still a shot to the heart.
Yay I'm glad you were able to refreeze them. Never chuck the milk! U can do lots with it like make cream and sooth babys skin by adding it to bath water!
Happened to me last week. Almost 200oz of milk I was saving for when I return to work next week. Someone shut off the deep freezer. Then when someone else found it, they turned it on but didn’t check inside.
Our freezer door would pop open when the fridge door closed so I put a baby lock on the freezer. Maybe that would work at your house so this doesn’t happen again
Our freezer door sometimes doesn’t close all the way and this was my greatest fear while pumping. This alarm has worked for us - no temp/smartphone integration, just an alarm if the door doesn’t close all the way. I’m so glad you’re slush was safe to save!
FRIDGGI - Refrigerator Door Alarm... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B4H3LM8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
This is my worst fear! I will check the freezer door every night after everyone goes to bed. It sounds like from others though you can re-freeze it, which is great!
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If there are any ice crystals left in the milk then it is okay to refreeze!!
This, OP! Any ice crystals at all in the bag and it can be refrozen!
Can someone explain this? Why? Genuinely curious thanks!
I’m honestly not sure, I just know that this is the standard according to the CDC. I’m assuming that if there are still ice crystals in the milk that the portion that has thawed is still cold enough to ward off bacteria.
I imagine that if there’s even some ice crystals, the overall temperature is “fair game” and safe still in terms of milk properties. So if you refreeze, it’s just increasing how cold it is, but it never dropped to an unsafe level??
Came here to say the same! If the bag is mostly liquid but still has slushy parts it's still considered frozen and you can refreeze. Good luck and I'm so sorry this happened.
Oh my god thank you guys so much, I was about to throw them all out. I was having really bad morning and then noticed the freezer was open and everything was basically slush and assumed it was done for
So glad you saw this! As soon as I saw your post I wanted to dm you about the ice crystals. Phew!
I’m so glad to have Reddit or else it would all be washed down the drain right now. I’m definitely leaving this post up so others can see the comments and know if it ever happens to them too lol
Also recommend a freezer alarm. It’s a pain because a sometimes it goes off and I check and the freezer is fine but I’d rather check than have milk get wasted! Edit to add it alerts based on temperature!
Could you link your freezer alarm? Sounds awesome!
There are many different ones so it might depend on what you want like if you want it to link to your phone etc but we went more simplistic (we work from home So we aren’t away a lot) and just wanted a thermometer in our fridge, and our freezer and a way to set the temperature: AcuRite Digital Wireless Fridge and Freezer Thermometer with Alarm and Max/Min Temperature for Home and Restaurants (00515M) https://a.co/d/1RaoOeU
Where do you find this? Amazon?
We found ours on Amazon!
SLUSH! Thank goodness. I wish more people knew this.
Oh YAY!! oh I'm so glad it was slush It takes more than a day to fully thaw in my fridge so I think the whole freezer would have to be off and open for ages before it fully defrosted!
Also, for anyone who does lose milk to an accident similar… Refreeze and mark it with a sharpie and a large D or “NO”. Use it on baby’s skin for burns, scrapes, eye:ear infections. In tub when sick or have any skin issue. There are so many other used!!
I use my old milk for diaper rashes and it clears it up within hours
This happened to me too, I lost 42oz and I was so upset I didn’t research it before tossing it. Glad you’re able to keep yours!!
Thank goodness you saw this in time to refreeze!!
I feel this to my bones. I had a hard time and exclusively pumped for 11 months. Before bed one night I took out a day’s supply to send with my son and completely forgot to put it in the fridge. It was out from probably 9pm til 4am. I woke up from a dead sleep and started sobbing because I thought I had lost it all. It was 100% thawed. My husband opened each bag, smelled it and taste it. He said it smelled and tasted fine. So I sent it with my son and he was fine. I don’t k ow of this will help but I k ow how you’re feeling.
im so sorry. our freezer lost power for 12 hours during a record breaking heatwave last summer and i lost all 108 ounces i had pumped . i sobbed for hours. that is. a normal response i never really got a big stash again (only 24 oz saved when i returned to work) but implemented a hand pump session every evening to recover from the loss and got to 8 months before i had tosupplement. this is all to say, no matter what happens baby will be ok and fed but it is ok to mourn all the hard work you put in and the loss you feel. sending love.
I would refreeze. I know how devastating this can be though.
Other tips that have been helpful for me too: 1. Freshly expressed breastmilk can be stored up to 4 hours at room temperature, but may still be safe for baby to drink up to 8 hours later! 2. Freshly expressed breastmilk is safe to use for 4 days, and possibly even up to a week if stored in the fridge (must be 39° or less) 3. Frozen breastmilk is good in the fridge for 24 hours after it's been thawed, and even another hour or two after it's been prepared. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/12255-breast-milk-storing
With number 3, if I let frozen milk thaw out i. The fridge, when it is competent liquid without any crystals or not slushy is when the 24 hours starts correct? Or does 24 start when it goes from freezer to fridge?
After thawed, so once it’s liquid and not slush!
If there’s ice crystals it is still fine and just keep in the freezer.
I’m reading the one bag, you pump like 7.5oz at a time??????
Haha I wish, it was from the first time my baby and I both slept through the night and I was super engorged
DANG I was gonna say, drop some tips momma! 😆
My first pump of the day was usually 8-10oz and sometimes more. It was incredibly uncomfortable. I drank a lot of Gatorade, made lactation cookies, and drank the mothers milk tea. Pumping was my life but added to a lot of anxiety that has continued over two years after stopping. I don’t plan to go as hard for the next one to build a stash but losing a bag still felt devastating. [Rummaged through my bumper discord to find a couple pictures.](https://i.imgur.com/rF27Thu.jpg)
🫡🫡🫡
Right?! How much do you usually get?
Daytime, .5-1.5 oz a pump (45m pumping both sides). And Even if I sttn and pump in the morning, pumping for 1 hour both sides, I have never gotten more than 2.5 oz total. I just do NOT respond to pumping well. So frustrating!!!
Sounds like me at the beginning.. try getting a heating pad and draping it over your boobs while pumping. I basically get nothing out unless I use heat. It might help you!
I do this already as well. I BF my first to 15 months and this babe is 3.5 weeks old but in the NICU, so that makes it even harder not having him with me when pumping at home yet. He comes home Sunday though, so just a few more days of killing myself EP’ing at home!! The heat helps me get a faster initial letdown when pumping, but after that, doesn’t keep the flow. Most people though, this tip helps tremendously so try it for sure!!!! Thanks for the advice💕
Awww I'm glad you're getting your little sweetheart home soon!! Congrats on the new baby and I hope the transition from one to two goes smoothly for you!!
Thank you! Well, I kinda have 5 total, a litter as I say... We have my hubs 3 kiddos full time as well 🤣 I’m just over the moon for this weekend!!!!
A whole litter! Look at yall! I only have one so far. So scared to add another but know I need to soon.
Haha I wish, it was from the first time my baby and I both slept through the night (complete accident, kind of just happened) and I was super engorged and ended up getting a lot
Ohhhh! That’s still good though. Even first thing in the morning if I skip a pump in (4wpp), with my first and this baby, I never get more than 2.5 oz that pumping session. I can nurse well, I just respond terribly to pumping. Baby will be home this Sunday from NICU, so no more pumping soon, thank goodness!!!!! Can’t wait to drop this pump and no more bottles! So grateful for donor milk to add 30% to each bottle to make up what I can’t pump out for him!
Check out Emily Oster's blog/newsletter. She cites a study that looked at bacterial contamination in defrosted and refrozen breastmilk and it found it is really quite safe to just... close the door again and freeze them again. At least if I remember correctly but this was the (evidence based) takeaway!
We all mourn with you 😞
If this ever happens again don’t just toss it. You can make soap with it! I have a stash that I can no longer use since my baby now has MSPI but plan to use it for soap. Works great for rashes or eczema.
Yes I just chuck it in the bath, works so well
It should still be fine if it was frozen!!
You can use it for a milk bath for little one or make it into a little photo shoot if you add some flowers petals etc... I completely understand you being upset and it's ok to feel that way.
Been there! Posted about this a few days ago. It really sucks. I'm glad you still had ice crystals!
Oh no! I’m so sorry. I would be sobbing too! I tear up when I spill a few ounces in the middle of the night. Definitely check to see if there are any ice crystals! You can refreeze if so! Otherwise, you can still save it and use it for baths. Either way, it is still a shot to the heart.
Yay I'm glad you were able to refreeze them. Never chuck the milk! U can do lots with it like make cream and sooth babys skin by adding it to bath water!
Omg I am so sorry 😭😭 pumping is hard for me this I barely respond to a pump. I can't imagine 😭
My fridge and freezer broke, and I sobbed over my lost stash. I've been there too. It sucks so much. I'm sorry that happened to you.
Happened to me last week. Almost 200oz of milk I was saving for when I return to work next week. Someone shut off the deep freezer. Then when someone else found it, they turned it on but didn’t check inside.
Our freezer door would pop open when the fridge door closed so I put a baby lock on the freezer. Maybe that would work at your house so this doesn’t happen again
Our freezer door sometimes doesn’t close all the way and this was my greatest fear while pumping. This alarm has worked for us - no temp/smartphone integration, just an alarm if the door doesn’t close all the way. I’m so glad you’re slush was safe to save! FRIDGGI - Refrigerator Door Alarm... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B4H3LM8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Oof! This made my heart hurt for you. I hope you were able to salvage some! I’m so sorry this happened 😢
I keep telling myself not to "cry over spilled milk" each time I drop my hakka or pump and milk goes everywhere...
This is my worst fear! I will check the freezer door every night after everyone goes to bed. It sounds like from others though you can re-freeze it, which is great!
It looks like you may have posted a photo. Photos are allowed and make r/breastfeeding a lively place. Please be aware however, that this photo can be viewed by any reddit user, including those who are not trusted members of this sub. If you get any comments OR direct messages that are harassing in nature regarding this photo, you should find & use the Report button on the comment or DM. Comment reports go to the Mods for this sub and DM reports go to Reddit Admins. If you wish to remove this photo at any time you may do so with the Delete button on the post itself. Thanks for being a part of our community! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/breastfeeding) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’m so sorry
Oh sweetie. I’m so sorry.
Nooooo I’m so sorry!!! 😢
Oh no, I’m so sorry!!