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Whether you are expressing your breastmilk to relieve engorgement or to collect for your baby, knowing the ins and outs of collection and storage of breastmilk is a must. You can use the time that you are not nursing your baby for collecting your milk. For a woman who works outside the home, it is ideal for her to collect at work during breaks or lunch hour.
There are two general methods of expressing breastmilk for collection; hand expression or breast pump. Using a breast pump is widely known to be much easier than hand expression. However, both methods are highly effective and either one is fine.
Hand expressing breastmilk take a lot of time, practice, and most of all patience. If you feel frustrated, stop. You will need to be relaxed. Start by collecting a container in which to collect the milk. Make sure it is clean. You can use hot soapy water to clean container. Rinse well. Any container is fine. With practice, you will be able to express right into a nurser bottle. Next wash your hands. Place a warm wash cloth on your breasts for a short time to help stimulate the letdown reflex. This reflex allows breastmilk to flow from the milk glands. Massage your breasts, as well. To do this, place one hand under the breast for support and apply gentle preasure with the other hand in a circular motion. Work from your chest towords the nipple. Once all this preparation is done, place your breast over the container you will be collecting the milk into. Place your fingers and thumb behind the nipple and press back towards your chest. Squeeze gnetly in and down towards the nipple. Continue this motion during the flow of milk up until the end of the expression.
Pumping is known to be an easier and less time consuming method of expressing breastmilk. There are several differnt kinds of pumps. Hand operated, battery operated, and electric. Choose the one that best fits your needs. Start by preparing yourself much in the same way mentioned above in the hand expression section. Relaxation is key. You will need the correct sized nipple adaptor. Place the pump over your nipple and let the machine do the work.
Now, once you have sucessfully expressed your breastmilk for your baby, you will need to know the correct way to store it. Whether your baby will be drinking the milk within the next few hours or you are pumping to store for a long period of time, knowing exactly how to store is very important.
If you will be using the milk within a couple of hours, simply put enough milk for one feeding into a nurser and put the nurser into the refrigerator. Milk in the refrigerator will stay fresh for twenty four hours. The milk may separate because of the fat content. Do not be alarmed, just shake and warm. If you would like to store your milk in the freezer, double bag the milk or store in plastic nurser bottles. Store in a freezer attached to the refridgerator for 3 to 4 months. A deep freezer will keep the milk for 6 months or longer. Label each bottle or bag with the date you expressed. Masking tape is good for this. Be sure to use the oldest milk first. To thaw the milk, shake the bottle or bag under warm water or place in a cup of warm water to sit and thaw. Do not boil or microwave. Microwaving milk takes essential nutirents and vitamins out of the milk making it no longer the best food for your baby.
These simple easy steps make collecting and storing breastmilk for your baby easy. Remember that practice and patience is key and that you are doing the very best for your baby.
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