Freezing Breastmilk - Edwardsville,IL

The colostrum is what you have right after baby is born, it's yellowish-clear.

When you pump you will notice that your breast milk looks different when you pump it in the beginning and end. In the beginning, you pump fore-milk. This milk is more watery and usually more clear. The second half of nursing/pumping the milk will turn white and more opaque. This is the fatty part of the milk, the hind-milk. When you store milk, these two layers will separate, which is why you will see a layer of white (the fatty milk) on top of the yellowish-clearish milk. As you continue to nurse, your milk will keep changing to keep up with the nutritional needs of your baby.

Just make sure that you are completely emptying out your breasts when you pump & nurse. That way baby is sure to get BOTH parts of your milk. A lot of times, moms make the mistake of not emptying all the way, then the baby doesn't get the hind-milk.

Are you starting out "fresh" when you pump? Or are you pumping after baby nurses? If you were to pump after nursing you'd have more of the white hind-milk in the bottle and less of the watery fore-milk. I used to nurse on one side, then pump on the other. That way both sides were empty and I was sure our daughter got both parts of the breastmilk.

If you haven't already, check out http://www.KellyMom.com - it's an excellent resource with tons of info for breastfeeding moms.

I always thought it was the coliseum, because with both of my kids the first milk was always kind of yellow, but I really don't know. I do know that your milk does changes as your child grows. The milk you have now will not be the same as it is later, bc the childs needs change as the grow older. But freezing it works great and it gives you some independence I did it with both. I'm sure the baby nees more fat when they are a newborn.

K., Yes, your breast milk changes. The human body is amazing, it knows how old the baby is and changes your milk to support that age of child. I've seen A Lot of frozen milk because I do daycare, and this happens with everyone.

Take Care, M.

I believe the yellow you are seeing is the fat content. I would guess you are losing weight and are not producing milk with as much fat in it. It should all be fine. Breastmilk is amazing in that your body seems to know how to tailor it to your baby's needs. Hope that helps!

100% normal... you are seeing the fat content from the hind milk :)

Your milk composition will continually change as your baby's needs change. Newborns have different needs than at three months, and so on until you quit nursing. Your body knows what to do, just trust it. I, too, noticed my newborn's milk was yellow-ish and then it turned much whiter as she grew.

I'm sure you received plenty of e-mails on this, but if not: breastmilk changes over time to meet the nutritional needs of the baby. The older she gets the whiter the milk gets. It also may start to have a bluish tint to it--it is all completely normal. I exclusively pumped for 9 months and was amazed at the difference in my milk over the months. YEAH for you for breastfeeding/pumping. Keep up the good work!

YOur milk changes to meet your babies needs. Mine was blue sometimes, yellow sometimes, white, thin, thick... I was always amazed at its changes. No worries, it's normal!

100% normal as your previous posts state. You milk does change over time. Congrats!

Freezing breastmilk does turn it yellow. That is nothing unusual at all. I cannot remember the exact reasoning behind it. It has been a few years since I froze breastmilk. But it is perfectly fine. Just be sure to defrost it in a bowl of warm water, not in the microwave.

K.

Hi K.,
I would not worry about the color change. I am nursing my son who will be one next weekend, and also nursed my older one for over a year. I pumped and froze with both of them for months and the color was always changing. Your body will adjust to what your baby needs and as long as you are drinking enough water and getting enough calories, I have heard that this is totally normal! Good Luck!

Good Morning K., I don't think the color matters. Our daughter in law pumped and froze her milk for Zane for 8 or 9 months after she went back to work for me to use. Would breast feed in the mornings & at night. Some were a slight bit lighter and some was a tad darker. He took it just fine and didn't have any problems.

God Bless you and your beautiful family
K. Nana of 5

I believe it is mostly covered, but wanted to add my CONGRATULATIONS and WAY TO GO for breastfeeding!! It is the BEST thing to do for your little one!

Regarding the color - one time my milk actually looked slightly greenish! It was only a couple days old, had been in the fridge the whole time, and smelled fine. It had seperated, and when I swirled it back together (shaking caused too much gas for my little guy!), it looked white again. I think it was my diet (LOTS of broccoli and other greens). He took the bottle and had no ill effects.

One more thing to keep in mind - a three month old has different nutritional needs than a six, twelve, or eighteen month old. For this reason, when I used to pump and freeze, I would 'rotate' every couple months. Even if I had enough refrigerated, I would pump/freeze in order to thaw (always in the refrigerator) some for the next day. Fresh pumped milk is good for two to three months in a freezer (up to six if it is a DEEP FREEZE that is rarely opened), and up to seven days in the fridge.

Kellymom.com and LaLecheLeague are excellent resources - USE THEM! Blessings to you!!