Hello, I have a ? about pumping & storing.

[deech]

If I pump somewhere where there is no fridge, but store the milk in the medela ice pack bag: Is that the equivalent of storing it in the fridge? (meaning: when I go home and put it in my fridge, is it still going to be good for 5-8 days?). I'm concerned b/c I know it doesn't keep the milk as cold as the fridge does.

Also, if I go out and put a refrigerated bottle in one of those cooler bags that's supposed to keep the breastmilk cold for 4hrs, but I don't end us using the bottle, do I have to discard it?
Or can I put it back in the fridge and use it the 5-8days later?
(Again, I'm concerned b/c I know it doesn't keep the milk as cold as the fridge does -- when I store it in those packs after refrigerating it, I notice the fat that had settled on the top mixes in, since it's not as cold)

Thank you!

[Rhona]

First of all, freshly pumped milk can actually stay at room temperature (assuming it is not really hot in your space) so whenever someone asks this kind of question I like to remind you of that fact. If it is actually cooled like in a pack I believe you can transfer to the fridge. Although I usually recommend if you are not using it right away why not freeze it? Breast milk thaws very quickly and especially if you don't freeze it in too large quantities. Is the refrigerated bottle fairly new? I would only take what you need and again thawing frozen milk is not too time consuming. Good luck.