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What To Do With Breast Milk
Do you have leftover breast milk that’s just taking up space in your freezer?
Breast milk has amazing and magical properties. Breast milk provides the ideal mix of vitamins, protein, and fat – everything your baby needs to grow. It is also rich in antibodies, meaning that breast milk can protect your baby from various infections and diseases, thereby strengthening the baby’s immune system.
And this precious breast milk can take a lot of time and effort to pump too. It’s no wonder no one wants to waste any leftover milk!
There can be many reasons why someone would find themselves in this situation – you may have a huge milk supply or oversupply, or it may be time for your baby to wean, or you really just saved up so much that you don’t have a need for it anymore.
Now you’re stuck with not knowing what to do with leftover breast milk.
Lucky for you, there are so many ways you can repurpose breast milk into something else! You can make soaps, baths, moisturizers, fertilizers, and even as a treatment for sunburns or insect bites.
1. Teether Breast Milk Popsicles
One amazing thing you can do with leftover breast milk is to use it as a remedy for a teething baby. Teething babies are going to love a cooling breast milk popsicle to give their gums some relief. As a bonus, the cooling sensation from the popsicle might be a good distraction for them as they explore their senses. For more baby teething tips, read my post here: 4 Baby Teething Remedies To Soothe A Teething Baby
Another alternative is to freeze them into cubes, wrap one in a moist towel and use it to massage their gums to alleviate the inflammation.
Simply pour your breast milk into breast milk safe containers or BPA-free ice cube trays or popsicle molds (with a stick inserted as a handle) and let it freeze. There are many different shapes and silicone molds you can choose from on Amazon!
Note: The difference between regular ice cube trays and breast milk safe trays is that they’re made from food-safe materials and have lids to keep your breast milk covered and protected from potential contamination.
2. Breast Milk Added To Baby Food
Breast milk can be used to thin out baby food purees or add moisture to tough or dry foods. Not only does this provide your little one with the benefits of breast milk with your baby’s food, but it can also play an important role in making food a safe texture for babies to eat.
Some great foods to pair breast milk with are avocados, bananas, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and mangoes. You can also pair your breast milk with green vegetables like green beans or broccoli purees – get creative!
Learn more about baby food in this post: Baby Food: Store-bought vs Homemade
3. Breast Milk Yogurt
Besides adding breast milk to purees, you can also make yogurt with breast milk. Yogurt is a great way to begin introducing complementary foods to your baby – making a batch with your own liquid gold gives them the best of both worlds.
If you have time on your hands, this is a fun and rewarding project to do with your leftover breast milk. Most recipes call for 1 tablespoon of plain yogurt with live active cultures for every 5 ounces of breast milk. You can easily find the steps of making your own breast milk yogurt on the internet, from recipes that include using the quick and easy Instant Pot to your trusty stovetop. The best part about this is once you have the final product made, you can add a variety of different flavors to the yogurt base, like pureed strawberries, blueberries, or bananas.
Note: If you have a yogurt incubator it would be better! However, you could always let it incubate in the oven or a rice cooker.
4. Breast Milk Bath
Extra breast milk? Why not bathe in it? There is no way you are letting one single drop of liquid gold go to waste.
Simply add enough breast milk to make the water cloudy. Depending on how much water you are using, between 5 to 10 ounces of breast milk is usually a good amount. Adding too much may make your baby smell a little milky.
Once your baby is in the water, let them soak for about 10 – 15 minutes for their skin to absorb all the nutrients from your milk. In the meantime, sing a few songs and bring out the toys! When it’s time, simply dry your baby off without rinsing.
Bathing and singing can be a fun bonding activity for you and your baby. For more baby bonding activities, check out this post: How To Bond With Your Baby Without Breastfeeding: 10 Activities For You And Your Family (For Dads Too)
If you are specifically giving a breast milk bath to help with your baby’s skin issues, pay attention to those problem areas during the bath. More on using breast milk for skin issues down below!
Note: Since you are only adding it to your little one’s bathwater, using breast milk that is slightly out of date is absolutely fine, as long as there is no funky odor!
5. Breast Milk Soap
Speaking of skincare, how could we forget about soap? This is a great and easy project to do with leftover breast milk. With its healing properties, it has the potential to leave your family’s skin feeling soft and moisturized.
- For every cup of breast milk, you will need ½ pound of soap base
- Melt your soap base completely on the stove with a double boiler
- Stir in room temperature breast milk into the melted soap base
- Pour your mixture into a silicone mold or container of choice, and refrigerate for 2 hours
This is a simple base for breast milk soaps, meaning you can add in other ingredients if you want. Try putting in some rolled oats, chia seeds, or vitamin E oil for exfoliation and added moisture.
For more detailed recipe instructions, a quick Google search will help you find many different ways to make soap from your very own breast milk!
Note: If you plan to use this soap on your baby, test your soap on a small area of your baby’s skin first to make sure there are no adverse reactions to any ingredients in the soap.
6. Moisturizer for chapped lips, nipples, acne, eczema, diaper rashes
As mentioned before, breast milk has so many healing properties and can function as an effective moisturizer for chapped skin and rashes.
For irritated nipples:
If you have sore, cracked nipples, you can even use breast milk instead of or in addition to nipple cream (Earth Mama’s Organic Nipple Butter is a great one!). Simply freeze your breast milk into ice cube molds, take them out and gently rub them onto your irritated nipples. The coolness of the frozen breast milk will help ease the pain and soreness while the breast milk can help moisturize your dehydrated skin. Another alternative is to apply a few drops of breast milk onto your nipples and just let it air dry.
Not only does this heal your nipples, but your baby also does not have to get mouthfuls of the ointment whenever you nurse them! If any symptoms persist, notify your doctor and/or lactation consultant.
If your baby has eczema, acne, or a diaper rash:
Pour room temperature breast milk onto a few cotton pads. Apply it to the area of concern and let it sit. Due to the protective properties that breast milk offers, it can help ease your baby’s eczema. However, depending on the severity of eczema, it may go away on its own or require additional medical attention.
Breast milk also helps calm diaper rashes and clear your baby’s skin from baby acne.
As a bonus, breast milk can moisturize cracked lips! Just spread some breast milk onto your lips as you would with chapstick.
7. Soothe sunburns and insect bites
It is easy to get a sunburn or a few insect bites when you are spending time outdoors. And of course, breast milk can help!
Apply a small amount of breast milk to the problem area and let it do its magic. It’s a natural, easy, and free alternative to ointments.
8. Breast Milk Fertilizer
If you have a green thumb and like growing plants and veggies, you can try making fertilizer with your leftover breast milk.
The proteins from breast milk help make the soil nitrogen-rich, making it a great food for your garden. Calcium from breast milk can also serve as an added nutrient boost for your soil too.
To make fertilizer from leftover breast milk, follow the 1:1:4 ratio. For every 1 tablespoon of coffee grounds, mix in 1 tablespoon of breast milk and 4 tablespoons of water – voila! You now have your very own fertilizer to use on your crops!
I hope you found these ideas helpful for you to decide what to do with leftover breast milk. Remember, if you have any doubts about any abnormal skin conditions, reach out to your medical provider for advice and more information.
If you are looking for safe breast milk storage tips, find more information here: Breastmilk Storage Guidelines & FAQ’s: How Long Does Breast Milk Last?
References:
https://breastfeedinglife.com/easy-diy-breast-milk-soap/
https://www.medela.us/breastfeeding/articles/breast-milk-recipe-breast-milk-yogurt
https://www.elvie.com/en-us/blog/breast-milk-baths-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.center4research.org/bisphenol-bpa-plastic-products-safe-infants-children/ https://www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/breastfeeding-sore-nipples/
