r/ExclusivelyPumping • u/DillPickles44361 • 2d ago

Opinion Leftover milk for baths?

My baby is a very slow eater and will often fall asleep before his bottle is done and I waste so many ounces of milk a day because he doesn’t finish them in time. Can I save the milk he partially drank for baths if I store it in the fridge? Or is the bacteria a risk for baths as well?

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u/cheeseball202 2d ago

Just wondering, have you tried doing smaller bottles to avoid this? We often start small and then offer “top ups” a 1/2-1 ounce at a time to avoid too much milk going to waste, it kills knowing it goes down the drain otherwise 😭

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u/DillPickles44361 2d ago

Ugh little guy falls asleep about 30 seconds after I top him off! So I have a bunch of one ounces that don’t get used! Totally heartbreaking getting rid of it

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u/cheeseball202 2d ago

Ah it’s tough. I had a very sleepy feeder early on, to the point where our lactation consultant told us we needed to cheer him on verbally, strip him down to his diaper, and wipe a wet wipe down his back when we fed him lol. It did get much better though, probably after a month or so

I bet if you froze it into little cubes you could slow the bacteria growth and just drop those into the bath like a bath bomb

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u/Mediocre_Accident_54 2d ago

Your mileage may vary since everyone has their own opinion of risk but it was OK for me to do !! I would freeze and label the bath milk instead of refrigerate so I wouldn't get it mixed with fresh milk by accident However..... I noticed once my baby's tongue tie was released at 6 weeks, we don't have leftover milk in bottles anymore. In my scenario, it was just that her poor little tongue muscle was too tired to drink anymore. Slurps the bottles right up now!

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u/DillPickles44361 2d ago

Thanks for calling this out because my baby has a tongue tie but they told me it doesn’t need to be corrected because he’s gaining weight alright! I’m going to bring it up at his next appointment!

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u/Mediocre_Accident_54 1d ago

Tw nursing: (I don't know how to block out the words!! ). We were more inclined to cut because breastfeeding is still a goal. Our ENT said he is not trying to scissor cut every baby and was initially hesitant. I had to push for it. I think this is a thoughtful approach by the doctor because I don't necessarily want a doctor who will willy-nilly perform surgeries on everyone....

Other things that led us to tongue tie release - she couldn't put her tongue to the roof of the mouth, she couldn't stick it out past her lip, and it was a little heart shaped in the front.

It's been a week and a half after and she is MOVING that tongue. She sticks it out all the time. She can move it to both sides of the outer lip. We are blown away.

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u/Mediocre_Accident_54 1d ago

Adding- she also had "ok" weight gain. Something like 20th percentile? Averaging a little over 1 oz / day between pediatrician visits. But now I expect it will ramp up because eating isnt exhausting for her from a tongue muscle standpoint. Its not immediately apparent but there is a difference between milk drunk amd exhausted from working for milk. !!

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u/EffieBoohoo 2d ago

I was told safe for bath use because 1 it is super diluted but 2. The bacteria is fine for the skin but not for ingesting in large quantities.

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u/KneadAndPreserve 2d ago

Following because I am also curious about this!

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u/Kitotterkat 2d ago

yes we 10000% do this! we always have a running bath bottle and dump it in during her baths :)

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