Storing Breast Milk

Sometimes it's convenient to store expressed milk for later use, so here's what I've read to be safe ways of doing so:

Remember that once baby starts feeding from a bottle, it should be used with an hour, and if baby doesn't finish the milk it can be kept in the fridge for the very next feeding (up to 2 hours later), after which it must be discarded, because bacteria could be transferred to the milk through baby's feeding from the bottle.

And remember to label any stored milk so that you know how long it's been in the fridge or freezer.

Room temp
Expressed milk can be kept at room temp for a max of about 4 hours to be on the safe side, after which is must either be used or discarded.

Cool box
In a cool box with ice packs, milk can be stored for up to 24 hours.

Refrigerated milk
If you're going to refrigerate milk, do so as soon as possible after expressing it.  I've read different sources that say milk can be kept in the fridge for about 3, 5 or up to 8 days, so I'm going to go with 5 days to be on the safe side.  The fridge temp should be 4 degrees C or cooler.

Warm the milk by running warm water over the container of milk, and use within 24 hours and thereafter discard if there is still milk left after feeding.

Frozen milk
Milk can be frozen for about 3 months (some even say up to 6 months) . . . but why would one wanna freeze it for that long anyway?!  This is only suitable for a real freezer that cools keeps food cool to -18 degrees C or colder.  Freeze the milk as soon as possible after expressing.

When filling a bottle with milk, leave about an inch of empty space in the bottle to leave some space for the frozen milk to expand (because frozen liquids expand).

The milk should be defrosted in the fridge (it takes about 24 hours, so do this well ahead of time!), or otherwise defrost it by running warm water over the container of milk until it's at room temp, or place it in a large container filled with warm water and as the water cools, replace with warm water again until the milk is defrosted.  Use immediately (or can be stored in fridge for another 24 hours) and thereafter discard if there's still milk left after feeding.  Never re-freeze thawed milk and never microwave the milk (whether it's for heating up or defrosting) or heat it up on the stove, and definitely never boil it.

Don't freeze milk as a regular thing, since freezing it destroys some of the immune properties of the milk, so refrigerating it is actually better.  And of course fresh milk is the best.

Storage containers
It's said that the best way to store milk is in sterilized glass or hard clear plastic containers with a tight sealing lid. 

Changes in milk appearance
Refrigerating or freezing milk may change the way it looks.  Apparently the milk may appear slightly blueish, yellowish or brownish.  It may also separate in that the cream will rise to the top, so just swirl it around until it's mixed again before feeding it to baby.

How much to store
Store milk in small amounts as opposed to putting too much in a container and then baby can't finish it - this helps to prevent milk from being wasted.  You can always begin adding more milk if you see baby starts drinking more.