Disclaimer: The following is for entertainment and informational purposes only. Always consult with a doctor before using breast milk for any other purpose than feeding your own baby.
So your baby is officially done breastfeeding, but you’ve got a freezer full of perfectly good breastmilk still. Just thinking about all of the hard work, countless hours, and honest-to-goodness blood, sweat, and tears that went into pumping and storing that breast milk makes you feel a little more than territorial.
The thought of dumping all of that liquid gold might be heartbreaking, but what on earth are you supposed to do with leftover breast milk? Here are some creative ideas for using up leftover breast milk.
Donate it
Your first thought might be to donate leftover breast milk, and while that is a great option, you will have to do a little bit of research on what kind of donation options will be available for you. Most official breast milk banks have pretty strict guidelines for breast milk donation to ensure that the milk is safe to use, so unless you have followed their guidelines ahead of time, you probably won’t be able to donate your milk to a donation facility.
What you may be able to do, however, is donate your milk to a mother through a private donation or community-based milk sharing organization. You can Google community milk banks near you or search Facebook for more resources for private-based donation. You’ll also have to ensure that you follow basic precautions and protocols to ensure that your milk is safe to donate.
Sell it
You may also be able to sell your leftover frozen breast milk, but you should do so carefully, as with selling anything online, selling your breast milk does come with risks. For instance, even with sites like Only the Breast, a Craigslist-type of buying and selling directory only for breastmilk, there are certain types of customers who are not mothers looking for breast milk for their babies, if you catch our drift. Do your research, know what you’re comfortable with, and never put yourself in an unsafe situation when selling breast milk.
Turn it into jewelry
Breastmilk is, quite literally, something that is very precious to mothers and babies and rightly so, many mothers treasure the role that breastmilk has played in their lives. When you think about what the female body is capable of, in growing, delivering, and nourishing an entire human being it’s no wonder that women want to celebrate the power of breastmilk. And one way that women are doing that is by preserving their breastmilk in jewelry.
Made with Love Keepsakes specializes in creating beautiful jewelry, from rings to necklaces to pendants from breastmilk. All you have to do is mail in a sample of breastmilk per the guidelines (you need at least 1 teaspoon per piece of jewelry), choose the jewelry you would like, and wait around 9-10 weeks for your piece of keepsake jewelry.
Keep it on hand for home remedies
Maybe you don’t have to make a hasty decision to get rid of your leftover breast milk right away. Instead, you might want to keep it handy in your freezer when you need to bust some out for a helpful home remedy. For instance, some mothers swear by the healing properties of breastmilk to treat ear infections, eye infections, skin irritations, and even warts.
Feed your child with it
Even if you have weaned your child and he or she is no longer drinking breast milk, there are still ways that you can get creative with feeding your child leftover breast milk. For example, Healthline lists several child-friendly recipes, such as breastmilk ice cream, popsicles, and even oatmeal.
Cook with it
Chances are that you will have a lot of well, strong feelings about this one, but there are some proponents that support cooking with breast milk. Like, for adults. One writer and breastfeeding mama even went so far as to try many different meals with her own breast milk, from smoothies to casseroles to classic Mac-and-Cheese with a twist.
Make lotion out of it
Breast milk is considered incredibly nourishing for babies, so why wouldn’t it be just as equally nourishing for your skin? Apparently, all you need to transform your leftover liquid gold into free skincare is a little bit of beeswax and some grape seed oil. The website Breastfeeding Mama Talk lists a recipe for breastmilk lotion that will last for up to 3 months (recommended storage in the fridge for freshness).
Photo by Nikolai Chernichenko on Unsplash