My entire freezer stash may be bad (sob)

bananers · July 2013

I have been working on building a freezer stash for the past six weeks, in preparation for going back to work in two weeks. I now have about 300 ounces, which I WAS so proud of... until today. I haven't dipped into my frozen stash until just a couple days ago, and had been primarily breastfeeding with the occasional (fresh) pumped bottle. DS has been refusing the bottle the last couple days, and while I initially thought he was regressing on taking the bottle itself, I decided to taste my breastmilk to see if the frozen milk was the variable causing his refusal. It tasted AWFUL! Smelled metallic, too. I immediately pumped a small amount so I had something to compare it to, and the fresh stuff had almost no odor and tasted sweet. Everything I'm googling suggests excess lipase, and while most articles describe it as more soapy tasting (it's not), a few note a metallic smell as well (which it definitely is).

We're going to try again with a bottle of fresh breastmilk tomorrow to determine whether it's the milk itself or the bottle, but if he takes the fresh milk from the bottle like I suspect he will, I think that will confirm that my entire freezer stash is probably bad, due to excess lipase.

I want to cry right now. All the articles I'm reading about lipase show that the only way around this is scalding it, which just sounds like way too much work.

snok83 · July 2013

Hmm, I only heard of scalding to help with this. I did notice that my freezer stash does have more of a smell than the fresh stuff. Though, I never tasted it to see if it tasted funny since my LO drinks it dethawed. I also read somewhere to put the freshly pumped milk in the refrigerator to cool first and then freeze and supposedly it helps with the smell. Not sure this will help your situation much. Bummer- I'd be disappointed too!

bananers · July 2013

Thanks, Amy. Yeah, I've definitely got some experimenting to do. I know there's no way he'll take it or get used to it though. He was full on SCREAMING when we tried to give it to him. Mobile frown.

SnoopyLuv · July 2013

The only way my LO would take frozen milk is if it was mixed with formula. Mixing with fresh BM didn't even help. So, we waited to give her the milk after she was 6.5 months old (I wanted to EBF until then) and then all was good. I had 500 oz in my freezer that had to be mixed with formula (and for some reason only the pre-mixed kind she would take).

I know it sucks, but you will be able to use it, I promise! I used a lot in her oatmeal too and I know some Moms will use it in purees later on, too. I had a deep freeze so I wasn't worried about keeping it 6+ months.

cmhicklin · July 2013

My DD would not drink my frozen milk unless it was really warmed up. If it even slightly cooled she didn't like it.

bananers · July 2013

Theresa, that article is great! Thanks for sharing.

themargo · July 2013

theresat858:
AmyG*:
oh don't toss it!!
Lots of babies 1. don't mind or 2. get used to it, or 3. will accept it mixed half and half with fresh milk or once they start solids.
remember the milk isn't BAD.  Lipase is an enzyme that breaks down the fat in breastmilk, which helps baby to digest it.  so the milk is sort of pre-digested.  it won't harm baby if they will take it. 
Also a lot of moms do the scalding thing, someone was mentioning a bottle warmer that they use that heats the milk to the right level and then they freeze it without too much fuss.  also most moms who pumped for when baby is at daycare will send frozen milk monday and then fresh milk all the rest of the week and freeze what they pump on friday--so you'd adjust that to send mostly fresh milk with baby just like they do, and scald before freezing once a week.  Fresh milk could also be mixed with the thawed milk that tastes off.
You probably should do an experiment to see how long your milk can stay in the fridge before it starts to taste off.  some can store it for days, others for less than 12 hours.  how long will help you figure out the best way to deal with it.

This.
In addition, as AmyG said, not all babies care---so if you find yours won't take it, you may be able to donate it to a mom in need whose baby doesn't mind.
A friend of mine from TB wrote this awesome article about dealing with excess lipase at work: https://sdbfc.com/blog/2012/9/4/battling-and-resolving-excess-lipase-in-breastmilk.html

Thanks for this article!

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