- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Working Moms
azerimama
member
May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
Excess Lipase
azerimama
member
in Working Moms
Hi ladies, I haven't been on this thread before, but I just discovered today that my breast milk is high in lipase. For a quick catch up since I don't know most of you, I had gone back to work 8 weeks ago (my LO is now 18 weeks old) and have been pumping at work. I typically use the milk I pump today for her tomorrow. However, sometimes I am not able to pump as much on the weekend for Mondays, so I had been building a nice freezer stash to take some of the pressure off of me. I've been pumping since she was 2 weeks old. I have about 400 oz of frozen milk that was painstaking to get (low supply issues) and was very very proud of having it in case my supply wasn't able to keep up. My LO has been stuck on what our pediatrician calls a "reverse cycle" pretty much since I went back to work. She'd fight the bottle during the day, and would only really eat enough to take the edge off. She'd then eat like crazy all evening and all night long. They told me it would eventually even out. I've defrosted a few bags, and every single one of them has a soapy/metallic/vomit type smell and taste. Today it was so bad, that she refused to eat for DH, and he brought her to my office (he works later than I do, so he's with her in the mornings). She drank just find from me in the car. He brought the bottle with him, and said it smelled funny. I smelled it, and it smelled odd, so I tasted it and almost puked. Typically fresh, it has an almost cantaloupe taste to it. So I knew this wasn't right. He said it was the frozen milk in this bottle and that he was saving the fresh for the nanny to use. I got home, tested out a few bags from different times and dates, and so far, all of them are like this. I will likely have to donate the milk, and try to figure out a way to do the scalding trick to save milk for future use... has anyone else gone through this? Advice? Since I'm working now, I can't immediately scald the milk right after pumping since I am at work. I have to put it in the fridge, and take it home. So cooling, heating and cooling again means it would lose almost all nutritional value. Aside from pumping and scalding on nights and weekends, I can't think of any other solution for this. 
I'm feeling so devastated to lose this much milk.
I'm feeling so devastated to lose this much milk. May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Excess Lipase
May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
May Siggy Challenge: Parenting Fails
I have excess lipase. Here's what I do:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: pump and give that fresh milk to nanny the next day. No scalding.
Friday: pump, scald that milk when I get home, put it in the freezer.
Sunday: take out enough frozen (and scalded) milk to fill bottles for Monday.
Unfortunately, if LO won't take it, then your non-scalded freezer stash is no use. I know that's devastating, but that's the reality. Consider donating it to a bank that could potentially use it. You might be able to get away with using some of it in solids down the road if the solids have a pretty potent taste - sufficient enough to mask the yucky taste of the non-scalded frozen milk.
As for the reverse cycling... I don't know. It's a difficult issue. Maybe try to get her back on track over a long weekend by nursing frequently during the day and then have the nanny/dcp work really hard on getting her to take milk. Other than trying to night wean (which would be pretty hard at this age), there's not a ton you can do other than repeat to yourself that this too shall pass... or so I hope!
Just curious, why not? It was my understanding (from my LC) that milk with excess lipase is totally fine meaning it's not "bad" or anything - it's just that some babies reject it because it tastes different than when it is fresh from the spout, so to speak.
I didn't have a freezer stash to donate so this wasn't an issue for me, but why would you advise not donating it at all if other babies could benefit from it?
<img
I had the same issue when breastfeeding, but my daughter drank it fine. It was an issue of the daycare person still giving it to her even though it smelled soapy.
It sounds like JJ_13 has a good solution. Try scaling - I would hate it to go to waste!
January OAD Siggy Challenge: Creative Snow Sculptures
I've defrosted a few bags, and every single one of them has a soapy/metallic/vomit type smell and taste.
I have no experience with it myself, but based on what OP said about the milk, I can't imagine offering it to another baby.
I have excess lipase and it has a slightly soapy taste but DD doesn't seem to mind one bit. I've tasted it and it does not make me want to puke.
I'd be more concerned that something has happened to make yours go bad. I've tried my own after it's been in the fridge too long and smelled funny and I almost threw up. That's milk that's gone bad, not excess lipase.
Is the bad tasting milk straight from the freezer and just defrosted? Or is it milk that defrosted and then sat in the fridge for a bit? Mine only lasts about 2 days in the fridge.