Have you ever tasted your milk?

The reason I ask is because last night I got into my freezer stash for the boys before it went bad. They drank a few ounces and then kinda gave up. I decided I had better smell it to make sure it wasn't bad. It smelled bad, so I decided to taste and it tasted spoiled. So, tonight they got the fresh stuff pumped from last night, it was not as bad, but it's not at all sweet tasting like it was once before. Anyone with a similar experience? Can I get my milk tested to make sure it's ok? Any insight?

 

Breastmilk changes as the babies get older. It tastes different per the age of the child. Freezer stash does generally taste different than fresh. It doesn't mean that it is bad. I have never tasted my milk. If it has been stored per 'regulations,' it should be fine. :hug99:

 

The freezer stuff always had a funny odor to me, but I think as long as it was stored properly that it's fine!

ETA - I've been trying to remember what it tasted like and I remember now - it was soapy!

 

I accidentally took a big slug of it once :bad: Blech!!! I couldn't believe I did it, I was seeing how the sippy cup worked. I felt like an idiot!! LOL. I agree, sometimes it does smell weird.

 

The tasted varies from what you ate, how it was stored, what it was stored in, etc. All of these things they actually say help bf babies accept a larger variety of foods.

FWIW-I am using up my freezer stash and my milk is from August '07 :blush: They drink it just fine.

My guess is that they weren't hungry then.

 

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My guess is that they weren't hungry then.



Well, I freaked and made up some emergency formula and sadly :cray: they chugged it down. I mean this stuff tasted terrible. I want my sweet milk back. I did look at kellymom and they explained it....


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A few mothers find that their refrigerated or frozen milk begins to smell or taste soapy, sour, or even rancid soon after it's stored, even though all storage guidelines have been followed closely. Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 781), the speculation is that these mothers have an excess of the enzyme lipase in their milk, which begins to break down the milk fat soon after the milk is expressed. Most babies do not mind a mild change in taste, and the milk is not harmful, but the stronger the taste the more likely that baby will reject it.

Lipase is an enzyme that is normally present in human milk and has several known beneficial functions:

Lipases help keep milk fat well-mixed (emulsified) with the "whey" portion of the milk, and also keep the fat globules small so that they are easily digestible (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
Lipases also help to break down fats in the milk, so that fat soluble nutrients (vitamins A & D, for example) and free fatty acids (which help to protect baby from illness) are easily available to baby (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
The primary lipase in human milk, bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL), "has been found to be the major factor inactivating protozoans" (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 203).
Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 158), the amount of BSSL in a particular mother's milk does not vary during a feed, and is not different at different times of day or different stages of lactation. There is evidence that there may be a decrease in lipase activity over time in mothers who are malnourished.


I just wish they would tell me what I could do about the excess lipase in my milk.

 

I think you are supposed to scald it. But if this is the only time this has happened then maybe it was just that batch. Do you have more frozen? have they drank the frozen stuff before?

What can I do if my storage problem is due to excess lipase? Once the milk becomes sour or rancid smelling/tasting, there is no known way to salvage it. However, newly expressed milk can be stored by heating the milk to a scald to inactivate the lipase and stop the process of fat digestion. Scald the milk as soon after expression as possible.

To scald milk:

Heat milk to about 180 F (82 C), or until you see little bubbles around the edge of the pan (not to a full, rolling boil).
Quickly cool and store the milk.
Scalding the milk will destroy some of the antiinfective properties of the milk and may lower some nutrient levels, but this is not likely to be an issue unless all of the milk that baby is receiving has been heat-treated.

Per Lawrence & Lawrence, bile salt-stimulated lipase can also be destroyed by heating the milk at 144.5 F (62.5 C) for one minute (p. 205), or at 163 F (72 C) for up to 15 seconds (p. 771).

HTH

 

I have tasted mine. It normally tastes very sweet. But I've had a little go bad lately, and the way I confirmed it was by tasting. I thought it smelled funny, so I tasted - and it was nasty - soapy and sour. I had to eat cookies to get the awful taste of my mouth.

I always figure I'm not going to feed my kids something I'm not willing to taste. I taste everything - baby food, vitamins, medicine. If I'm not willing to put it in my mouth, then why would I feed it to my kids.

 

I'm going to taste mine today. Never occurred to me to try.

 

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I always figure I'm not going to feed my kids something I'm not willing to taste. I taste everything - baby food, vitamins, medicine. If I'm not willing to put it in my mouth, then why would I feed it to my kids.

Ditto.

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soapy and sour
Thats a "sign" that you may also have excess lipase.



Thanks Kristi. Nope it is not just a bad batch. I tatsed some freshly expressed and it tasted sililar, just not as bad. As long as it's not bad for them and they drink it then I will just serve as is. I looked and looked, but could not find a reason as to why I have excess lipase. Or, how to get rid of it.

 

If you have excess lipase, the scalding trick only works if you scald it right away and then freeze it. It won't work on the stuff that's already frozen. It won't hurt your babies, but they may not drink the stuff you've already frozen. I hope they'll continue to take it. It would be painful to me to have to dispose of all that milk. I'm sure you feel the same way.

And, no, I haven't tasted my milk. The thought grosses me out a little. That's dumb, I know.

 

yup, taste sweet and good( imho); but dd 4 1/2yrs tried it and said it was yucky, dh said it tasted fine. what i eat can make it gassy for babies so i have to be careful. gl.

 

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The thought grosses me out a little. That's dumb, I know.


Ya know it grossed me out a little bit too. What should really gross me out is drinking cows milk. I don't think now, that it should be cause for embarassment(sp?). When it used to be sweet, I often thought about using it for creamer!!! I don't have to think about that anymore though. Haven't you ever been curious?

 

I've tasted it all, Frozen, In refridge for a few days, right after pumping. The frozen stuff is HORRIBLE (like GAG, horrible for me). The fridge is ok, but still I couldn't drink it. Fresh out of the pump is better.

I was lucky that my kids would always drink the nasty frozen stuff, I must have had that lipase problem. But I agree that if you are storing it according to spec it hasn't gone bad, it just doesn't taste that good. I'd still encourage using it over formula, but if they flat out refuse to drink it, I'd try the scalding thing for future batches.

 

So slightly off topic but everyone I tell laughs about this.

Early on I thought out loud "I wonder how the formula tastes compared to breast milk" and to my surprise DH replied "your milk is sweeter". I was so surprised it took a second to sink in that he had taken a taste when I wasn't watching.