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Infant feeding

Scared my breast milk tastes minging...

18 replies

Caz10 · 22/05/2008 12:01

OK this might qualify as my most stupid post so far, but if you can't ask here...

we are currently having battle of the bottle as my 5.5mth ex-bfd baby refuses to take EBM in a bottle or cup. I'm going back to work and getting worried that she'll starve!

anyway we've been trying her with the bottle once or twice every day and she gets quite distressed - I know this is normal for a bf baby. But what I notice is that after trying her with the bottle, her breath smells really milky, almost sicky, it's really not nice. She doesn't smell like that after a bf.

I have tasted the milk and tbh I thought it was a bit minging! But I thought that was just because it was so sweet and "different"..

I know the milk she gets is fine obviously - is there any reason it would change when expressed? If not, why is she so stinky with it?!

PS Having read the other thread re drinking own milk I would just like to clarify I drank it from the bottle

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mindalina · 22/05/2008 12:08

I am no expert on breastfeeding, but I'm sure I've read on here before that some women's milk contains something (extra lipase?) which can mean it turns very quickly once expressed, maybe this is what's happening?

I think someone a lot more knowledgable than me will be along in a moment but that sprang to mind so I thought I'd share

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snotbuster · 22/05/2008 12:09

I would imagine her refusal is much more to do with it being in a bottle or cup. Try making sure that someone else gives it to her - ideally when you're not around. She may just be protesting because she wants it in its usual format!

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Caz10 · 22/05/2008 12:13

Thanks! Yes it's been DH or my mum trying, I've been out of room, still no success.

I've heard of the lipase thing too, but didn't know how you would tell?

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TheProvincialLady · 22/05/2008 12:14

Does it smell at all soapy? My expressed milk starts to smell and taste soapy after it has been stored for a few days but I have read that some women's milk does this much more quickly - like mindalina says.

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Caz10 · 22/05/2008 12:19

I wouldn't say soapy no, it's more sicky! (sorry!)

It's never been stored for more than a few hours either, as I'm just expressing wee bits for her to try in the bottle, it generally gets offered the same day.

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MrsBadger · 22/05/2008 12:24

dd smells sicky after having EBM at nursery but I have never worked out why - I thought she must just slop it everywhere / rub the teat round her face etc so there was just more milk around to smell stale

I have high lipase too and if the milk is off when you taste it it's not just 'a bit minging' it is putrid, rancid, vile and leaves a repulsive aftertaste coating your mouth [blee]

for what it's worth, dads often have more success offering ebm than mothers do as there are no norks about to offer competition

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Caz10 · 22/05/2008 13:34

Thanks!
Yes i wondered that MrsB if it was just the milk all over her that was making the smell - but her breath does honk too.

I am now trying to assess the levels of minging-ness...

How do you know you have high lipase, simply because of the taste etc?

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MrsBadger · 22/05/2008 14:02

weeeeeell

dd was refusing bottles when she first started at nursery - I was using milk from the freezer, must have been about 4m old, but had been properly stored and frozen, and warmed straight from frozen so not left hanging around thawing - and she wasn't having any of it.

Then DH randomly offered her some just-pumped stuff from the fridge when I was out at choir and she wouldn't settle and she wolfed the lot.

I tried some of the frozen stuff and my god it was vile - no wonder dd had been refusing it.

Now I generally pump one day and feed the next and freeze Friday's over the weekend.

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chipmonkey · 22/05/2008 14:34

Caz, taste the milk when it's freshly expressed. That is the "normal" taste and what your dd would be used to. If the older milk tastes a lot worse then it is probably a lipase problem. If they taste much the same then she just hates bottles! We found ds3 would take onlythese teats. Unfortunatey the bottle system itself is disposable which goes against my principles. but being chained to ds3 24/7 went against my principles even more! The other thing to be aware of is that a lot of bf babies like their EBM really warm and they also prefer hot water poured over the teat to warm it too.

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chipmonkey · 22/05/2008 14:35

Oh and on LLL forums one lady found her lipase problems disappeared when she stopped putting linseeds on her oatmeal in the morning!

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MrsBadger · 22/05/2008 16:16

oh yes, dd has hers really warm, like bathwater warm

weirdo

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Caz10 · 22/05/2008 20:02

Thanks again!

Chipmonkey I wasn't keen on the taste when I tasted freshly expressed stuff, but it certainly wasn't vile so I'll try it again and then use that as a benchmark.

Thanks for the bottle link, will give them a go (Dh will freak, our house is overflowing with bottles, she has so far rejected TT, Mam and Nuk...!) Did you use the slow flow teats?

Playtex makes me think of condoms for some reason...

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Caz10 · 22/05/2008 20:04

Oh, and MrsB the only time we've ever got close to Dd taking milk from a bottle so far was when it was freezing, straight out of the fridge! Another weirdo!

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chipmonkey · 22/05/2008 21:21

Caz{grin] The disposable bottle liners do look like condoms as it happens so you're not wrong. I used the fast flow teats with ds3 but I think he was close to 6 months at the time

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stleger · 22/05/2008 21:38

Haven't seen Chipmonkey in 'real time' since her big event. Congratulations, to Chipmonkey and all on this thread.

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chipmonkey · 22/05/2008 21:40

Thanks stleger!

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teenyweenytadpole · 22/05/2008 21:42

I have high lipase too and mine would keep ok in the fridge for about a day but no more, and if frozen it was horrible when defrosted - really sicky, terrible taste and smell. What helped was to scald it before freezing - that means putting it in a pan and bringing it to really hot but not boiling. For some reason that helps the keeping quality and it is fine then. Worth a try?

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MrsBadger · 22/05/2008 22:18

tadpole, the heating kills the lipase enzymes that otherwise break down the fat. I know I could scald mine but am too lazy .

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