breastmilk curdling...

[suzi2]

I've tried everything...

Tonights milk was less than 12 hours old. 2 separate batches - both been in the fridge since expressed and both thoroughly chilled. Fridge is cold enough. Milk was heated under a luke warm tap to start with getting gradually warmer. I only heat enough to take the chill off. It's not straightforward separation. The foremilk & hindmilk mix back together OK.

It hasn't gone off and he'll still drink it but the curdled looking bits are so thick they won't go through the teat. Is it still safe to give him it like this?

Any ideas? I'm at a complete loss.

Sus, x

I know what you mean - maybe try heating it more than you need to, give it a really good shake to mix it and let it cool down to the right temp to try and get rid of the lumps (which is the fatty good stuff!)

I think it's just not homogenised, IYSWIM. I don't think it's curdled. (Curdled means off.)

I found shaking and heating did the trick, as vickitiredmum says.

ahh that might be it. So not warm enough to come 'back together' properly...

to test the theory I whacked the teeny bit that was left in the bottle in the microwave - it's come mostly together and is only a wee bit grainy rather than resembling butter!

thanks

It does look grotty and weird. My milk would do this every time. I think pasteurisation keeps cow's milk from doing the same, even when it's not homogenised.

Hi Sus,
It does sound like the really creamy bits, I couldn't believe how much there was first time I expressed!
I would recommend swirling the milk around for a while and it should gradually mix back in, best not to shake it if poss - it's not good for breastmilk (see \link{http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bf-links-milkstorage.html}

Hope that helps, Clare.