Breast milk not freezable?!

[legalseagull]

Ahhhhh! I'm going away for a night in a (local) hotel tomorrow. My DS is four months old and I'm so looking forward to a night off with DH. My mum is babysitting.

I've been expressing and freezing milk, but I've just got it out to defrost and it's smelly! Slightly smells of baby sick 🤢. I froze it within 24/48 hours of being expressed. Is that normal? Will it smell stronger than fresh or has it gone off?? Why would my milk not freeze?

Kind of soapy? You might have excess lipase. kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/lipase-expressedmilk/

It's perfectly safe though

Not really soapy, more like faint cheese. So disgusting to say that. It's not awful, just faint, but I don't think I would want to drink it. Not sure whether to try it or just chuck it and get some formula in. He's not had formula yet though so don't know how he'll take to it

I had the excess lipase problem - mine smelt sicky too. Some babies don’t seem to mind, some do. Could you try him on a bit beforehand? It’s not harmful as a pp said.

how much do you think you can pump between now and tomorrow night?
Generally it should be freezable but that doesn't help you now sorry!

If you scald it before you freeze it, that shouldn’t happen. Just for future reference.

Could you Express some and just put it in the fridge. Will be ok for a few days in there

I'm not sure how much I can express between now and tomorrow afternoon given that I'm also BF him. I know I'll get a good lot from my morning express but probably only a bottles worth.
How do I know if it's lipase or just 'off'. Interesting to know PP smelt sicky too rather than soapy.

Why did you wait so long to freeze it? (Just out of interest, not trying to be goady). Freezing it is fine, I froze it for DD (she was premature so couldn’t take much for a long time) but always did it as soon as id expressed it. It did smell different to fresh but I can’t remember how exactly. Will you be able to pump enough again in time?

@minipie how did you know that was the issue? Did you taste it? It takes different too so maybe it's just off?

You can stick some alcohol-free vanilla extract in it if baby won't take it. It's probably high lipase but baby might drink it anyway so worth a try.

@Alb1 because I'd generally wait for the bag to be full of a days worth before freezing it

Definitely sounds like the lipase thing, I have it too. Sooo frustrating. If you give it a try it will probably taste disgusting. Read the kellymom link. I’d say definitely try him with it. You’re not going to have enough time to express enough extra now are you? What a shame. If you’re happy with giving formula then that’s a back up if he refuses it? It won’t harm him. Hope it works out, that’s stressful when just leaving wee one.

Ps mine was more sicky too. You can express a little now, freeze it immediately and test in the morning, to be confident. I did experiments with how long I could leave mine before scalding, before it would ‘turn’, and for me it’s about 24hrs, I think it varies depending how much lipase.

And pps, for future ref, it’s a good idea not to freeze whole bagfuls but in smaller amounts, 1/2/3/4 oz, so that there’s not much waste when using.

Can you mix different expressed milk from different pump sessions throughout the day??? I didn't know that was allowed!

@HJWT can't see why not.
@Merename thanks that's helpful. I'll try freezing at different times to see how I get on. Interesting that yours was sicky too. Despite tasting horrible is it still ok for them to drink? Poor mite!

Yes you can mix milk from different pump sessions.

Just freeze it straight away. It can be useful to have smaller portions to defrost anyway! If you want to use it on weetabix or whatever when weaning initially etc

How did I know it was lipase not off - because I’d frozen it immediately after pumping, and it hadn’t been more than a week or two in the freezer. Freezing stops it going off (for 3 months) but won’t stop the lipase. Even if you freeze it straight away.
The only thing that works is scalding the milk before you fridge or freeze it (as that stops the lipase working) but I never tried that.

I did an experiment where I put some expressed milk in the fridge an
d tasted it every few hours to see how long it lasted before it “turned”. Breastmilk is supposed to stay fine for 4/5 days in the fridge but mine only lasted 24 hours before turning sicky. Some women find theirs only lasts 6 hours!

I consoled myself with the thought that all that lipase must be helping the baby digest the milk more easily (probably total codswallop but it helped me feel less annoyed that all my carefully frozen milk tasted rubbish).

Yes it is totally safe for them to drink. It is just that the lipase has started to break down the fats (as would happen in their stomach anyway).

Thank you @minipie I'll try tasting it every few hours to experiment. It does sound like that's the problem. What a pain in the arse! Hopefully he'll still drink it

If you can get hold of a Hakka type pump (ask friends, local groups) and use it every time you feed him to should get enough I think

I have this issue where my stored breastmilk tastes awful, it literally tastes like vomit after about 24 hours in the fridge or if I freeze it. I tried scalding but that doesn't seem to make much difference. There is reference to 'chemical oxidation' on the kellymom page linked in a previous post, so I wonder if that might be the issue. The only way I have found to get round it is pumping one boob at the same time as feeding with the other in evening/overnight/morning when I know I will need a bottle of breast milk during the day. There is more info on how to tell if its lipase or chemical oxidation on the la leche league website.

www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/milk-issues/

You'll know if bm is off @legalseagull It's not a faint sicky smell. It's revolting and pungent.

Do the smell test once it's heated up. If it tastes rank then your baby will spit it out. Maybe have something as a back up? Either whatever you can express now or some formula just in case?

@HJWT yes you absolutely can mix it.

I exclusively expressed with both of my children. I followed the 6/6/6 rule for the most part and followed my instincts with what I felt was right and comfortable with.