Breast Milk Storage & Excess Lipase

I had over 50 ounces of breast milk in the freezer. But my baby wouldn't drink it, almost like it was rotten...

Storing breast milk has always been a big thing for me. I like knowing that I can leave for a day, and not have to worry about Felicity running out of milk. 

But if you've read my previous post on breast milk, you'll know that it's been hard for me; to have enough milk for my supply. 

I was finally able to store over 50 ounces in the freezer; and keep a rotation of at least 20 ounces in the fridge. 

This is after roughly two months of non stop pumping. 

One day, I decided to take out a few bags from the freezer and give them to Felicity. 

After the first bag, she puked.. 

Later that day, second bag, she puked. 

I didn't understand why.

I had done everything properly. 

I had been extremely careful to follow procedure. 

I even made sure that my bags were in the back of the freezer. 

So what was happening?

My milk had a weird look to it, it smelled soapy.

It turns out, like many other women, I have excess lipase. 

What is lipase?

How do you know if you have too much? 

Here are the quick facts for you:

Lipase is actually an enzyme, it's there to help break down fats. 

Which, in turn, makes the milk easier for your little one to digest. 

All breast milk has lipase in it.

Excessive lipase causes the fat in your milk to break down very quickly.

Lansinoh bags

Which can make your milk taste metallic, sour or soapy. It hasn't gone bad though, it's completely safe to drink. Some babies, however, hate the taste and refuse to drink it. 

It even has that effect on frozen milk.

So, what can you do about it?

If you have excessive lipase, you have a few options. 

*Scalding your milk.

Once you've pumped, heat the milk in a saucepan between 140°f-180°f. Or just until bubbles start forming on the edges of the pan. 

*Don't heat it to a complete boil.*

Scalding your milk, kills off the lipase

Right afterwards, put the milk in the fridge to cool off. For me, it took half an hour. After that, you can transfer it to your freezer if you wish. Inside of whatever you typically store it in. For myself it's Lansinoh bags. 

Other mom's instead, will heat the milk in their bottle warmers. 

If that's a better option for you just make sure that it doesn't go above 180°.

Also, make sure you have a way of immediately cooling the milk nearby.

Note: Scalding milk that was already frozen, won't change the taste of the milk after the lipase has done it's job.

Ball jars

*Airtight containers.

Investing in some air tight storage containers can help to slow lipase down. 

I highly recommend these jars.

They've been my little miracle workers, you can buy them in 4 or 8 ounce sizes.

They are safe in the freezer as well, I'm just clumsy and don't trust myself to not accidentally break one that way.

However, they do sell an optional warranty as well. 

*Milk baths.

You could always just use your freezer storage for milk baths. I use between 6-8 ounces sometimes for my girl. 

It really helps to clear up cradle cap, or eczema.

*Donation.

Milk donation is always highly appreciated in hospitals. Excess lipase doesn't matter when a baby in the N.I.C.U is being tube fed. 

If you're having this issue, I hope that this information can help you along on your pumping journey.

~Katie~