How to be sure it's high lipase

[@llli*mamat]

My LO is 3 1/2 months. He only takes 8-10 oz while at the sitter during a 11-12 hr period. The sitter has said that he occassionally only takes 1 or 2 oz and then stops eating. Today she said my LO screamed when he started to take the bottle.

She showed me the bag of milk she used. The cream had seperated, but there was a layer of liquid on top of the cream that looked like popcorn oil. The milk smelled bad and tasted like a very strong cheese and had a horrible after taste. I tested another bag of thawed milk (not as old). It smelt kind of off and tasted better than the bag I previously tested, but had an after taste. I tested refrigerated milk that was pumpled 24-36 hours ago. The smell and taste was just "ok." I tested some freshly expressed milk this evening. It had a sweet smell and taste.

I'm a first time mom, but this sounds like high lipase to me. Any second opinions?
If I'm right, how do I properly scald my milk?
Is it ok to scald it within a 24 hr period? I'm working and pumping and can't logistically scald it immediately after I pump at work.

[@llli*mommal]

That does sound like lipase. This link may help: http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/m...expressedmilk/. It has directions for scalding My understanding is that it,s fine to scald within a day or so of expressing.

[@llli*mamat]

Thanks for the link. I was hoping I was wrong

[@llli*mamat]

Is there any way to have my milk tested?

[@llli*filmmommy]

I didn't have high lipase, so I'm not going to comment on fixing that (but sounds tough on moms!) but also make sure the bags you are using aren't the problem. I used Medela and Ameda bags, and every time we opened them my milk smelled and tasted awful. When I switched to Lansinoh, it tasted fine (just with a slight off-smell from freezing). I was worried it was my milk at first. Have you tried other bags or freezing methods?

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

I'm not sure how you would get it tested. What is the point? You know it tastes horrible, your baby knows it tastes horrible. You might try what filmmommy is suggesting, maybe you will be lucky and it's a bag issue. Anyway, here is how to test your milk yourself. Put a couple ounces in the fridge and taste it every day. You might find out that your milk is good for two or three days. Or maybe your milk only goes bad when you freeze it. Mine was ok for about 36 hours and then it started to taste like vomit and have a really strong acidic aftertaste. My milk also immediately went bad upon freezing. So what I did was pump today for tomorrow's milk through the week and then scald the milk on the last day of the week. That milk would get frozen and then I rotated my freezer stock on Monday.

If you need info on scalding, check in the lipase sticky thread or I can try to find the instructions and post them here for you.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

I just re-read your post. It sounds like you should be fine to only scald once a week - or wait and scald the milk when you get home if you're worried about the "just ok" taste the second day.

[@llli*mamat]

I asked about testing just to be sure it's a lipase issue before I throw out 10 1gallon freezer bags of frozen milk. Actually, the milk that tasted bad was in a Medela bag. The milk from a couple of days ago that was just "ok" is in a plastic Medela container. The milk i pumped last night is in a Lansinoh bag. I just tested it. It's 15 hours old and it's fine. I'm going to keep testing that bag and I'm going to thaw 1 of my frozen Lansinoh bags to test.

If I do end up scalding my milk, should I have a pot dedicated to only scalding milk so the milk doesn't absorb the taste of anything previously cooked in the pot?

Thanks everyone. Good info. I'll keep everyone posted in case it might help someone else.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

Oh no! I'm sorry. I would hate to waste that much milk! I hope your frozen lansinoh bags are ok. You can also donate them to a milk bank, they will take the high lipase milk since it gets mixed in with other milks and dilutes the taste. Nothing is wrong with the milk, it just tastes bad.

I scalded my milk two ways - either using a baby bottle warmer or by putting several bottles in a pan on the stove. I put the bottles that I pumped into in a water bath, heated it up to 160 F for 15 seconds, did not let it go over 180, and then quickly moved the bottle into an ice bath (tub with water and ice) to cool it quickly. Then I put the milk into freezer bags and froze it.

[@llli*mamat]

We went to the pediatrician today. He has a little cough so we wanted to get that checked out. I mentioned my milk issues. She seemed to think it was more likely a bag issue rather than high lipase. Either way I felt a little better when we left. His weight is in the 75 percentile so at least I know he's not suffering. I forgot to ask about testing my milk for high lipase. I had so many other questions....

Came home. Thawed a Lansinoh and Medela bag from the same date. I dipped my finger in the Medela bag and tasted the small amount that was on my finger. I had to spit it out and rinse my mouth. I couldn't bring myself to swallow it. My poor baby has been drinking this stuff for the past month I tasted the Lansinoh bag it wasn't as sweet as the fresh bag I tested last night, but still better than the Medela bag and no after taste. Tested the Lansinoh bag from last night (about 22 hrs since pumped) and it tasted similar to the frozen Lansinoh bag, no after taste.

Right now, I'm leaning towards believing it's a bag issue. The sitter and I will watch him the next couple of days and see if his feedings during the day get better.