so discouraged...

[@llli*tampamama]

i posted the other day about my LO refusing a bottle. She still is but i think i have another issue. i had tasted my fresh milk and even tasted day old milk and found it to be fine. however, last night i thawed some of my stash and it's awful. i am so discouraged to have lost my freezer backup. i guess i just have to get over it... my issue now is how to start rebuilding my stash. i pump once in the morning after feeding my LO and usually get 1-2oz at most. this was fine as i was saving for 2-3 days and combining before i froze. now with this lipase issue, i guess i need to scald my milk but i'm not sure how to scald such small amounts. any thoughts? it terrifies me to start back to work (january 2) without any stash. i'm already way behind where i wanted to be if i have to throw all my stash away. i can't imagine to my little girl will drink the icky tasting milk if she's already refusing the bottle and i can't imaging she will take a formula supplement either (that stuff is just as gross!) so now on top of being super stressed that she won't take a bottle, i am freaking out about not having any bm for her!! Help!!! it sounds crazy but i am feeling like giving up all together...

[@llli*filmmommy]

What kind of storage container are you using? I have mentioned on here before that anything I stored in Medela or Ameda bags smelled bad when I thawed it, but anything I had in a Lansinoh bag was okay. I think double-zipper bags are the way to go, but I didn't know that until some of my milk smelled awful. I know other people here have mentioned Honeywell bags as being good, as well. That doesn't help with your already frozen milk but you may want to make sure it's not the bags before you start scalding. If it is lipase, I guess you're stuck, though.

[@llli*tampamama]

Did the milk taste bad in the Medela bags or just smell bad?

[@llli*filmmommy]

Both -- it didn't have the minor freezer burn smell that all my milk normally had. It actually smelled kind of bad and tasted bad. They warn on the bags to not get milk in the zipper, but that's almost impossible!

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

If it is lipase, and mine was - it wasn't a storage bag issue - you can scald it and freeze it. I would even scald todays, put it in the fridge, scald tomorrows, combine them when they are both cooled and then freeze. I probably wouldn't store it for more than a day or so, scalded.

I would also put the milk in the fridge and taste it every day for a few days to see how long your milk lasts. What I did with my milk was pump today for tomorrow, and then on the last day of the week, scald and freeze. I always used the oldest frozen milk on Mondays.

It does suck to have to lose your freezer stash, but better to find out now than when you are already working.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

My milk smelled kind of freezer burnt and tasted like vomit.

[@llli*djs.mom]

Also I think it's important to remember you really only need about 12-15oz of freezer stash. Because ultimately you will be pumping everyday at work and ideally giving your baby that fresh milk the very next day. Your freezer stash is only for if you somehow don't pump enough before the 1st day and any day that you come up short. So don't get too overwhelmed with building it or rebuilding it. You have a month and you don't really need that much.

[@llli*elizabethlarae]

One way to get to use the frozen milk with lipase that I did was mix it half and half with fresh milk. My baby took it just fine like that but refuse it by itself. Everyone told me that the milk is fine as long as she would drink it, unlike spoiled milk.

[@llli*mercystreet]

RE milk in the zipper seal ... I have gotten milk in the zipper seal before (actually, in between the two zipper seals) and it doesn't matter (as far as thawing, freshness, baby accepting, etc). So I doubt that has anything to do with what you are experiencing.