sour breastmilk

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sour breastmilk
« on: August 20, 2009, 08:59:34 PM » by 5xmomma

Can anyone tell me why my breastmilk goes sour after a day in the fridge and is sour everytime I pull it out of the freezer? I usually put it in the freezer the day I pump it. I never add warm fresh milk to cold or frozen milk. I don't let it sit out longer than it takes to pump. This is my 5th child and I have had this problem with every single one. Very frustrating! Any ideas?

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Re: sour breastmilk
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2009, 09:04:13 PM » by ArmyWife

Quote from: 5xmomma on August 20, 2009, 08:59:34 PM

What do you mean by "goes sour"? Do you taste it and it tastes sour, and your baby won't drink it, or is it more the appearance of it?

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Re: sour breastmilk
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2009, 09:34:36 PM » by 5xmomma

I don't quite remember how I stumbled upon it 6 years ago, but I do remember giving it to my 1st born who would not drink it it and then tasting it, discovering it was sour. It does look off and it tastes off. Today I took some out of the freezer to try (have reunion on Sat. & baby going to a friends). I thawed it in fridge, warmed it in hot water and it looked off and I tasted it & it was sour. I had some milk I pumped this morning in the fridge and tried that, just to see if I'm crazy- and that was fine.

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Re: sour breastmilk
« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2009, 11:09:11 PM » by herbalmom

My guess is that the water you're warming it in is too hot. I used to warm br*stmilk (my "baby" is 14 so it's been a while) by putting it under warm running water- basically the same temp that you want to warm the milk to. (what is known as "bloodwarm"- about the same temp as blood, slightly warm to the skin- same temp range used for proofing yeast) It take a little longer but the milk doesn't spoil that way. The reason for running water is b/c the water cools off too fast if frozen milk is sitting in warm, standing water.

As far as it not keeping very long in the fridge- where do you keep it in the fridge? The back of the top shelf tends to stay coldest in the fridge, The front of the shelves & esp the door are the warmest.

HTH Blessings ~herbalmom

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Re: sour breastmilk
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2009, 08:29:15 AM » by hi_itsgwen

My guess would be that you have a very active enzyme mix that is 'digesting' the milk. Here are some things I thought of, which you prob. already know:
-Make sure your pump and container are scrupulously clean each time you pump. Otherwise, you're boosting that enzyme activity which will make it spoil faster. The high fat content in breastmilk makes stuff sort of hard to clean, so rinsing won't do the trick.
-If you refridgerate it, keep it in the back (like Patti said).
-Freeze it right away, and put it in the coldest freezer you've got. A chest freezer keeps food at a lower temp than a standard freezer...esp. one that gets opened frequently.

-Thaw it in the fridge or in cold water. Cold water is actually the safest/fastest way to thaw stuff (even frozen turkeys!). Then bring it to warm temp like Patti said.
-Breastmilk does separate into solids (the wonderful fats that baby needs), but that doesn't indicate that it's sour.

HTH! Gwen

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Re: sour breastmilk
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2009, 09:37:34 AM » by 5xmomma

I will definately give all this a try. I did take a frozen one this morning and thaw/warmed it under running water at the temp suggested and it does seem to be just fine. Yaay! (Of course I don't want to waste it so I guess I will have my daughter feed it to him and pump some more for tommorrow

)
I am not very scrupulous about washing my hand pump and the containers- so I guess I will also change that and be more thorough in my cleaning. Thanks for all the tips. I will keep you posted.

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May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and give you peace.

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