Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmilk?

dawn

dawn

New Member
hi everyone!

being a new mother to a bubbly (though sometimes fussy) 2 month old boy, i hope to seek the members' opinion here regarding the smell, taste and texture of thawed EBM.

having frozen my excess EBM just last month, i hv just started to thaw the first batch by leaving them in the refrigerator compartment overnight. after warming the BM, I detected that it has a slight odour (not strong, but certainly a distinctive odour) and taste (again, not sour, but a distinctive tinge). The texture (before being warmed) of the half-thawed BM also looked a bit thick.

seeing this for the first time, I am not sure if my BM has turned bad :elvis: would be surprised if it did since I had frozen it immediately and handled it as instructed by most textbooks!

pouring it away sends stabs of pain through my heart.....

anyone has encountered something like this??? how do you know for certain if the BM has gone bad?

many thanks
 
V

Vic

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

hi dawn,

mine smell n taste different too after thawed, it's definitely not as tasty as freshly expressed ones.

have checked with friends n colleagues, think that's the norm.

the only person i read of from a magazine who do not encounter similar situation, is a full-time vegetarian mother who drinks fresh wheatgrass juice everyday... not sure is it due to her diet or the wheatgrass juice though...
 
dawn

dawn

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

Vic said:
hi dawn,

mine smell n taste different too after thawed, it's definitely not as tasty as freshly expressed ones.

have checked with friends n colleagues, think that's the norm.

the only person i read of from a magazine who do not encounter similar situation, is a full-time vegetarian mother who drinks fresh wheatgrass juice everyday... not sure is it due to her diet or the wheatgrass juice though...
Click to expand...
Thanks, Vic! this is certainly v assuring to hear indeed.. looks like i can convince my hubby not to pour away my precious EBM so quickly :Dancing_wub:

i half-suspected it was either to do with my diet or change in composition of the milk resulting from freezing or the frequent opening of the freezer door which could hv led the frozen milk being thawed n refrozen unsuspectingly...

thanks again
 
V

Vic

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

hi dawn, no problem.. EBM very precious, cannot anyhow throw.. 1 point to add, i'm not sure about your fridge but my Mum keeps meat n fish in the freezer too, so i use those "Lock n Lock" box to keep my EBM before storing in the freezer.
 
J

Jezzy

New Member
dawn

dawn

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

Jezzy said:
Hi dawn,

i had the same problem, and when i tasted it, its pretty gross. (But i'm not a milk-drinker to begin with). Apparently, it may be due to high lipase level in your breastmilk. U can refer to this link for more info.

Directions for Breast Milk Storage

Berkeley Parents Network: Gross tasting frozen breastmilk

Berkeley Parents Network: Lipase in Breast Milk

Hope it helps.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
Thanks Jez!

This is very informative too :Dancing_tongue:!

but were you able to distinguish between what is strange-tasting milk due to lipids and what is really spoilt milk ?

armed with this new info, while i'm not afraid of offering my baby the thawed milk but i am afraid I may unwittingly feed spoilt milk to my baby.

can i only rely on baby to do the rejection??

thanks!!
 
Last edited:
sleepymama

sleepymama

Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

Hi Dawn
Yes, it is most likely due to lipase. Some babies don't mind thawed milk with strong lipase taste/smell but I read some babies will refuse to drink it! So some mothers don't freeze their milk cos their babies won't drink thawed milk. Spoilt milk taste sour, you'd know it if you taste milk that has gone bad. So, to play safe, taste a little of the thawed milk before offering to baby. Another way, mix thawed milk with freshly pumped milk or milk you've kept in the fridge (not frozen). Not sure if this helps reduce the taste/smell.

Like Vic, I also keep my EBM in Lock&Lock containers before storing them in the freezer. This will help prevent smells from other foods in the freezer from entering your EBM.

Keep it up! :D
 
dawn

dawn

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

Thank you all, dear mummies, for your invaluable advice! :wong19:
 
elaine01

elaine01

Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

always smell your own EBM b4 & after freezing. be used to the smell, so you'll know if your EBM had "turned" bad.

the colour & taste may depend on mummy's diet too. normal EBM "colours" are blue, yellow, greenish & pinkish(with a tinge of blood if got sore & bleeding nipples), but that's alright to gve bb.

you may also notice that after some time in the fridge, you see some "beancurds" on the surface of your EBM. dat's normal too.

EBM contains fats. just like when we keep some soup in the fridge. when we take it out to heat-up again, you see the oil harden. same concept goes to EBM.

when thawing EBM, just stand in a bowl of tap/plain water to remove the coldnes & you're ready to feed baby. no need to heat up until 40~60 deg c. when bb drink directly, our BM is also at room temp.

if bb cant finish what you heat up, let bb finish the balance w/in 2~4 hours. else, discard.
 
dawn

dawn

New Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

elaine01 said:
always smell your own EBM b4 & after freezing. be used to the smell, so you'll know if your EBM had "turned" bad.

the colour & taste may depend on mummy's diet too. normal EBM "colours" are blue, yellow, greenish & pinkish(with a tinge of blood if got sore & bleeding nipples), but that's alright to gve bb.

you may also notice that after some time in the fridge, you see some "beancurds" on the surface of your EBM. dat's normal too.

EBM contains fats. just like when we keep some soup in the fridge. when we take it out to heat-up again, you see the oil harden. same concept goes to EBM.

when thawing EBM, just stand in a bowl of tap/plain water to remove the coldnes & you're ready to feed baby. no need to heat up until 40~60 deg c. when bb drink directly, our BM is also at room temp.

if bb cant finish what you heat up, let bb finish the balance w/in 2~4 hours. else, discard.
Click to expand...

thanks, elaine

this is v helpful info indeed!
:tsmile:
 
P

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LiuYifei Xianjianqixia Biography

Liu Yifei(August 25, 1987 -), actor. English name Crystal Liuyifei, was born in Wuhan, China, a child of dance, from childhood to display art. Childhood in Wuhan University in Wuhan players for the professor's father and the mother of dancers at the national level through Liu Xiaoli. 1997 10-year-old Liu Yifei from Wuhan City Jiangan district Poyang Street primary school drop-out, to the United States to study. 14-year-old home moviesPerformance of taken by Beijing, 18-year-old graduate. Masterpieces of the current "Tianlongbabu" "Shendiaoxialv" "Xianjianqixia Biography" "Jinfenshijia" "May Love"
 
L

leey

Member
Re: Does thawed breastmilk smell & taste different from normal/ refrigerated breastmi

Thank you very much to share.

it is another great guideline for us.

Handy and useful!
 
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