Cry with me: 600+ oz in the garbage due to excess lipase

[smiles33]

I want to pull all my hair out and go cry in a corner right now and just need some sympathy. I have to throw out my entire freezer stash of 600+ oz of breastmilk!

DD2 refused bottles from week 3 on so she barely manages to get about 2 oz all day at daycare (they used eyedroppers or sippy cups to pour it in!). Thus, I've been freezing all my excess pumped milk with the plan to use it when we hit the rice cereal stage, which we just started.

Lo and behold, I apparently have too much lipase in my breastmilk as all the defrosted milk has a horrible smell/taste (yes, I tasted it to see if it was just a bad smell). DD2 also makes faces so I don't want to force her to drink/eat the defrosted stuff. My freshly expressed milk doesn't have the same issue so I'm concluding it's an excess lipase issue. I didn't have this problem at all with DD1 and haven't changed my storage/handling system (straight into Medela storage containers/Lansinoh bags in the fridge at work and then directly into the deep freezer). I also have recurrent plugged ducts and had mastitis this time around (and never had either with DD1), so I'm stumped as to what's going on with my body. Sigh.

In my internet research, all the articles from LLL, kellymom, and other reputable sites say that you can't do anything once it's "turned" but scalding the milk after pumping reduces the chance. I have 600+ oz in the deep freezer. I can't bear to dump it myself so I'm going to have DH do it later.

[sidmand]

I'm so sorry. That is so painful when you've worked so hard!

[ThreeofUs]

Oh, no! I'm so very sorry!

[jenfromnj]

I am so sorry. We had an issue with our fridge/freezer when DS was about a month old, and I lost a bunch frozen milk (not nearly as much as you did!) and I was so upset about it, so I feel your pain. Hang in there

[srhs]

No words.

[elephantmeg]

oh no! Crying with you!

[WatchingThemGrow]

Crying. How many bags/containers was it?

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

No use crying over spilled milk? Well there sure is when you spent SO MUCH TIME getting the darn stuff. HUGS to you. BTDT and it is so hard. It feels like a piece of you is gone. Sorry.

[jgenie]

I'm so sorry.

[smiles33]

Originally Posted by WatchingThemGrow

Crying. How many bags/containers was it?

I lost count, but I think I have 150-200 Lansinoh bags (with about 2.5-3 oz each) and another 40 of the Medela storage containers (the one that hold 2.5 oz). It could be less than 600 oz, but I'm guessing around 600 oz. I don't want to count right now....

Thanks for all the sympathy. I still can't fathom the loss. I don't understand how my body has changed so much from the first BFing experience. I barely pumped enough for DD1 and she never had any complaints re: defrosted milk as she had 1 bottle of defrosted milk everyday at daycare. Sigh.