Ok... so... is breastmilk supposed to smell?

[sadie_beth_1124]

Not bad, necessarily, but is there supposed to be a noticeable odor? Noticeable to me at least, DH hasn't said anything. Of course we haven't slept in the bed together in AGES. But that's another story...

Anyway, DD is 6 wks & EBF. I notice a smell when I BF, not always, but most of the time. And usually near the end, which makes me wonder if it's the hindmilk that has the scent? My breast pads don't have that smell, BTW, but her poops (which are yellow, sometimes with a brown or orange tint) do, only stronger.

It doesn't bother me, I just want to make sure it's normal. We had some BFing issues in the beginning so I am always worried about things like this.

Thanks!

[maestramommy]

You mean right out of the breast? I've sniffed my milk after pumping and I don't smell anything, HOWEVER.....I remember smelling this off odor in the early days when I was nursing, couldn't figure out where it was coming from, finally realized it was my bra. Occasionally I would leak, and after bm dries on fabric, it has this off odor. Also, I couldn't understand why people said bf poop doesn't smell, because dd's always did. To me it smelled like hot buttered popcorn gone bad. Well, okay, maybe not exactly, but that was the closest similarity I could think of.

[HallsofVA]

To me, it always had a sweet sorta smell (along the lines of condensed milk, but not quite), which I especially noticed on DS's lips after he finished nursing. In fact, I took to calling him "sweet lips" for the first few months because his face always had the same sweet smell after he'd finished nursing.

That said, and this may be more than you asked for, but nothing smelled worse for me than Breast milk that had been pumped, stored, served, and then left sitting around (my husband used to watch our son while he worked from home, bless his heart, but he wasn't always the quickest to rinse out the bottles afterwards!) I'd smell it as soon as I walked in the door from work, and would have to clean it up before I could go on and do anything else.

[JTsMom]

ditto on the buttered popcorn poops and on the milk in the bra!

[Radosti]

I always notice a yeasty sweet smell when my DS nurses. I had no idea what it was, but it's not a bad odor, I just couldn't figure it out. Well, it just hit me not too long ago. DS pees toward the end of his nursing sessions and what I am smelling is actually his pee before the diaper absorbs it completely. But it's not a normal icky pee smell, it's got an OK scent to it.

[sadie_beth_1124]

Maybe I should have asked what breast milk smelled like, specifically if hindmilk smelled differently?

Anyway, that's it, a yeasty smell, like bread. That's what made me worry. Yeast makes me think infection like thrush. But I don't think we have that. It could just be pee...

I think I just worry too much!

[jennifer13]

In addition to bad bra smells, the baby can get milk drops collected in her neck folds and can start to stink. With my DD #1 it took me a while to figure out the source of the stink, she had so many neck folds it took some effort to get in there. It could be that toward the end of the feeding there's just stale milk in places. Isn't motherhood glamourous?

Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03
and Leah 3/24/05

[EllasMum]

>couldn't figure out where it was coming from, finally realized
>it was my bra. Occasionally I would leak, and after bm dries
>on fabric, it has this off odor.

Yep - noticed that too. I still notice it now (DD is 12 mo and still BF maybe 3 times in 24 hours) after I've worn my bra a few times after a washing. Smells like spoiled milk - I can smell it so I always wonder if other people around me can!

>Also, I couldn't understand
>why people said bf poop doesn't smell, because dd's always
>did. To me it smelled like hot buttered popcorn gone bad.
>Well, okay, maybe not exactly, but that was the closest
>similarity I could think of.

OK this is gross but since it was brought up... I have always thought that BF poops smelled *exactly* like a McChicken - it was a loooong time after realizing that that I was able to eat one again!! :)

[sadie_beth_1124]

So, my verdict is that it's probably just dried milk on my shirts (why bother to find a burp cloth?) or hers, and probably on her skin. She gets milk moustaches AND milk goatees. :) As well as her neck rolls. Since she gets warm and toasty when she's so close to me, it heats up all that residue.
Thanks for helping me figure this one out!

[Radosti]

Yup, your baby is just peeing. They are so relaxed toward the end of a nursing session that they just let go of the pee. We don't do bottle feeding often enough for him to learn to relax with the bottle, so DH never smells it either. Don't worry, it's not anything bad like thrush. It's completely normal. Just a relaxed baby :)

I also know it's not the milk because I pump twice a day. If it was the milk, I'd smell it in the pump, but I don't.

[maestramommy]

>In addition to bad bra smells, the baby can get milk drops
>collected in her neck folds and can start to stink. With my DD
>#1 it took me a while to figure out the source of the stink,
>she had so many neck folds it took some effort to get in
>there. It could be that toward the end of the feeding there's
>just stale milk in places. Isn't motherhood glamourous?

yes, Dh and I used to call it cheese neck. And sometimes there was cheese knees too. :-D
>
>Jennifer
>Mom to Norah 5/23/03
>and Leah 3/24/05

[sadie_beth_1124]

Cheese neck! Ha! That's it exactly. :)

[turtledove]

I have to laugh at this. I always tell DH that her poo smells like buttered popcorn, and all he says is "remind me not to eat the buttered popcorn you buy"!