Silly Enzymes

Brace yourself!  This post contains both dorky science issues and breastfeeding talk. Skip it if you want, I just thought it might help someone who's having similar issues.

While I was preggers, I knew that I wanted to try to breastfeed Collier, since it was the best thing for both of us.  The first several weeks were quite a challenge, but since then we've gotten into a rhythm that works well for both of us, and it's become relatively easy.  However, always in the back of my mind was going back to work--how am I going to teach and pump so C can eat while he's at daycare?  Trying to get "ahead of the game", I've made it my goal this summer to build up as much of a frozen supply as I could, so we have something to fall back on when I go back to work.  We've also tried to give Collier about a bottle a day, just so he stays comfortable with going back and forth between the two.

Little 2-week-old Collier having his first bottle.  It's as big as he is!  

Collier took a bottle so well at first!  Chris loved getting a chance to feed him, and I loved that I could leave the house if I needed to.  Around two weeks old, I also started building up that supply of frozen milk.  At our two-month checkup, C's doctor told me that she'd like me to start using the frozen milk in his bottle, on a "first in, first out" kind of plan.  After we started that, we noticed that Collier sometimes had trouble with the bottle.  Sometimes he'd take it like a champ, sometimes he'd refuse it.  We figured he was just being stubborn...thinking "If I hold out, then mommy will nurse me."  Fast forward to last week.  It was Wednesday, and Chris was getting Collier started on a bottle while I was leaving for a meeting.  While I was out of the house, they spent about an hour and a half working on the bottle...it was a total no-go.  I was beginning to question what I'm going to do when I return to work. Do we need new bottles?  Do we need to switch to formula?  It's upsetting to wonder how you're kid's going to eat while you're at work!  Enter google.  We did a search for other families with similar problems, and found one mom's blog post, called "Taste the Milk".  Apparently her baby was doing similar things, and refusing frozen milk.  When she tried her milk, she detected a slightly metallic flavor.  So....we tried it.  (I know, I know...you're thinking, "That's gross!".  Turns out that parents will do just about anything to help their baby eat.) So, we tried it.  It.was.disgusting.  You know that smell on your hands after you hold something metal?  That's what it tasted like.  We'd been trying to force our son to eat this gross milk.  No wonder he was refusing it (and talk about some mommy guilt)!  

Since we'd gotten over the gross factor of tasting my milk, we compared it to some fresh--no metallic flavor at all. So, I did some research.  Apparently there is an enzyme in breastmilk called Lipase (dorky science moment: lipo- is a prefix that refers to fats, -ase is a suffix that indicates an enzyme that breaks down something).  This lipase normally lowers the fat content in stored milk over time, very slowly.  However, in women with excess amounts of lipase, the fats break down too quickly, causing the metallic flavor.  So, my next question was when does this breakdown happen?  What's the "point of no return" for my milk and the lipase?  Taste test time! :)

That's right.  I did this.  Please don't think I'm like one of those crazy celebs that eats their own placenta.

I defrosted samples that were 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks old.  The verdict?  1 week and 3 week old milk = fine (slightly sweet, if you're curious).  Starting at 5 weeks old, it developed that metallic taste.  So, all being told, I'm so grateful that we figured out why Collier was sometimes rejecting the bottle.  We've kept with our daily bottle (with only good milk, of course), and he's been doing great!  No refusal at all.  I'm so relieved to find a solution to this issue.  Now, if I can only figure out what to do with the 250+ ounces of ruined milk in my freezer.  I can't bring myself to throw it out...