how to tell when stored breast milk has gone bad

[BabyUrq]

I have a ton of breast milk stored from pumping....i know it will last up to 6 months and i've approached that 6 month mark on some of it....how can tell if it has gone bad?

 

[babyjan]

Smell and taste? I would just smell it and if it smells funky get rid, sorry I've never stored my milk x

 

[Foxybabyhg3]

The smell. I has some in the fridge and wasn't chilled enough. Smelled really funky.

 

[BabyUrq]

I find it all has a smell...i've tried a few different bags from different dates and it all seems to have the same smell....i think its fromthe plastic bags its stored inbut i want to be sure....he will still eat it...i think if it actually gone bad it wouldn't taste good to him

 

[scoobydrlp]

I agree that all my frozen milk smells weird. Wish I had a good answer to your question.

 

[fatandlumpy]

... I'm afraid that tasting it is the definitive test.

My OH refuses to taste my defrosted milk... so I have to.

I just reason that it HAS to be done to make sure we're not poisoning our son.

 

[annio84]

My sister had a problem with hers getting an odd smell and taste and it was nowhere near the 6 months mark. It literally smelled like baby sick! And her baby refused to drink it.

 

[mia_leacey]

Some women's bm contains excess lipase which means that it cannot be frozen (mine is the same.) For these women the 6 month rule doesn't apply. It means that the milk has a funny taste and smell when defrosted. If baby will drink it it should be ok (I think - google to check this as it is a long time ago for me when I was attempting to freeze milk!) Otherwise it might all have to be thrown away if LO won't drink it - like mine was! Heartbreaking!

 

[BabyUrq]

It would be very heartbraking to have to throw it all away....that's spilled milk to cry over! Lol

 

[SarahBear]

I don't think it's supposed to last THAT long. It's pretty easy to tell. Just sniff.

 

[seaweed eater]

SarahBear, it is in the freezer.

I don't have excess lipase and mine still has a smell. It's not a bad smell, just weird and freezer-y. A LC said it was fine and my son takes it. A "soapy" smell is what can indicate lipase.

However, I do have some bags that have gone bad (way past 6 months), and they smell sour. It's unmistakable.

 

[SarahBear]

Well I don't imagine someone would be fooled into thinking it could last somewhere else for that long! But I thought the number was 3 months in the freezer. It sounds like you have it figured out though. I never made a freezer stash. I didn't see the point in pumping more than I had to and the couple times I tried freezing stuff, it was nasty when thawed.

 

[seaweed eater]

What I've read in most places is 6 months in the back of an upright freezer attached to a fridge, and 12 months in a chest freezer.

 

[BabyUrq]

I didnt have a choice but to pump off....if i didn't pump off every day he choked....my flow was too fast for him...
I've read 12 months before too but most of what i found said 6 so i checked with doc....i think 6 months is the safe mark...that doesnt mean that if u took something out at 7 months it would automatically be bad....it would depend on how its stored....same as anything else that u out in the freezer i would think

I think i'm going to have to sell it....i cant get him to drink it...he doesn't turn his nose up at it but he won't drink enough for me to be able to use it all

 

[Dk1234]

My dr told me not to use it after 9 months in a deep freezer. I pump every morning to have stash big enough to keep my children on breast milk long after they quit nursing. I plan on stopping around 10 months with this one but I'll keep him on bm well after a year