By Alanna Iacovetti
Until your return to work after your baby has arrived, you haven’t had any significant issues with your breastmilk while nursing. Since you’ll be away from your little one now, you decide to commit to pumping and storing your milk with the goal of creating a small stash. You get home and store your milk in the fridge, only to notice an odd odor when you take it out the next day. The smell is soapy, metallic, fishy, or sour. You think it might be spoiled and do some research, only to discover that you may have High Lipase breastmilk. This is a reality for many moms.
Lipase is an enzyme that’s found in all milks. It plays a positive role in digestion and has immunological effects for your baby, including protecting their body against infection from intestinal parasites and releasing free fatty acids that provide antibacterial and antiviral effects. When Lipase is unusually high, it works overtime to break down the fats, resulting in an aroma or taste that your baby might find unpleasant. The rate at which this change occurs is different for each mom. It can happen in the matter of hours or over the course of days.
Having excess enzyme doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your milk! It’s not harmful to your baby at all. Still, sour-smelling milk can be devastating if your breastfeeding journey has already been far from easy. There are a few ways to eliminate the soapy/metallic taste and smell, and your Ceres Chill Chiller can help!
The "old ways"
Before Ceres Chill, scalding High Lipase milk was a hassle. There was virtually no way to do so when you were out and about, so the stovetop method was the only way to prevent the change in taste or smell. The steps were tiresome, and the dishes piling up at the end of the whole ordeal just added to the burden.
The Ceres Chill way
Scalding can be quick and easy if you have the right tools. A bottle warmer and your chiller are all you need. After filling the inner chamber of your Ceres Chill with breastmilk, warm it up to 180º F and use a thermometer to ensure that it’s at the right temperature. Be sure to place ice and water into your Chiller's outer chamber in advance so that when your milk is done heating up, you can pop it right in for an ice bath!
Pour your milk into the inner chamber
Heat the milk 3-5 minutes until it reaches 180º F
For an ice bath, place the inner chamber into your outer Chiller, with ice cubes and water in it
Scalding on the go
If you need to scald your milk at work or on the go, Ceres Chill can make it happen. For this method, you’ll need two chillers; one to scald, and one for the ice bath. Before leaving to start your day, fill one of your outer chambers with 180* F water. Fill the other chiller with ice and water.
After pumping into your inner chamber, screw it into the outer chamber and seal everything tightly. Use a thermometer to keep track of the temperature of your milk. Once it reaches 180*, take the inner chamber out and immediately plunge it into the other chiller for an ice bath. You can continue to pump and scald throughout the day while storing all of your milk in the chiller that holds the ice and water.
Add 180º water to your outer Chiller
After your pumping session, place the inner chamber containing your milk into it
For an ice bath, place the inner chamber into your outer Chiller, with ice cubes and water in it
Since the flavor of high Lipase milk can change over the course of hours or days, it's important to check your stash. The last thing any mom wants is to feel like all of their liquid gold has gone bad. If this does happen to you, you still have options! Try mixing it with freshly pumped milk, adding a drop of non-alcoholic vanilla, combining it with solid food or using it to make some good ol’ therapeutic breastmilk soap.
Check out this awesome video for a tutorial on using your Chiller to scald milk: