In February 2010 I was frustrated that my 5 month old daughter wouldn’t take a bottle. Then I smelled it. Something was wrong with my breast milk. After some online research I discovered that I have excess lipase activity in my breastmilk.
I was devastated and heartbroken over the 575 oz of frozen breast milk that my daughter would never drink. I turned to my blog to vent my frustrations and pass along what I’ve learned. I had no idea how many women I would end up reaching through these posts.
Everyday when I see hits on my lipase posts, I am reminded that I am not alone in my struggle with excess lipase activity. This page has been created to support other excess lipase activity women. Below is an up to date list of all my posts on excess lipase activity.
Excess Lipase: An Introduction
Excess Lipase: An Emotional Struggle
Excess Lipase: Scalding Breast Milk
Excess Lipase: My Journey to Becoming a Milk Donor
Excess Lipase: FAQ on Becoming a Milk Donor
I would love to hear your story. If you are an excess lipase activity mom feel free to leave a comment on this page sharing your journey. You never know who you’ll touch by sharing your story!
What to read more? Here are more posts you might find interesting or helpful:
Why I Support Nursing in Public
Breastfeeding Struggles & Postpartum Depression: Could your thyroid be to blame?
3 Tips for the Exclusively Breast Pumping Mom
I’m Scared to Have 2 Kids
My Birth Story in Honor of Labor Day
What the World Needs to Know About Pregnant Women
One Thing Every Breastfeeding Mom Needs
Why I Don’t Use Cloth Diapers
10 Tips for Making Baby Food
Losing that “Good Mom” Feeling
Disclosure: I am not a medical professional. I am simply a mom who has walked this journey. It is best to consult with a doctor or lacation consultant before making any decisions on how to handle your lipase issues. This is what worked for me, but it may not be what is best for you and your baby.
Any idea how to deal with excess lipase if you are a working mom? My son is about 7 months old and has recently started refusing bottles. We tasted the milk and noticed a soapy or almost vomit-like taste (yuck!) Nursing is fine. I don’t mind taking the extra time to scald my milk, but I am a working mom and pump at 10 am, noon, and 3 pm. My work doesn’t have an oven and I know better than to use a microwave. I hate the idea of having to supplement after all this time but don’t think I can pump enough during the non-working hours since I typically nurse my son mornings and evenings. Thoughts?
Dana, I’m so sorry to hear you are experiencing excess lipase in your breast milk. I would highly recommend that you try using a bottle warmer to scald your pumped milk. I had great success with that method. You can read all about my experience with scalding here:
http://simplyrebekah.com/2010/05/03/excess-lipase-scalding-breast-milk/
I just wanted to share my experience with my lipase issue and working.
I would place my pumped milk in the refrigerator (added to the bottle with each pumping), then at the end of the day, I would combine all that day’s milk and scald it all at once on the stove. For me, this was easiest because I didn’t own a bottle warmer.
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I’m glad that you have found a routine that works for you!
I made a science experiment with my original lipase issues. I wrote this paper up on it. hth http://nativemothering.com/2010/08/my-baby-is-refusing-my-stored-milk-is-something-wrong-with-it/
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Serena, thank you for sharing your link. I really wish more women knew about the possibility of having excess lipase in their milk. Good job on spreading the word!
Hi – I’m starting to think I have excess lipase. My milk smells of nothing when in the fridge – even for 4 days – but when it starts to come up to room temp it has a cheesy/vomit aroma. Does that sound like lipase? Am not sure I would be able to scald so do you know if lipase-ey milk can last at all in the fridge? Even if could last 24 hours I could still use it.
Thanks for your blog by the way – really helpful you took the time x
Christine, I know how frustrating this can be. I hope I can be helpful!
1) Everyone’s milk has different amount of lipase that effects how long it “lasts” in the fridge. Mine was good for 24 hours, but through this blog I’ve talked with women who’s milk only lasted 4 hours.
2) Your milk might smell ok even though it is turning “sour.” The best thing to do is to TASTE the milk every couple of hours to see how long it really lasts. You’ll start to notice a gross after taste before anything else.
3) Even if your milk taste bad, there is nothing wrong with it. If your baby will drink it then go ahead and give it to him/her. However, I completely understand why a baby would turn up their nose to it (mine certainly did!). You said you might not be able to scald the milk, but I would encourage you to read over my post on how to scald the milk using a bottler warmer. It is really very easy and doesn’t take long at all.
I hope this answered your questions. Please feel free to ask more and keep me posted!
hi Rebekah. I was wondering if you have any idea if the fat content in the milk is the same if it’s already being broken down by lipase. My daughter is 12 1/2 months and still accepting my nasty tasting milk, which is great. But now I’m starting to wonder if the fat content is affected. I’m not finding a lot of info on it. I have about 4 months of frozen milk still and I really would like her to take it but if it’s going to affect her growth I’ll obviously switch to whole milk. She is still nursing twice a day and takes 10 to 12 oz of frozen milk per day. Thanks
Britt, I haven’t heard anything about poor fat content in milk effect with excess lipase. Do you have any reason to be concerned about your daughter’s growth? Is she gaining weight? Is there any concern from your pediatrician?
Here is my completely non-medical opinion: I think it should be fine. The fat is being broken down, not eliminated. When you eat normal foods, the fat is broken down in your stomach so that it can then be absorbed in your intestines. I don’t see how the excess lipase would make the milk go away. Instead it just changes the composition of the fat. Does that make sense to you?
You are extremely lucky to have a child that will accept the bad tasting milk. If I were you, I would continue to give it to her. However, if you have any concerns about her weight gain then I would call your doctor and ask them what you should do. After all, they are the professionals.
I would be curious if anyone else has any thoughts on excess lipase effecting the fat content of the milk!
Hi, Im now one of the mothers that are having trouble with the the excess lipase in the breast milk! Its sour smelling & tasting as its thawing out
I have been freezing my milk so that when I stop B. Feeding her I have the frozen B. Milk stored for my daughter so that she is getting the good milk for longer even tho she has been weaned! So scalding it is mostly out for me because she wont be getting the nutrients from it! I haven’t tried to give it to her but will as all im going to do is toss it out 
Next best thing woulb be to visit a naturalpath to see if she can help me in any way!? Chrissy
Chrissy, your child will still benefit from scalded breast milk. It is true that some of the properties of the milk change when it is heated, but not all. Scalded breast milk is still better than formula or cow’s milk. Don’t give up on scalding just yet. Perhaps you should talk to a lactation consultant or your child’s doctor to see what they have to say about the benefits of scalded milk.
Also, if you have a lot of frozen milk, please consider donating it instead of throwing it away.
I’m curious to hear what you find out from a n.p. Please keep me updated!
Will let you know and thanks!! Not sure if we have can donate the milk in Townsville??
Chrissy, I live in PA, but I was able to send my donated milk to OH! Check out my FAQ on Milk Donation. At the end of that post I share a link where you can search for the closest milk bank to you. I would give them a call even if they are the next state over and see what they can work out.
im in Australia and Im guessing your in USA
Thanks for the comment on my blog. Like you, I’m hoping to help even one mama before she gets too far into breastfeeding and finds out there is a problem. I did have one friend (that just announced she was pregnant) say she appreciated the post.
I have had good luck so far with scalding. My son continues to take the bottles well at day care. It is a bit more of a process to scald at work, especially since I work in multiple locations, but I’m finding my routine.
Thanks again for the guide and being a good reference source!
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Thank you so much for this site! I have a 6 month old who has accepted pumped milk from day one, but now at 6 months old I found her refusing the bottle and I tried it and realized this is problem. I have two questions that I’m wondering if you can answer:
1.) Why does excess lipase happen? I am wondering if I should be concerned about something in my own health.
2.) Is it possible this is connected to eating somehow or what I eat because this doesn’t seem to have been a problem until recently and she is now 6 months old and we’ve been pumping her entire life in addition to nursing. I just don’t understand how this happened all of a sudden. I recently started using pumped milk from August and the stuff from June/July seemed fine. Could something have changed in my diet or my health or in August to cause this? I’m just curious for your opinion! I’m just learning about this today. Crazy stuff I tell ya! I appreciate your thoughts!
Rachel, I’m sorry, but I just don’t know. I certainly wish I had the answers to your questions! I had read something about moms experimenting with their diet, but then I never heard back what the results were. If you figure anything out, PLEASE let me know!
I suggest you use start scalding your milk and use your newest frozen milk first. Then work backwards until you get to milk that has “turned.” That way you can take advantage of your fresh milk before it gets the bad taste.
Again, I’m so sorry I don’t have the answers you are looking for. Trust me, I’m looking for them too.
Thanks so much for your reply! It’s just good to know I’m not alone!
Hello, Soo glad I found your site.
Please let me know if these sound like Excess Lipase traits. Thanks so much!
Ok, just today I looked up and realized I may have “excess lipase”. In the past 3 days I have started my son on his first solids, rice cereal. Today As I mixed the refrigerated BM (breastmilk) in the rice I noticed a strange smell and I tasted it and got the most awful pukey-like after taste so i dumped it. Then I used a previously frozen bag and it had No smell and No bad initial taste but the after-taste was kinda strong on the back of the throat. Almost the same pucky-like taste; as when you might “throw-up in your mouth” type of deal.
Next I expressed my milk to try it right away and it seemed fine. The aftertase was not as harsh, but it was there. Either way my son seemed to eat the cereal but kinda made a wrinkle your nose face.
Im just stumped now. Could my milk be bad
I am curious to the response you get as I just discovered the same thing today about my milk. How you describe the taste is kinda what I was thinking. So I too am wondering if I have excess lipase.
Hi there, just wanted to thank you for your awesome website! It has helped so much dealing with this excess lipase issue, mainly just knowing that other moms have dealt with this issue successfully! Also, I just followed your instructions today using the Munchkin bottle warmer to scald my milk, I had done it in a pot on the stove prior to this and just got the bottle warmer yesterday and used it today, much easier than scalding in a pot! Using the Medela pump, OTOH, compared to the easier manual pump, was another story…:-)
Anyway just wanted to say thank you, and I will have to check out the rest of your blog!
Jen, I am so glad the bottle warming method works well for you. I only scalded my milk on the stove once and never wanted to do it again. I thought it was a real pain.
It is funny that you prefer your manual breast pump. I do to and I’ve never met anyone who does. I feel like I have more control if that makes any sense.
Thanks for your comment. I hope that you will check out the rest of my blog. Occasionally I write about breastfeeding, but that isn’t my main focus. I try to share frugal lifestyle tips, going green baby steps, and all of life in between. It ends up being a random collection of parenthood, recipes, and more. I look forward to “seeing” you around!
A friend recommended your blog…I think I may be having a Excess Lipase issue. Thawed out milk that is 1 month old (but pumped and stored safely) either has a metallic taste, sometimes a fishy taste and smells bad. But, my LO drinks it just fine. So here are my questions:
1. If my LO takes the milk just fine, should I hold off on scalding it since it reduces some of the nutrients? Or should I scald it just in case he changes his mind?
2. So there is a chance that all of the milk in my freezer hasn’t gone bad yet? I’m thinking about thawing out a bag that is less than a month old to see if I can pinpoint which bags smell bad. If it is just a couple weeks, then maybe
I can use that for something else…maybe in the bath water.
I don’t want to toss so much milk. I have 2 shelves packed with frozen milk. I’m also thinking about getting a deep freezer to keep them longer. Then maybe I can add the ‘bad tasting’ milk to food when we start that….maybe that can help mask the taste?
I don’t know. But, its definitely frustrating. Thanks for your information! Its very helpful.
Kia, is your son getting regular breast milk through nursing too or just the pumped stuff?
If he is still nursing then I would go ahead and start scalding your milk now. Continue to give him the icky tasting stuff in a bottle since he is willing to drink it. Give him your oldest frozen milk first since he still drinks it. If he starts to reject it THEN you can start to thaw out your newest unscalded frozen milk and work backwards. Freezing milk slows down the lipase so some of your newer stuff might still be ok.
As long as he is still getting fresh unscalded milk through nursing, then it isn’t a big deal to give him some scalded milk too. At least that is the opinion of my pediatrician. You should talk to your doctor and see what the two of you think is best for your son.
I have excess lipase too i guess but i had no idea it wasn’t “normal” until very recently. My fresh milk tastes delicious, like melted ice cream, the milk thawed from the freezer tastes soapy with a strong aftertaste, i think it’s super yucky. My fresh milk has nearly no smell to it while the freezer milk has a definite odor (not gross though, just a smell). Fortunately for me and my 500+ ounces in the freezer, my little girl drinks it with no problems. I try to give her mostly fresh milk since i pump at work, but she gets 1 bottle of freezer milk per day in order for me to supplement if i don’t pump enough and/or rotate the freezer stash so i’m using the old stuff! I really hope she doesn’t stop liking it. Either way, the day may come that she is done breastfeeding but i still have a lot in the freezer that i would then donate. Do you have to alert the milk bank to your lipase issues? Do they do anything about it or do they just hope the baby they are giving it to will be like my little girl and drink it anyways?
Gillian, donor milk at banks is mixed with many other moms’ milk. That helps to dilute the taste. Also, most donor milk goes to NICU babies who are tube fed. The babies don’t even taste the milk. However, I would be sure to tell your bank that you have excess lipase to be sure that your particular bank will accept the milk. It is awesome that your daughter will drink it. Lucky you!
i read somewhere that excess lipase happens often in women who have smaller babies who are born earlier (helps break down the fats for them). I recently did a test where i thawed some week old freezer milk vs. the 3 month old freezer milk that is the oldest of my stash. The week old milk tasted just fine. So now i wonder, did my milk change because my baby is now 5 months old and able to break it down better herself so i’m no longer producing as much lipase? Or is it just a matter of the lipase not affecting my milk until it has been stored longer? Any thoughts? P.S. this blog is a great resource, thank you
I just want to thank you for writing this blog.
I have 2 daughters, and I never had an issue with my first one. I pumped and breastfed through 9 months and she drank everything just fine.
My 2nd daughter (born 1 week early) has been finicky with bottles. Sometimes she takes them, sometimes not. I never made a connection with frozen vs. fresh. Yesterday I went back to work and the day care told me she refused the bottle all day. When i got home and nursed her she ate just fine. I smelled the bottles and the frozen ones definitely had a smell. I tasted them, and they didn’t taste spoiled, but they smelled vomitty. So today I sent her to daycare with all fresh bottles except one frozen bottle, and asked them to keep track of that frozen bottle to see if it made a difference. I didn’t know about lipase, just noticed that the frozen bottle smelled different. Then I came to work and googled it and found this site. THANK YOU SO MUCH! This site has a lot of good information, I plan to use your ‘test procedure’ now to see if this is what is going on. And since my daughter is only 3 months, maybe I can still scald and keep giving her pumped milk. I do have a good amount of pumped milk
but now I know how to donate it if i can’t use it. Seriously. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I wanted to cry yesterday, but now I feel so much better.
PS. This never happened with my first baby. Weird?
Joy, it is possible that your lipase levels were fine with your first child. It is also possible that your first child didn’t mind the bad taste, drank the bottles fine, and never gave you any reason to question your milk. Either way, I’m glad my blog has been helpful to you with your baby girl. Good luck!
Thank you so much for putting all this information together! I did not have any issues with my first baby (10 years ago!) but have had lipase issues with my 2nd and now my 3rd. The information you’ve posted here is valuable and practical, which I really appreciate. I found your blog with a simple google search on “excess lipase” so hopefully many other mommas will be able to find you too!
Thank you! I hope you are right. I wish more moms knew about excess lipase activity.
Best of luck to you!