Spoiled

Kayden hates the bottle. She only takes it toward the end of the day and it's usually a fight for the baby sitter to get her to take it... She knows what to do, she just chooses not to. She just doesn't like artificial anything in her mouth: bottle, binky, teething ring, etc... she will, however suck on her fingers, my fingers, my hand, my arm, my shoulder, etc. for comfort...

We noticed early on that she preferred fresh milk from the bottle (when she would take it) instead of frozen from the bottle. It didn't smell any different to me, although the sitter said the frozen smelled soapy to her compared to the fresh... We just thought she was being picky. Then the other day I had a bag of frozen that was partially thawed at the baby sitter's. I decided to let it finish thawing in my frig and use it on my cereal the next day to see if it really tasted different or if she was just being picky. I took one bite of the cereal and had to spit it out... it tasted spoiled... No wonder she refused the bottle of frozen...

I spoke with a few different lactation consultants to see what I was doing wrong. Apparently there is an enzyme in some women's milk that causes the milk to taste spoiled once its been frozen... it's not really spoiled, it just tastes that way...

Great, now what am I supposed to do with the freezer full of frozen milk in 1 to 3 ounce portions?

There is a cooking method that can reverse the effect and can sometimes make the milk taste ok again... it involves simmering the milk for 10 minutes... one method says to do it after it's thawed and another said to do it before it's frozen... so which is it?

Part of me is heartbroken that I spent all that time and energy bagging, labeling, and freezing all that milk just to have to throw it all out... but the other part of me doesn't want to spend even more time and energy on a theory that may or may not work... especially since I am keeping up with her demand with fresh milk...

So for now, I am pumping and storing in the frig... it is good for up to 8 days and I am currently about 3-5 days ahead of what she is currently being fed. If it gets to the point where I am pumping for her next days supply, we may have to introduce a bit of formula... but for the sake of my laundry, my wallet and my finicky daughter, I hope it never comes to that...

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We had her 4 month check on 1/20... she was 16 pounds 1 ounce and 24 inches long... 50th percentile for height... 95th percentile for weight!!!!

Enjoy it now, kiddo... it's the only time being that much bigger than your peers is considered healthy.