I have some thoughts and stories to share with you guys today that are way out of left field and, if you happen to feel a little scatterbrained today as well, I’d love to hear a totally random story or fact from your life in the comments section of this post.
It’s Wednesday Randomness on PBF today, my friends! Here we gooo!
Wednesday Randomness
- I Think I Ate One Vegetable Yesterday
Is it just me or do you feel one day you’re humming along, eating vegetables and healthy food and the next day your diet is 99 percent sweets and grab-and-go foods you can eat in a pinch? I’m pretty sure I had all of one vegetable yesterday (thank goodness for dinner meal planning) and the vast majority of my eats included sweets, Chase’s leftover peanut butter sandwich pieces and anything quick I could get my hands on.
It was a busy day and, on top of that, I had a small group of my girlfriends and their little ones over yesterday afternoon for a mini birthday celebration for our friend Laura. That meant cupcakes, cookies and Prosecco! That also meant I was surrounded by the sweets I had on hand all day long until everyone arrived and if you think my willpower is strong enough to hang out with cupcakes and cookies all day without diving into them a few times you are seriously mistaken.
I’m hoping the leafy green stuff makes a valiant return into my diet today!
- Apparently 2 Chainz is Our Son
Ryan has been known to occasionally talk in his sleep. He has said some pretty memorable and hilarious things in his sleep since we’ve been together and the other night I laughed out loud because of the craziness that came out of his mouth.
Ryan rolled over in is sleep and said, “He’s the cutest when he does that.” When I asked him “Who is the cutest?” he said, “Our son. 2 Chainz.” I laughed out loud and said, “What? Our son is 2 Chainz?” And he mumbled, “You know” and went back to sleep. I was so confused and could not wait to tell Ryan what he said in the morning. So random!
- Baby Food Pouch Power Rankings
On Monday afternoon, my friend Lauren and I were talking about baby food pouches and our kids’ favorite flavors. We laughed pretty hard when we admitted that we also have our own favorites and I’m wondering if any other moms out there have baby food pouch power rankings, too?
My number one: Happy Baby Organics Spinach Mango and Pear. That stuff is shockingly delicious. Number two: Plum Organics Peach Apricot and Banana. (I hate to admit it but I could keep going… #momlife)
- Awesome Upper Body Workout
Earlier this week, I completed the above arm workout at Burn Boot Camp and it was AWESOME. I love heavy lifting days (they’re my fav!) and wanted to share the workout with you guys just in case you’re looking for a little upper body workout inspiration for the next time you hit the gym. It’s a scorcher!
- The Mark of A Crazy Bird
A rogue robin flew into a large window on the back of our house the other day and and you can see the complete outline of the bird’s body and wings on the window! So crazy, right!? The bird was completely fine (other than a damaged ego, I’m sure) but I thought the fact that the bird left a fluffy body mark on our window was kind of cool. That must’ve been one greeeeasy bird.
- Finally An Answer to My Bad Tasting Breastmilk Conundrum
I don’t think I ever blogged about this crazy issue I had with my breastmilk, but I meant to share it here just in case any other moms out there are experiencing the same thing and are at a loss to understand what the heck is happening to their breastmilk to cause it to turn bad quickly… Anyway, when I went to Orlando to visit my friend Laurel back in July, Ryan told me Chase was completely refusing to drink the breastmilk he defrosted for him from the freezer while I was away. He tried multiple bags from multiple dates. Ryan said the milk smelled funny and tasted off but I was so confused because all of my frozen milk was less than four months old. (I had also been working with Chase to get him to drink milk from a bottle and had no issues with him drinking freshly pumped milk from a bottle.)
When I returned home, I stored all the milk I pumped while I was away in the freezer. Then, a couple weeks later, after Chase’s first birthday, I defrosted the milk I froze in Orlando to mix with whole milk to try to get him to warm up to the taste of regular milk. I noticed a funky smell and an almost metallic taste to the breastmilk. HOW was it already bad!? I was so confused. I then proceeded to defrost every bag I had in the freezer and it was all the exact same… it was ALL bad. I was so upset.
I knew I stored it properly but I began to doubt myself. Had I left the freezer door slightly ajar one night and it all defrosted and went bad?
Well, it wasn’t until I was talking to Alyssa about the issue when she told me one of her friends went through the exact same thing! Her friend joked that her baby “only likes the fresh stuff” which seemed to be our problem, too! Knowing I wasn’t the only one who went through this made me do some research and I think I found the culprit!
According to KellyMom (<—a great breastfeeding resource for any new moms out there!), a small number of breastfeeding women who notice that their breastmilk turns bad quickly may have an excess of the enzyme lipase in their milk, which begins to break down the milk fat soon after the milk is expressed. Most babies do not mind a mild change in taste, and the milk is not harmful, but the stronger the taste the more likely that baby will reject it.
Who knew!?
I also stumbled upon the ebook Why Does My Breastmilk Taste Bad? that may be a valuable resource to anyone with similar issues! (It also claims to be able to help you safely salvage the bad-tasting breastmilk which I WISH I knew was possible!) The excess lipase issue does not seem common so I just had to share my experience here just in case even one of you are scratching your head and feeling frustrated when your breastmilk turns bad so quickly.
Question of the Day
- Share something random from your life with me today! Have you done an awesome workout lately? Made a delicious recipe? Had any crazy dreams?
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I think high lipase in milk is more common than people think. My milk was high lipase and my husband was convinced it was spoiled. My crazy hormonal self was SO OFFENDED that he would say such a thing about the precious liquid gold! Fortunately the baby drank it with no issues, but I do have to admit that it smelled funky! Most people say it smells “soapy” but this was straight up weird smelling. Thank goodness for KellyMom or I would have thought I needed to throw it all away!!
I had the same problem with my breast milk. I mixed it with half almond milk when we were transitioning and he didn’t seem to mind. I always fed it in something with a lid so he couldn’t really smell it (smelling is part of tasting). So glad he didn’t reject it. I tasted it and it didn’t taste horrible more soapy to me me?
I have no willpower either when it comes to sweets lying around the house!
Ryan is hysterical. The last dream I remember was I was on the Ellen show and I won a trip. Who knows.
That is so interesting about the breast milk! I’m glad you figured out the cause but that has got to be so frustrating!
As a mom who lost over 1000 ounces of pumped, frozen milk with my first baby (I’m four babies in now), let me share the secret solution: scald the breastmilk before freezing. That kills the enzyme that makes it taste bad after freezing. I’ve used scalded, frozen, then defrosted breastmilk with all subsequent kiddos, and it’s tasted great.
Good luck! My fourth and Chase are exactly the same age. This is such a fun time!
Thank you for sharing!!! The scalding trick seems to be the go-to for women with the lipase issue. I will definitely have to try it! I have two bags of frozen milk still in the freezer that I’ve frozen since the initial thawing of so many bags and I’m hoping this will help!
My milk has excess lipase, too! I’ve never met anyone else with this problem, but have since read about it on KellyMom. I had a similar experience when I happened to smell some of my defrosted milk and went through multiple bags, crying harder as I poured them down the drain. I had a ton of milk in the freezer from an early oversupply and was about to go to work, so I was devastated that I might need to dump it all! Thank goodness I thought to ask other moms about it on my local moms Facebook group – they assured me it was safe to drink. My daughter did reject it on occasion, so I got her used to the taste by mixing it with fresh milk for a week or so. I hope you can use any frozen milk you have left!!
I have absolutely no willpower either. My guests would be lucky there are still sweets left for them! My husband talks in his sleep occasionally too, but it’s mostly mumble jumble. At least Ryan says real words and sentences! Haha, good stories.
That is hilarious about Ryan. My husband does the same thing but not nearly as hilarious!
Yesterday was a snacking day for me too, I think I ate candy corn for dinner!? Oh well, its balance, right? That’s hysterical about 2 chainz. I would have been laughing so hard!! !Hope you have a great Wednesday!
That must have been the worst feeling to dump all your stored milk! I don’t have a freezer stash right now bc I’ve been too lazy but I’m trying to get better about it!
I had no idea about breast milk!?? So strange! Hope you figure it out!
I also talk in my sleep and my hubby has told me some strange things I said. My college dorm roomie said the same thing!
We’re working on sleep training again with our little dude, which for us involves standing near his crib, within eyesight, and shushing until he’s drifted off to sleep. Every night we move a bit further away, until we’re in the room, but out of sight. For some reason, this works for him where nothing else does!
It can take FOREVER though, so last week I busted out one of your body weight workouts and got some exercise in while little dude fell asleep! He fussed every time I squatted down from view, but that was kind of hilarious and served as a distraction from the “work” of the workout. It felt awesome to be helping myself AND the baby at the same time. 🙂
YAY! So glad you liked the workout! Thank you for letting me know. And I hope sleep training continues to go well for you! <3
I was so sorry to see your beautiful city on the news this morning with a horrible story. That must be so scary for you all. Keeping everyone in my thoughts and prayers today.
Thank you, Cindy. We are praying, too. I didn’t know about everything until I went to the gym this morning and then read CNN.com when I got home. It’s so sad and scary.
I’ve had same issue with my frozen breast milk!! With all three kids I have noticed the separation and smell. I really do think it’s more common than most think, it’s just one of those things that doesn’t get talked about a lot. But you are awesome for bringing it up, especially since several of us have already commented on having the same experience. It always helps to hear other moms have gone through the same thing… I think it makes us feel a little less crazy!! ?
Wow! That is so interesting about the breast milk!!!
Definitely want to try that workout!
My sister had he same problem with her breast milk! What a bummer! Glad you figured it out.
Super interesting about the breastmilk! Thanks for sharing! I definitely have those grab and go days, I also have days where my appetite is super weird. I figure it all balances out, results are from tha 80-90% you do right, not the 10% that doesn’t go as planned!
Random question … do you time your caffeine consumption around Chase’s nursing, or does it not seem to effect him?
I try to! Truthfully, even when I have had a cup of coffee relatively close to Chase’s nursing session it doesn’t seem to effect him but I am still aware. Just in case you’re looking for more info, I love this breakdown about breastmilk and caffeine: http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/lifestyle/caffeine/
Hmm… Crazy dreams = I keep dreaming that I have a positive pregnancy test. Which is amazing because my hubs and I are trying to have a baby! I pray that this is true!
My husband also talks in his sleep… it is pretty funny. About two weeks ago he woke up, pulled the covers off of me and literally kissed my butt cheek and went back to sleep. It was hilarious when I told him the next morning!
That 2 chainz comment is so funny! Hmm… something random about me is that I like to eat my son’s Plum Organics Super Puffs! Right now we have the apple spinach flavor and I’m afraid I might eat more of it than he does! lol
Haha! I like the puffs, too. Those little things are addicting!
You said that Ryan thought the milk tasted off… does he normally taste the breastmilk? Sorry, no kids here so I dont know if this is normal!
Haha! I thought someone might ask about that! He doesn’t normally taste it (well, he did once in the very beginning because we were both oddly curious 🙂 ) but he did in this instance because he wasn’t sure why Chase kept refusing it over and over again.
I’m in the same boat. I feel like I’ve been so lazy with what I’ve been eating and the bowl of candy corn near my desk at work is NO HELP. Everytime I walk by it I grab a few. It’s tough to get back into a healthy eating pattern instead of grabbing whatever is easy
Omg so interesting about the breastmilk – and how stressful that must have been for Ryan!! I know this can be a somewhat contentious issue, so feel free not to answer if you’re not comfortable, but what did Ryan do when Chase was resisting the bottle and you were away? Only ask because my baby is exclusively breastfed, but I’m needing to go away for work soon. Did he supplement with formula while you were away? Or just keep chugging along knowing Chase would take more from you when you were back?
Honestly, it was a little stressful!!! Thankfully Chase was already eating solids and drinking water, so Ryan said he seemed to eat more solid food than usual to make up for the lack of breastmilk. (Apparently peanut butter was his BFF while I was away.) He also apparently had a decent amount of smoothies made with almond milk, fruit, spinach and nut butter (off of a spoon) while I was away which we were okay with since he was SO close to a year old at that point. I was only gone for a day and a half, but it was still a little intense!! Good luck to you during your upcoming travels! <3
Love the randomness – it’s a fun way to break up the week!
My random story was that I recently drove past Fremd and the marching band was practicing on the football field. As an old poms member, I had MAJOR flashbacks to high school days. (Although the football field looks like it’s HUGE now!) It was the most unexpected thing, now that we have a group of high school girlfriends getting together for a 30th birthday party this weekend, ha!
Hope you have a great rest of your Wednesday!
XO, Jessica
http://www.semisweettooth.com
So fun!!! I always loved watching Poms perform at assemblies. 🙂
I had the same problem with my first son. I tasted mine one day and I seosuly tasted of soap not as metallic taste and I cried since you can really cry over spilt (breast) milk… I know that working out before a feeding can also affect the taste of your milk. Now that my second son is here as of 2 weeks ago. I’m meeting if I’ll Ave the same issue.
Congrats on your new little one! Ryan and I would (eventually) like to have more kids and I was curious to know the same thing!
I have the lipase issue too! I discovered it with baby #1 after he rejected everything I had frozen the first 4 months. The lactation consultant said it could be different with baby #2. Sadly it’s not! 🙁 If I want to freeze any breastmilk or keep it more than 24 hours in the fridge it needs to be scalded on the stove (heat until it has tiny bubbles – stop before it boils). If you plan on having another my recommendation would be to test the milk early to see if you have the same issue. It will save you the trouble of throwing out a lot of frozen milk you’ve worked hard to store. Neither of my kids would take the milk after the taste had changed/or it became smelly even though it was safe for them. Congrats on making it past a year! It’s a labor of love but totally worth it! 🙂
That’s a great suggestion! And yes, Chase wanted NOTHING to do with it! I feel for ya!
Hahahaha I have a spectrum of where I would put desserts….and now I have one for baby/toddler snacks! I definitely think to pack snacks for baby before myself so if we are out and about and I am starving…I reach into his backpack for pouches, gummies, crackers, cereal, you name it!
I was so proud of myself for pumping and storing so much breastmilk before having to return to work and then experienced the same thing. My daughter refused to drink any milk that had been frozen and it took us forever to figure out what the issue was! I still wish I had more information about what exactly causes it and if there is any way to avoid it with future babies. We managed to successfully pump/breastfeed until she was 14 months old without ever being able to use frozen milk, so just want to encourage any other mamas out there with the lipase issue to stay strong! For us, my milk stayed good in the fridge for 5 days and we cycled through that way, sometimes just having to throw out extra if I had pumped more than enough.
I have this problem too. It was solved by bringing the milk to just almost the boiling point before freezing. Very annoying, but better than wasted milk and at least my little man had something to drink.
That story about 2 Chainz made my day. 😀
The lipase doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s only a taste issue. You can save it and blend into smoothie since he won’t drink it plain. Some say you can scald it briefly before freezing and it will take care of the problem.
OMG. I NEED to know Ryan’s reaction to that. HYSTERICAL.
Ah- thank you SO much for sharing this breastmilk tidbit!!! My daughter refused most of the frozen stash that I had saved. Sure enough when I tasted it myself, I nearly hurled and had no idea why it would have been bad when it was only a few weeks old and the freezer was working just fine!!! Mystery solved!
ok so the 2 chainz thing made me laugh out loud. so awesome.
hope you’re having a great day friend <3
My friend had that issue with her breastmilk and there is a solution. I forget exactly but something about boiling it after pumping and prior to freezing it.
Hi Julie,
Just wondering if, as a Charlotte resident, you had any plans to mention or address the ongoing violence there. What is the scene like?
Hi Katie — It’s definitely one the forefront of everyone’s mind right now. I didn’t know about the latest shooting and riots until I arrived at the gym this morning and then immediately checked CNN.com when I arrived home. I live 30 minutes or so outside of the city so I haven’t seen anything first-hand other than what you have probably also seen online/on the news but it’s horrible, scary and so sad.
If I could go back and give myself one piece of breastfeeding advice, it would be, “It’s a journey!” We are four months in and since my baby is always changing, so is our breastfeeding relationship. I initially thought we would figure it out and then we’d be golden, but are constantly figuring it out again together!
Hi, Julie! I am a Neonatal ICU nurse, and I went to visit one of my previous patients the other day. In the NICU, we (obviously) use a lot of frozen breast milk, as the mother is unable to be there 24/7. Anyways, the baby’s mother was telling me that she had the same issue! She was at work one day, and her husband defrosted some milk to feed their baby… to no success! Long story short, she found out she had the same problem, and their baby will only drink fresh milk from the fridge, direct breastmilk, or formula.
I have also experienced the same thing with some of the other babies I have taken care of. Almost every baby that has matured enough to start bottle/breastfeeding has, in my experience, shown some crazy taste preferences — even if the milk isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ yet!
Thank you for sharing your experience, Jess! It’s all so interesting to me!
I have never heard of that but all I can say is that throwing away the liquid gold makes me want to cry!
Ryan’s comment was SO funny. I talk in my sleep too and am told the funniest things the next morning!
-> https://poweredbysass.com/2016/09/20/so-what-happened-to-acting/
LOLOLOL!!! The 2Chainz story makes this one of the BEST. POSTS. EVER! Ha ha, can’t stop laughing about that. Love these random posts. Love it all, top to bottom! Those cupcakes look so good I literally am thinking of ways to get a chocolate cupcake today (I’m serious. I WILL have a chocolate cupcake today! It’s happening!) Sorry to hear about the breastmilk…who knew???
Fantastic post, as always! As far as randomness goes: My best friend could tell you some of the crazy dreams I’ve had lately, but I can’t remember any right now except for last night’s, and it was not terribly remarkable. It was one of those nights where I dreamt about work ALL NIGHT LONG, to the point where I felt like I clocked in before laying down, and clocked out when I got up. So it’s like I worked an additional 8 hour overnight shift. Not fun! I much prefer the 2Chainz dreams!
Here’s my random story- orangetheory finally opened in my state (ri) and I took my first class Monday- totally loved it. I’m a teacher w two babies so the best time for me work out is before they wake up. I miss so much being at work I can’t be gone from their day any longer than I have to. So this morning I wake up at 345, get dressed for the gym, grab breakfast and lunch, work clothes, everything, and head out to my sunroom to put on my shoes and leave. So picture me walking out of my house to the sunroom w all my stuff and close the door behind me…with no car keys. Yep, I locked myself out of the house at 415 am. I spent the 2 hours it took for my husband to wake up you tubing how to pick a lock w a credit card, hair pin, and pen. None of these worked. 610 my husband finally woke up and let me back in. What a voice mail orangetheory got from me explaining my absence!
I found out I had high lipase the first time I defrosted frozen milk (the milk had only been frozen for a couple weeks). I read up on it and since it’s still safe for baby, I figured I might as well try. My daughter was 3 months old, I was going back to work and she and took it right away. Fortunately she never refused it. There were times I felt bad giving it to her, knowing I couldn’t stomach it (is tasted like soap), but I was reassured over and over it was still good for her. She is 14 months old now and we just finished my freezer stash (I stopped pumping at 11 mo old). I’m super thankful she took it all, but know many women whose littles wouldn’t. Definitely interesting!!
On my mom’s board I read that you can mix alcohol-free vanilla extract into the milk to take the metallic taste out of high lipase milk. I haven’t needed to do this thus far, and I would definitely run it by your pediatrician, but just a thought! 🙂
Hey Julie I remember freezing my breastmilk for storage for later use. I never had that issue but mine started smelling strongly like dish soap. It was the weirdest thing. It repulsed me but my son was fine drinking it. I thought maybe I was using too much soap washing the bottles. I became so paranoid I took some of my milk to a breast feeding consultant. She said it smelled fine. I never drank it to make sure it was ok because that smell made me sick. It must have been fine because he’s a healthy 14 year old now. My husband use to talk in his sleep too. I don’t remember much of what he said but after we had our first born he would sit up in bed and reach out his hands toward the ceiling fan. It use to scare me so. I asked him about later after he woke up and he said that he needed to catch our son in case he fell off the ceiling fan because he was spinning around on it. Um…..ok. It use to make me laugh so to envision our son spinning around hanging onto the ceiling fan blades. About your son 2 chainz well all I can say about that is he’s doggone lucky to have y’all for parents. Lol
Occasionally on the weekends I realize I barely ate any vegetables, oh well it happens! I usually get back on track the next day. And as for something random, I am so excited that today is the first day of Fall! I just want the weather to start getting a tad cooler so I can open the windows!
I’m using similar ‘baby’ food punches Spartan Beast training! I’m not so keen on sport gels as they don’t taste like real food or the side effects (I’m looking into Brendan Braziers homemade gels). I take one for salt replacement but I’m happier taking kids fruit pouches and medjool dales with me. My favs, apple and strawberry, apple and pomegranate!
My dad also talks in his sleep, and boy do we have some funny stories as well!
I have had high lipase with both my kids but they just drank it anyway. It does smell/taste pretty funky though to me ickk lol
I was awake for a bit in the middle of the night and my husband was making either a power tool or his motorcycle engine noise in his sleep. It was the funniest thing! Here’s a random question, can you recommend any bloggers who follow a gluten-free diet? Thanks girl!
I husband informed me in his sleep that I couldn’t kill a goose! I laughed and said ‘you’re right’ and he went back to sleep! lol