Fresh cream- March 16, 2011
Is there anything more amusing than doing a Google search for something and seeing all the ridiculous, irrelevant crap that pops up?
I Tweeted out an article similar to this the other day. This is from the NY Daily News.
Breast milk ice cream safe to eat, per health officials; ‘Baby Gaga’ ice cream sparked safety fears
The health and safety experts have spoken: Breast milk ice cream is back on the market. Icecreamists, a trendy London ice cream parlor, had its “Baby Gaga” ice cream confiscated by health authorities after customers voiced fears that the sweet treat might contain the hepatitis virus, wire service Newscore reported. Officials confirmed that the product contained no harmful viruses or bacteria. Still, the ice cream makers are furious over the icky publicity the investigation brought to their business. “Breast milk is not dangerous and Westminster council confiscated our product in the full knowledge that we had done all the proper tests,” Icecreamists owner Matt O’Connor said. “We are considering taking legal action because this has damaged our reputation.”The ice cream makers may have beaten one foe – but they still have another to contend with.Singer Lady Gaga dubbed the controversial frozen dessert “nausea-inducing” and has threatened legal action unless O’Connor yanks the similarly named controversial dessert. O’Connor isn’t ready to give up on Baby Gaga without a fight. “This from a woman with a penchant for wearing rotting cows’ flesh,” said O’Connor, referring the custom-made meat dress, shoes and hat Lady Gaga wore to the last MTV Video Music Awards. “At least our customers are still alive when they contribute to our art.”
Um…ewww! And that’s coming from a breastfeeding mother. So what was I Googling? I typed “frozen breast milk” after seeing this in my freezer…..
I got a little distracted and never really got far into my research as to what to do with all that milk because I kept wondering, “How cold are that lady’s boobs?” and, “What’s the flavor, ‘Mint Chocolate Nip’?” Ha!
Okay blogosphere, all jokes aside. What should I do with it? Make homemade baby food and add some in? When I thaw it out it tastes funny. (Yeah, I’ve tasted it, just not in a waffle cone.) Is there anything I can do with it?
Spread it around:
Can you donate it to a shelter in your area? I am not even sure if we have laws for that, but it is the first idea that popped up.
Good luck. Ice cream would be bad.;)
Rebecca
There are milk banks in various places–Google and see if there's one near you. They pasteurize it, and it goes to preemies & other needy babies. Pretty cool.
The other option is <a href="http://milkshare.birthingforlife.com/>Milk Share</a>. It's a website where moms who need milk connect with moms who have extra milk. You work out ways to send it (with the mom receiving paying shipping.) There's no pasteurization so the mom receiving the milk is taking some risk, but the process is FAR more affordable for the recipient than getting pasteurized breast milk.
I had a freezer stash and I started adding it in to the frozen freezer cubes of food I made for Emme. I didn't add it in when I froze them, though. I added it in once I was ready to feed them to her. It has worked out well and also ensures she gets more BM with her solids.
PS – I totally feel like a stalker… Reading your blogs, tweets, etc and yet still to meet you in person. Hopefully Greyson has filled you in that I'm actually **somewhat** normal.
I used my freezer stash when I got sick and was put on antibiotics and narcotics. It's also good if you ever have to go away for a weekend or something (I had to leave Will with my parents for two nights when he was six months old to be in an out of town wedding.) In the end, though, I think there were about 12 bags that I ended up throwing out, but the rest of the frozen milk (and there was a LOT), Will drank. If it did indeed taste weird, he never seemed to mind. Of course, he's never been a picky eater, either.
How are you thawing it? I remember that mine seemed a little "off" looking and tasting when I thawed it using warm water (placing the baggie in a bowl of warm water). Buy when I just set it on the counter to thaw it seemed much more "normal" lol.
Otherwise, yeah I'd just add it to baby food at some point. If you start out with cereal you can use the breast milk instead of water. Or just add it to any other food.
YOu might need to Google for further verification, but I've heard that some women can have higher amounts of lactase (? that's the part I'm not sure of) that can make the milk taste/smell funny when it's thawed. From what I understand, it's perfectly safe to feed your baby, but she may refuse because of the funny taste. Mixing it into babyfood sounds like a great idea. I've been making all of Justin's babyfood at home – let me know if you need ideas. I didn't buy any fancy equipment – a blender/food processor, ice cube trays, and ziploc bags are all you need!
When you/if you transition her to formula you can do half formula & half breast milk.
You can use it to make cereal when she is starting solids. The cereal tastes bad already so the breast milk adds a little sweet taste to it. Our local hospitals also take it as a donation. They will send it through the proper cleansing methods and use it in the NICU. Call me and we'll chat.
Just found your blog, and as a mom who nursed for over a year, keep it! A month and a half after I weaned my daughter, she developed some serious diarrhea. My pediatrician was thrilled that I still had some frozen, and advised me to give her just that for 24 hours to calm her gut down. So much better than pedialyte.