Suddenly Salty Breastmilk?

[ExuberantDaffodil]

My breastmilk has always been very sweet (think cow's milk after it has been sitting in sugary cereal for a while).

I noticed 3 or 4 days ago that my breastmilk tastes very salty (think Crunch n Munch -- sweet and salty ) -- the flavor has definitely changed dramatically.

Anyone know why this might be? My diet hasn't changed any, I drink a lot of water, I have't been eating copious amounts of salty food... the only thing I can really think of is my 26 month old is nursing less and less, and I was wondering if the flavor of milk changes as the child moves slowly toward weaning... Ds doesn't seem to mind the change in flavor, but I am hoping that it isn't indicative of something I am doing "wrong."



ETA: I did a search on kellymom, and all I could find about salty breastmilk was that sometimes milk will taste salty after an abcess or mastitis... I don't seem to have an infection of any kind...:

[crissei]

I have dairy goats.
Everything I have ever read is, salty milk = mastitis.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

I would know it if I had mastitis, right? I mean, isn't it usually painful? I'm not engorged, my skin isn't hot, I don't have any unusual bumps, I don't have flu-like symptoms...

Just really salty breastmilk.

[True Blue]

Perhaps your symptoms haven't really shown up yet? Whenever I got it, it usually started with very subtle breast discomfort, so subtle you may not notice it if you didn't know what to look for.

[AstroGirl77]

any chance you might be PG?

my friend's nursing toddler told her that her milk was salty.... she was a few weeks pregnant.

???

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Originally Posted by AstroGirl77

my friend's nursing toddler told her that her milk was salty.... she was a few weeks pregnant.

???

Um... no! Dear goodness gracious... if I were, then But seriously, no chance on that.

Originally Posted by True Blue

Perhaps your symptoms haven't really shown up yet? Whenever I got it, it usually started with very subtle breast discomfort, so subtle you may not notice it if you didn't know what to look for.

-- I am pretty much in tune with my body, and my breasts aren't in the slightest bit tender, uncomfortable, or achey -- that's why I was surprised when I saw mastitis as a possible catalyst for salty breastmilk.

Hm... off to do more research....

[Marco Esquandolas]

Welp, uhhh, maybe quit drinking yer own milk and maybe leave some fer the kid, mmmkay, mrs. taster's choice mama?! :



j/k












Is this a "you" think it is salty or does babe? :




no, really,





: (I hope you know I lubs ya! ) I don't know anything about this, btw. just messin w/ya while you surf for info and report back to us!

[ExuberantDaffodil]

phishmama -- :

I think it tastes salty and so does someone else... Not mentioning any names!!!

[Marco Esquandolas]

yes, yes, dear. no need to 'splain further, as some of us have been there an' done that too. :: whispers::-cough cough nuff said ahem cough.


uhhhh, mods!?? heylllooooooo? can we um bury this thread proper like now?!

[DreamsInDigital]

The first thing I thought was "She's pregnant." But if it's not even possible at all then I am tapped for ideas.
Pardon the pun. :

[Marco Esquandolas]

A+, DID

good one!

[timneh_mom]

I read in Adventures in Tandem Nursing that weaning milk becomes higher in sodium. And, that when a mom gets salty milk in pregnancy, it is close in composition to weaning milk. Has your babe decreased the amount of nursing lately?

[lasciate]

Salty milk = weaning milk.

[ExuberantDaffodil]

Yeah, ds has been slowing way down. I guess that makes sense.

This is what I found in my research, which supports "weaning milk"

An important, and often ignored issue, is the taste of your milk when no milk has been expressed for several days. When no milk is expressed, and the baby is not nursing, breasts begin to involute ("dry-up"). During this "weaning" process, the sodium content of breastmilk rises. Babies generally do not like salty breastmilk! So, a baby who is being wooed back to the breast following a nursing strike, may expect to taste your sweet milk, and be surprised (and very unhappy). You want to avoid this situation. If you have not been regularly expressing your milk, taste a bit of your expressed milk before putting your baby to your breast. Even if your milk now tastes salty, the process of involution can usually be reversed. Begin to regularly express your milk and after a few days your milk should taste sweet again.