why did u start donating?
why did u start donating?
Re: why did u start donating?
So far I have donated to 1 baby in my local area, we are at 200 oz and counting....
JAMs Wife- Posts : 17
Join date : 2010-08-05
Re: why did u start donating?
Riuaki- Posts : 17
Join date : 2010-02-23
Age : 41
Location : Kansas City
Re: why did u start donating?
My baby boy is now a month old and almost 2 weeks ago we met a local family with a 4 months old who needs milk. So I started pumping and have close to 100 ounces so far ready to be picked up in a couple of days.
MamitaM- Posts : 9
Join date : 2010-10-02
Re: why did u start donating?
mkoning- Posts : 6
Join date : 2010-06-04
Re: why did u start donating?
mkoning wrote:I gave birth in May 2010 and my wife induced lactation so we could both feed our daughter. We both have to pump regularly to keep our milk supplies up. We end up with tons of extra milk. We've donated 1500 ounces so far to three different families and I've recently gotten set up with a milk bank as well, since we've sometimes had to deal with delays in getting milk shipped and losing communication with recipient families and our freezers have filled up.
That's a beautiful story, so amazing that you both get to have that special relationship with your LO.
Jodibug- Posts : 70
Join date : 2010-01-06
Location : Elizabeth City, NC
Re: why did u start donating?
DoubleK- Posts : 3
Join date : 2010-08-04
Re: why did u start donating?
It helped me so much to be able to make something good out of what happened. Made it seem not so harsh I guess.
If we decide to have more children (we have a three year old also) I will definitely pump and donate again, such a great gift to give.
heartsandhandss- Posts : 2
Join date : 2010-08-08
Re: why did u start donating?
Last edited by heinzy on Sat Nov 06, 2010 10:34 am; edited 1 time in total
heinzy- Posts : 6
Join date : 2010-01-04
Re: why did u start donating?
Melken- Posts : 5
Join date : 2010-08-21
Re: why did u start donating?
heartsandhandss wrote:I went into very premature labor at 14 weeks with my last baby. For some reason (I have a few theories) my milk came in three days later without stimulation and I was so upset I asked my friends how to get rid of it. One suggested I pump and donate, and it sounded perfect. I ended up pumping for two months, and donated almost 900 ounces to two families. One had a baby that needed heart surgery, and I was able to give them over 400 ounces, 30 of which was colostrum and very high in fat/calories.
It helped me so much to be able to make something good out of what happened. Made it seem not so harsh I guess.
If we decide to have more children (we have a three year old also) I will definitely pump and donate again, such a great gift to give.
Wow you are a hero!!!!! So amazing that your milk came in and so amazing of you to search out to help. Take care
Melken- Posts : 5
Join date : 2010-08-21
Re: why did u start donating?
mkoning wrote:I gave birth in May 2010 and my wife induced lactation so we could both feed our daughter. We both have to pump regularly to keep our milk supplies up. We end up with tons of extra milk. We've donated 1500 ounces so far to three different families and I've recently gotten set up with a milk bank as well, since we've sometimes had to deal with delays in getting milk shipped and losing communication with recipient families and our freezers have filled up.
Amazing !!!! Not too many couples get to know what the other is going through. So great you both got to share the breastfeeding bond.
Melken- Posts : 5
Join date : 2010-08-21
Re: why did u start donating?
Minicia- Posts : 11
Join date : 2010-12-08
Age : 45
Location : Boston, MA
Re: why did u start donating?
I really wanted to donate back when I had #2 because I read online about milk banks. I asked only the hospital I delivered at ,if they knew about anywhere I could donate. The nurse acted clueless said the hospital didn't take donations for babies ,and looked at me like I had two heads or something. This was in 2003. Probably before they had facebook (and eats on feets),and other sites like this (?) .
When my sister had some extra frozen milk she wasn't using, (because my neice wasn't taking a bottle yet ), she moved out of town and would have thrown it away when it expired, so I asked if I could donate. Her and our other sister can produce a lot of milk ,but they both don't donate. This was in Jan. She let me donate that 30ounces that was about to expire in the next month if it wasn't going to be used. It went to local baby not far from me. I got to meet the family and they even made a bottle out of that milk for the baby before I left their home, and I was suprised how much more rewarding it would be than I thought and it wasn't even my own milk I was giving. And that there are people who do apreciate it ! Because I had originaly offered it to a formula feeding mom,and she declined my offer .
I am expecting #4 in October 2011 , (YAy !) and hope to be blessed with a big supply this time , like with my last 3. I am planning to show proof that I am disease free,and all that good stuff too . I will also be cows milk free ! I am 14 weeks and I actualy had a passing thought ,wondering if I ever lost my baby due to miscarriage,etc... if I could produce milk or not. and that is awesome it can be possible to! I am not sure if I would want to pump ater a loss, because I would be busy trying for another baby. But Heartsandhandss, that is such a selfless thing you did ! Something probably extremely rare, just like I am sure it is rare for a birth mother to pump for the baby she placed with an adoptive couple. I think more birth moms should do that actualy. I know some sarrogate(sp?) mothers do.
I want to donate because I feel strongly about breast milk being superior to formula. And because I am hoping with enough people milk sharing, and maybe (SAFE) wet nursing can come back in style again too. I would love to see breastmilk donation ,and more milk banks eventually be looked at as a better option so formula won't be used as much. I think formula is valuable for those who truely need it (low/no milk supply, gotta take your medications, mother works ft, special situations) but shouldn't be so easily accessible for purely convenience. Also, I think society/gov,etc.. needs to support it more when it comes to the work world. Employers should be required by law to allow a mother to pump as much as she needs to,so she can continue to breastmilk feed,regardless of the type of job. And mothers shouldn't get flack for nursing in public .
4kidstobe- Posts : 15
Join date : 2011-01-08
Age : 46
Location : Georgia
Re: why did u start donating?
Now I still have my oversupply and want to continue to help other babies.
ReachtotheStars- Posts : 11
Join date : 2011-06-20
Age : 36
Location : South Glens Falls, NY
Re: why did u start donating?
Through this heartbreaking experience, I just knew with my next child that I wanted to be a donor, if it was at all possible. At the same time, I was paranoid I would have supply problems and wanted to keep my stash for myself, just in case. By the time my daughter was 3 months and my freezer was full of milk that we would never touch, I knew it was time to donate. Since then (Dec 10/Jan 11), I have been donating about 300 oz at a time. I have helped 3 families (4 babies) so far with about 1000 oz of milk. When I think about how long that really lasts, I know its not much, but I also know, it makes a world of a difference for the babies and the families that receive it. It made me feel so good the 1st time I donated and the mom was so wonderful and grateful.
ajeanieball- Posts : 24
Join date : 2010-12-05
Age : 37
Re: why did u start donating?
jimmysmom- Posts : 4
Join date : 2011-10-02
Age : 50
Location : Massachusetts
Re: why did u start donating?
With my son who is now 11 months old, I started pumping in the hospital. My milk came in sooner and I have so far donated 1775 oz to 4 more babies in the nine months since I've had him. I have another 1000 oz in my freezer that I will probably end up donating too or at least part of it. I pump twice a day and while my son does take an occasional bottle as needed, he is with me most of the day so doesn't usually need to.
I really like doing this, it makes me feel good. I always donated blood when possible and since I can do that while pregnant or breastfeeding, I'm doing this instead.
jthoman- Posts : 9
Join date : 2011-04-09
Re: why did u start donating?
When my daughter was born in June, it was a cascading series of issues one after another that led to her not wanting to breastfeed off of me (36 hours of pitocin-induced labor due to GD, GBS+ placenta, I spiked a 103 fever during labor, her heart rate was all over the board, there was meconium in the fluid, I wound up with a c-section and she wound up in the NICU with an Apgar of a 4). Because they fed her via bottle in the NICU, she never wanted to latch onto the breast, despite numerous attempts, so I wound up pumping for everything she ate.
Because nobody told me how long to pump for, I'd been pumping for an hour at a time each time I pumped. My system went into overdrive, and I wound up with an oversupply issue, freezing between 10 and 20 ounces a day (my highest marathon pumping session got me 21 ounces in one session!). I tried to donate to a milk bank back then, but there isn't a bank any closer than five hours away from me, and I don't trust delivery services to do it correctly. My local NICU doesn't accept donations except through a bank. So I just kept freezing milk.
When my daughter went to daycare, I started using the frozen milk in half and half bottles of fresh/frozen, but because I still continued to pump large amounts, I was freezing more than she was using from my stash.
So here I am with an eight month old, and frozen milk that goes back five months because she's going through it so very slowly... I don't want to see that milk go to waste, and I know my milk is good for growing kids, she's actually jumped tracks on the *formula* based charts from the 25% to the 50% range! So if I can give some other baby a chance to grow well on my milk, I'd much rather see that than watch my milk expire in my freezer! I have an entire separate freezer full of milk at this point, and as much as I'd like to stop pumping soon, my body just doesn't seem to want to get the hint to slow down that much.
I don't know how much I'll donate yet, but there seems to be someone not far away from where I live who needs milk, so it looks like a win-win!
rizados- Posts : 3
Join date : 2012-02-23
» Wanting to start donating
» Couple of questions before I start donating
» Excited to start donating! Building up my supply and started freezing for a baby in need:)
» BF mom looking to donate long term :)