Inspired by the stories of other milk donors, Katie shares the ups and downs of her own journey toward milk donation.
Breastfeeding is scary and wonderful and really, really hard. Like many, my journey starting off was bumpy. After a long labor and c-section, my milk took five days to come in, which feels roughly like five years when you have a hungry newborn.
On our third day in the hospital following my daughter Lila’s birth, she was flagged for low weight and I felt like the worst momma in the whole wide world. The nurses and doctors told me I had to supplement and I thought my breastfeeding journey was over before it even had a chance to begin.
Pumping and gaining confidence
I started to pump to get my supply up, then I kept pumping. I was so concerned about protecting my supply, so I may have overcompensated a bit. As my freezer started filling up, my anxiety went down. A few months later, as Lila and I settled into our groove and my confidence in my ability to breastfeed went up, I finally was ready to part with the excess supply of milk in my freezer.
Making milk donation easy
When I began looking into breast milk donation, everything about Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast made it stand out as the perfect option. The stories they share online about the babies and mothers who donate and who have benefited from donor milk moved me to tears! The Donor Intake Coordinators are so kind and walk you through the whole process; they make it as easy as possible for a new mom who can barely find time to shower.
I am so thrilled to be able to donate. I feel like those late nights dragging myself out of bed to pump (while my newborn slept!) were worth it. I know many more moms have donated so much more than I have, and they have much more moving and deeply personal reasons for donating than I do. I want to tell those moms that I am proud of and inspired by them. And I want to say thank you to Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast for doing what you do.
Screening to become a breast milk donor is an easy four-step process. Once accepted for donation, milk can be shipped for free door-to-door or through one of our donor milk depots throughout the Northeast.
