28 gallons

I got a surprise package delivered to my door today from the Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas. I stopped pumping just after Elijah turned 1 in October, and I hadn't sent a donation for a couple of months before that, so it was completely unexpected. It was a thank you letter and a certificate for donating 3,633 ounces of human milk.

That's right, folks. Just over 28 gallons of milk in nine or ten months. I would do it all over again. I would have donated milk when my other kids were babies if I had known about the milk bank and how easy it is to become a donor.

I am convinced that part of the reason for Elijah's good health (great for a baby with a CHD) and his speedy recoveries following his two open-heart surgeries was his exclusive diet of breastmilk. Elijah's first feedings were eight mL each, and the section in the Congenital Heart Surgery Unit milk freezer allotted to him was so full that they asked me if I could store my pumped milk somewhere else.

Jack saw a newspaper article about a woman who had donated her milk and forwarded it to me. I became a donor in less than a week after filling out some paperwork and getting a blood test done (paid for by the milk bank). I received containers for milk, printed labels, prepaid insulated mailing boxes, and reimbursement for dry ice. FedEx picked up the package and the milk bank sent me more supplies as soon as I requested them.

Doctors of premature babies feel that breastmilk is so important to their medical treatment that it's prescribed like a medicine and dispensed by an accredited milk bank. Milk banks depend on donations from lactating women whose infants are less than a year old. If you or someone you know might be interested in becoming a milk donor, please click on over to the Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas. I'd be happy to tell you more about my experience as a donor as well.

*This is an unsolicited plug for human milk donation. I just feel that strongly about it.