Editor's Note: Melakeh McDonald's story was previously published in the June E-Newsletter, in the section Moms Connect. Melakeh's son is a recipient of donor human milk from Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas. We are happy to share her story with our readers. Together, we celebrate the lifesaving gift of donor human milk.
Melakeh McDonald
McKinney, TX
On January 17, 2013 my son Easton was born a happy, beautiful baby. Within a few weeks, his entire demeanor changed. Without any answers we felt frustrated.
Today, thanks to Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, we see his smile again.
When my son was born I was able to breastfeed him for only several days due to medical issues. I wasn’t able to supply enough breastmilk for my growing baby and our doctors wanted us to feed him formula. We did and he soon began to cry all the time. Easton’s eyes were watering and his nose was running. On top of that, only a week and a half after leaving the hospital he contracted an upper respiratory infection. This resulted in a trip to the emergency room and antibiotics that he did not react well to.
Easton would have another respiratory infection before he turned two months old. His oxygen levels were extremely low and he was almost hospitalized. At this point I was giving him steroid nebulizer treatments every three hours to keep him well. I felt so hopeless because I didn’t know how to make my baby boy feel better.
I contacted Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas in the first weeks of Easton’s life because I knew I was not able to breastfeed him, but I wanted to give him the nutritional benefits of breastmilk. Because I had a supply I decided while he was sick I would feed him exclusively with the donor breastmilk in hopes he would become stronger and fight the infection.
Within days of feeding Easton donor human milk from Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, his symptoms went away. Once he was well, I integrated formula back into his feeding schedule because I did not want to use up the entire supply of my donor human milk.
Immediately, Easton’s eyes started watering, nose running and he would literally push the bottle of formula away. We went back to the doctor and confirmed that Easton had a rare and severe allergy to formula. It was causing Easton to have excess mucus production, creating a prime breeding ground for viruses and bacteria. After feeding trials our doctors determined that donor human milk was the only nutrition he could tolerate and ingest allowing him to maintain proper health and respiratory function. He now eats like a champ.
Easton is now four months old and exclusively fed with donor human milk from the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas. Our doctor remarks on how happy he is and how well he is growing. He is once again our happy baby.
I am so thankful to the Milk Bank for the miracle of donor human milk.