Jennifer Anderson
Dallas, TX
When I was pregnant with my first child, I was 100 percent certain I was going to breastfeed. After Emma was born, the nurses were concerned that she should eat more often but the lactation consultant visited me in the hospital and she shared, “You should nurse whenever she wants to eat. You don’t have to wake her up, or get her naked. Let Emma eat on demand and don’t worry about putting her on a schedule. You have a perfectly healthy baby.” She helped Emma latch and her words helped.
Breastfeeding was kind of rough those first few weeks, but we finally figured it out.
We lived in a very small one bedroom apartment but that did not slow down the steady stream of visitors! I remember one day, early on, we had a house full of people and I couldn’t find a place to nurse Emma. I sat in the bedroom closet with my four day old baby crying because she couldn’t latch, my milk was too fast, and I had no idea how to help her! Needless to say, we figured it out and I was blessed enough to breastfeed Emma for one year until she naturally stopped.
During that time, I had a lot of extra milk that we struggled to rotate in our small apartment freezer. I found myself pumping less and, therefore, producing less just because I had extra stock with no place to go. When I became pregnant with my second, I thought it was very likely to be in the same predicament so I asked my doctor what I should do. She advised me to donate it.
Online research led me to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas.
When Reagan was born, I began pumping when she was only two days old and within four or five weeks I had stored 800 ounces and run out of freezer space! Since I had so much extra milk and it wasn’t time for me to go back to work, we decided to donate 543 ounces. We were later able to donate another 112 ounces to the Milk Bank. This brought our total donation to 655 ounces.
Donating is really a blessing. I’m very happy to have found the Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas. Being able to donate milk has been personally rewarding and life changing for me. Since I started this journey, I have done a lot of research and it has been eye-opening to see/hear other mom’s experiences and know the power God has provided us. It’s a beautiful thing to see the strength and ability of the human body to produce and provide for another life. We plan to grow our family again some time next year and I plan to surpass my original donation and hopefully exceed 1,000 ounces.
It is kind of overwhelming to think about what these donations mean for the little babies and their families. When I was dropping off my milk at the milk depot, I had to go into the NICU to leave it in the in the fridge. I would always say a little prayer for the babies and their families. I am so thankful that organizations like MMBNT are able to step in and provide assistance.
I work for a large corporation and I’ve made it a point to share information with expecting moms, always with the caveat that I’m not infringing on anyone’s personal decision. One fellow mom shared with me that she’d also donated to the Milk Bank with her first and plans to do it again with her second.
Jennifer’s Breastfeeding & Milk Donation Advice:
- Cry if you feel like crying. Don’t tell yourself that it is unnatural to feel like you are failing. Even when you are breastfeeding correctly you may feel like you aren’t doing it right. Soon you’ll see your baby grow and you’ll realize that you were on the right track all along.
- Babies cry. They are adapting to the world and EVERYTHING is new to them. Hold them and keep trying to breastfeed.
- Breastfeeding is convenient. You can do it in the middle of the mall or middle of the night.
- If you are lucky enough to be an “overproducer,” then think about what you will do with your excess breastmilk. But, don’t rush your donation. Just wait until you are ready to make that donation because it is nice to have that security in the freezer.
- Don’t rely on the milk you see in your freezer – continue to pump. Pumping often keeps up your supply.
- If you are pumping at work, then keep something with you to remind you about the sacrifice you are making – a photo of your baby, a blankie or lovey.