Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas is so grateful for moms like Samantha, who donate surplus breastmilk to help medically fragile babies. Currently, the Fort Worth milk bank is serving premature and sick infants in over 100 hospitals in Texas and other states. Samantha, a repeat donor, explains how her breastfeeding journey started with doubts and progressed to feeding her own three babies as well as countless sick preemies.
When I was pregnant with our first daughter, my husband, Phillip, asked me if I wanted to breastfeed. I told him "UHH, probably not!" He let me know it would mean a lot to him if I would at least try because of the health benefits for both our baby and me. So I tried, and I just couldn't believe I could nourish my baby like that!
Six years, three daughters later, and more than 6,000 ounces donated, I give a lot of credit for my breastfeeding success to my husband and his enthusiastic encouragement. I just couldn't have made it without his advocacy.
I now donate what my third daughter, Paige, doesn't need to sick infants whose mothers cannot produce the breastmilk that helps them so much. After breastfeeding, I typically hand pump 8-14 ounces extra, once a day. Phillip washes, assembles and disassembles all the pump parts by hand and helps burp in the wee hours! He also packs the cooler and delivers the milk. Loving support makes breastfeeding work for sure!
