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I always intended on breastfeeding, but donating milk never crossed my mind before I had Holden. I’d heard of milk donation, and thought it was admirable, but I didn’t set out with milk donation in mind. When I first began to breastfeed I just wanted to make it until going back to work and get as far as we could once I returned to a working full time, so I began pumping and building up a stash of frozen milk to make our breastfeeding relationship last as long as possible.

I ended up having an oversupply issue and would often become engorged, or end up choking Holden with too strong of a let down. He’d pop off and be sprayed in the face with breast milk and we had some painful, frustrating and messy weeks. I ended up solving this by block feeding, and pumping for a few minutes before nursing if my let down was too strong. Block feeding is just nursing on one side for a full nursing session because Holden would be full off of one side.

I quickly built up an impressive freezer stock of breast milk and felt very confident about continuing our breastfeeding journey as I returned to work at 3 months postpartum. My oversupply continued and I ended up pumping around 15-20 ounces a day, which left me with about 20 ounces to freeze at the end of the week. My freezer became overwhelmed with milk and since pumping was going so well I decided to donate some of the extra milk. I was sure we’d make to to 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding and would soon be on summer vacation, which would allow me to breastfeed on demand again, so I wasn’t worried about hoarding my frozen supply anymore. Around March/ April of 2017 I began the process of applying to become a milk donor.

I did a quick google search for milk bank and found Mother’s Milk Bank, which is located in Austin, but has multiple drop off locations, so donating is easy and convenient. I filled out an online application and did an over the phone screening interview to make sure I was a good candidate. If you live outside of Texas, there are Mother’s Milk Bank chapters that may be near you.

They want to check out your health and make sure your milk is safe to use. When you donate to Mother’s Milk Bank your milk is mixed with breast milk from several other donors and given to babies in NICU. It is especially important for babies in the NICU to have access to breast milk because they are extremely vulnerable. With breast milk they are provided things that formula just can’t give them. It is literally life saving. That is the most rewarding part of being a milk donor.

Once I was cleared through the screening process, I was sent a referral to get my blood drawn to be tested in the lab. The costs are covered by Mother’s Milk Bank with no cost to the donor. This was the hardest part for me because with my work schedule I had trouble making it to the lab, but once I did get the blood sample in to clear me of any disease that could be transferred via breast milk I began making donations.

If you are interested in donating it is important to always label your storage bags with a date. Mother’s Milk Bank accepts milk up to 8 months old.

You should also be aware of what you are eating or ingesting when you pump. Since everything you consume will effect your breast milk, and your breast milk goes to extra vulnerable preemies there are certain things that are not allowed to be eaten while pumping. First would be lactation supplements. I took Honest Co. Lactation Plus, which I loved and saw positive results with. I also had to disqualify much of my frozen milk from being donated because I had used Lactation Plus. Fenugreek is also a no-no as well as any medication. You can still donate just not the milk that would have traces of those things in them. Obviously the same goes for alcohol. Your healthy, full term baby can ingest milk with lactation supplements and fenugreek though, so just mark that you took any supplements or medications on the milks storage bag. You can save it for your baby; no need to dump it.

I started off donating 100 ounces at a time. I brought my frozen milk to my closest drop off center which happened to be the lactation center inside Memorial Herman hospital. It almost made me wish I delivered there. It’s a store exclusively for breastfeeding and pumping Mommas with anything you could ever dream of there. I had visions of visiting the lactation center right after having a baby and going on a shopping spree, but instead I will just enjoy their center when I drop off donations.

Since then I’ve made a few other donations as I meet personal goals I have set for myself and Holden. The last one of which was to make it to one year of breast milk, and then I would stop pumping due to a dwindling supply caused by my second pregnancy. I ended up supplementing with frozen milk to meet this goal, but we made it and I donated the rest for my final donation until I can begin again after breastfeeding my second.

I love being able to breastfeed not only my baby, but also help nourish other babies through the power of breast milk. I know breastfeeding is never easy, and donating is not an option for everyone, but if donating is something you can manage, I highly recommend donating to Mother’s Milk Bank. Not only was there process easy to get through and understand, but the people are always responsive, helpful and kind. I also loved the relationship that formed with the Milk Bank after becoming a donor. They sent several things to me as a I continued to make donations. The first of which was a onesie for Holden (seen below) and most recently a magnet, a certificate to show how much I have donated in total now, and some personal messages from mothers who have received donor milk for their babies while they stayed in the NICU.

It is humbling to hear how my milk as helped families in such a significant way. When I think about the benefits that donor milk has had for preemie and NICU babies it makes the chore that is pumping and the annoyance that oversupply can sometimes be not only worth it, but such a blessing. Currently I am unable to donate because I am 4 months pregnant, but I plan on pumping again and donating any milk I have left to spare. Donating breast milk is such a rewarding thing to be able to do. I am so proud to have milk to donate, and such an amazing organization such as Mother’s Milk Bank to donate to.

If you’re interested in reading more about my pumping/breastfeeding journey, check out my other blog posts Must Haves for Pumping at Work and How to Make Pumping at Work Work.

If you’re interested in trying Honest Co. Lactation Plus or any other Honest Co. products, check out my affiliate link here! This is at no extra cost to you, but helps support my family and this blog of course!