Donor Suzy stays busy raising kids, baking, and helping 84 NICU patients

“I have two sons: Connor, 5, and Maverick, 3. I am married to an amazing man, Michael, who has supported me through every step of my breastmilk donation journey with both of our boys.

I formerly worked as a Telemetry Tech, where I would interpret patients’ heart rhythms and arrhythmias. After Maverick was born, I became a stay-at-home mom.

As for things I enjoy, I love to cook and bake, especially with the help of my boys. I have a wide variety of things I enjoy making, especially around the Christmas season. And speaking of Christmas, that is my most cherished time of the year. I would say this is what makes me, uniquely me. The weather, the lights, the atmosphere, the music, the food, and most importantly, family, and the traditions that I get to pass down to my kids.

I learned about Tiny Treasures Milk Bank from my mom, who is a labor and delivery nurse. I experienced unexpected, late preterm labor. Experiencing the stress and complications that come with it drastically changed my life and made me want to become a breastmilk donor.

Being an over-producer has both blessed and humbled me. Not only was I able to feed my own children, but I was able to help provide milk to 84 babies over the course of my journey.

Helping the families of these babies was impactful for me, and I am sure it helped ease their minds during their difficult time. This has been such an emotional and heartwarming experience that will always be a part of my story.

The most rewarding aspect of my donation journey was that I was able to provide breast milk not only for my kids, but other families too. I had a goal of pumping for 5 years; however I was blessed with being able to do 4 ½ years before my milk volume dropped and my journey ended.

I am proud of the amount of time I was able to pump for, as well as being able to pump through all of the painful moments I experienced. I donated just over 39,000 ounces between my two donation journeys.

The compensation has helped our family a lot. I have been able to stay at home with my kids for the past 4 ½ years, while also being able to provide for them financially. My biggest challenge while donating was time management. It was very challenging to keep up a schedule while having to pump several times a day, as well as wash and sanitize pump parts.

My advice to other donors: make a pumping schedule and stick to it. It will vastly help you keep up your supply as well as keep things on track.”