Donor Stories
I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 4 years. We have a small dog, and together we love to travel, camp, fish, and hike. In January, we welcomed our first child, Charlie.
He joined us a little earlier than planned due to severe preeclampsia; as a result he was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for 23 days. Those 23 days were difficult and challenging. Charlie had to be fed through a feeding tube for the first few weeks of his life. For the first few days, he received donor breast milk because my milk had not yet come in.
Once my milk supply was established, I was fortunate to overproduce, and I knew I wanted to donate my excess milk. After Charlie was discharged from the NICU, I became a donor with Helping Hands Milk Bank. I chose Helping Hands because it supports premature babies like my little Charlie.
It also supports Susan G. Komen, a great foundation that funds breast cancer research. Like many, I've watched my close family, friends, and co-workers struggle with breast cancer so it’s important for me to do what I can to help find a cure. Today, Charlie is a healthy plump 6-month-old eating tons of mom’s milk!