Donor Mom Tamara shares her story
It takes a village to raise a child and I’m glad I could be a part of someone’s village with being able to provide my breast milk to help others.
We delivered our beautiful daughter, Charlotte after years of struggles and couldn’t be more excited for her arrival.
As all mothers we just hope for a flawless and perfect delivery which wasn’t the case for our sweet girl. When she was born, she was hypothermic and had low blood sugars which resulted her being admitted to our local NICU. She required an NG tube for feeding which I began pumping religiously every 3 hours morning and night to make sure my milk supply came in so I could hopefully breastfeed our girl once we were able to come home.
After 10 days we were discharged and unfortunately the feeding struggles continued. Charlotte had a severe lip and tongue tie which we got corrected but then she developed a cow’s milk protein allergy and her sensitive tummy developed an intolerance to my breast milk. Even with dietary restrictions and pumping differently (foremilk and hindmilk) she just couldn’t handle my breast milk and was surviving and not thriving.
With the guidance of our paediatrician, we switched Charlotte to a specialized formula and I continued to pump in hopes our girl would outgrow her sensitive tummy and cow milk allergy. After a month Charlotte started thriving on formula; gaining weight, was happier and sleeping better which I then decided my breastfeeding/pumping journey would sadly to come to an end.
I reached out to NorthernStar Mother’s Milk Bank in hopes I could donate all my breast milk I had saved in hopes that one day I could provide for our little girl. I finally got the email that I was able to donate my milk and it truly was the best feeling knowing I could help other Mama’s and babies during their stays in the NICU or once being discharged to go home.
It takes a village to raise a child and I’m glad I could be a part of someone’s village with being able to provide my breast milk to help others.
Thank-you Tamara for sharing your story.
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