It is breast milk donation time. I got my freezer box and I'm ready to pack.
Hi everyone! You might know that I recently donated about 150 ounces of breast milk to the
New York Milk Bank and the milk went to babies in the NICU, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,
that had mothers who either could not provide them with milk or just didn't have an adequate supply
And after I posted about this on social media I received a ton of questions from people asking
how I went about it. I've learned that a lot of you are really interested in donating milk
which is very exciting to hear so I just want to share the whole process. It was very easy,
simple it just takes a little bit of time. You have to go through certain steps. It was easy.
So I would highly recommend you do it if you can. The first question a lot of people asked me was
how I knew that I had an oversupply. I honestly don't know the definition of an oversupply because
I don't know what the standard amount of ounces that the average person can pump or produce in
a day is. That being said, I do know that my body currently produces more milk than Milo actually
drinks and needs so to me, that means I have an oversupply. Milo eats four times a day and
typically, you know, unless our nanny's here and she's feeding him, I'm nursing him. And then after
those four times, I always pump myself one more time before I go to bed to kind of relieve the
pressure so that I can make it until morning. There was also a time when I was waking up in
the middle of the night to pump another time. So I basically had a few extra times in a day when
I would pump milk that would just be stored in the fridge and then later moved to the freezer.
We've been building up somewhat of a stash. I've shared on social media what my freezer looks like
and it's basically just filled to the brim. There's a whole top shelf that has a whole
row of frozen milk and then the bottom section also has milk kind of stashed into the nooks and
crannies down there, and it was honestly becoming a little bit overwhelming. I know a lot of people
end up getting extra freezers to store their milk. I personally was running out of space to
store my frozen foods and I felt like "I have this supply." Yes, it would be great if I could save
all of this so that at the point at which I stopped breastfeeding I will have a massive
supply to dip into and I can ideally keep giving Milo my breast milk for as long as possible,
but I just came to the conclusion that when I decide to stop breastfeeding, whenever that is,
I'll use up whatever milk is left. But at the point at which I stop breastfeeding,
I'm gonna be okay giving up breast milk. So it's okay if I run out of my freezer stash
relatively quickly. One thing to keep in mind, I guess, if you're watching this from
different places around the world, this process is probably going to differ based on where you live
and if you have milk banks near you. Another thing I want to call out first you can also just donate
milk directly to people in need in your community. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's fully
safe to give your breast milk to another baby. I don't think there is any problem with that.
I know that when you donate it through a place like the New York Milk Bank they pasteurize it,
and I think they're just being extra safe. My understanding is that pasteurizing the milk
actually removes a lot of the good stuff that's in there, so I do think it's fully safe to just pass
your milk to someone else who you know is in need. So if you have friends, family members, other
babies nearby that need milk you can always donate that way, too. So the entire process of donating
was pretty easy. It all started with a quick Google search of "How to donate milk in New York
City". I went ahead and did that Google search and up pops the New York Milk Bank. The first
thing I did was I sent them an email and said "I'm interested in becoming a donor". They called me
immediately and we did a little phone screening. On this phone screening, the representative
asked me some questions about my health, my baby's health, my baby's weight. They wanted to make sure
that my baby was getting adequate nutrition before I gave some of his milk away, and then she asked
me some questions that I didn't quite understand the purpose of her asking them, but things about,
you know, "Did you live in this part of Europe between the years of 1995 and 2010?" Questions
like, "Have you been pricked by a needle?" "Have you or your partner had XYZ illnesses in the past
few years?" I'm assuming these answers would have some relation to my milk's eligibility,
but I answered all of her questions. It was very quick. Probably a five-minute phone call, and then
she also wanted to check how I store my milk, how often I wash and sanitize my pump parts, how often
I move my milk from the fridge to the freezer, (so how long it sits on the counter, how long it sits
in the fridge, how long it's in the freezer for) all of that. And as soon as I gave her all these
answers she told me that she would move on to stage two of the screening process which is having
me fill out an online application. So I filled out that online form that was basically the same
questions that she asked on the phone except for just a little bit more detail. I had to provide
my doctor's information and Milo's pediatrician's information so that they could reach out and get
health records from both of them. Once that online application was approved and they reached out to
my doctor and Milo's doctor. Then they sent me a lab request form for getting my blood drawn.
So I went to a QuestLab, got my blood taken with their form. It was free. They told me like "Don't
pay for anything. Don't give your insurance. Don't give anything. It just is covered by the New York
Milk Bank's form." And next thing you know I get an email that I have been approved as a
donor and that they're sending me out a box. So just yesterday this is what I did in my kitchen.
They sent me this big freezer box. Breast milk donation time. So let's pack some milk!
And I followed all of their steps for packing the milk properly in these bags that they provided,
labeling it with my donor number and the amount of ounces that was going into each
bag. They tell you not to put any ice in the bag. Not to put anything else in the bag,
just the actual frozen bags of milk keep themselves frozen if you pack enough in there.
And then as soon as everything was packed up I put a little slip with one more health form on top.
Done! All packed! 150 ounces all packed up, ready, and being picked up by FedEx Express.
And that was it. Then I just scheduled a FedEx Express pickup and someone came the same day
and brought it to where it needed to go. I quickly got an email from the New York Milk Bank telling
me exactly how many bottles of milk they were able to create with my milk, exactly how many ounces
they counted. It was really rewarding to hear from them after the fact and to know that the milk that
I shipped off actually made it there and actually went inside of babies' bodies. I think that's
pretty fascinating. And it's all just really special that I have the opportunity to do this,
and I honestly plan to continue it. We have a stash that is just kind of like ever-growing
and I have heard from people that as soon as I do choose to stop breastfeeding, my freezer
stash will go very quickly, so that's why a lot of people tell you to just keep it all because
you think it's a lot but it ends up running out really quickly, and I completely understand that
and I am keeping as much as I possibly can, but for the rest that's just completely stuffing up
my fridge I think it's best that I donate it. And honestly, it can only stay in the freezer,
I believe, for four months. So if I don't donate it, some of it might go to waste. And that's it!
I hope this video gave you all the information you needed and let me know down below if you have any
questions about the process. I'm really open about it and I'm excited to keep it up. Have a nice day!
you