Our Milk Sharing Story for World Milk Sharing Week (+ Giveaway)

L getting his 'top up' after breastfeeding

Did you know that this week is World Milk Sharing Week? It's basically a week to promote awareness of breast milk sharing in all its forms. Sharing milk isn't anything new, but I think it died down a bit in the last century or so, along with breastfeeding itself. In the past few years, with the help of social media, milk sharing has grown, providing many parents a fantastic way to nourish their babies with the next best thing to their own mama's milk.

For Milk Sharing week this year, I thought I'd share my experience with milk sharing with you. If you've been a long-time reader of Spokesmama, you probably remember that we were recipients of donated milk. Here's our story.

With both my children I struggled with low milk supply when they were newborns. It was quite a blow to discover that my 12-day-old son wasn't gaining enough weight because I wasn't making enough milk. We switched into emergency supplement mode, getting him formula immediately on top of each breastfeeding session, but I wanted him to have as much breastmilk as possible, so my midwife referred me to the BC Women's Milk Bank.

Prescreened moms with an abundant supply of milk pump & donate to the bank, where the milk is pasteurized & bottled. First priority goes to infants in the neonatal intensive care ward at BC Children's Hospital. If there is enough of a supply, babies like mine are able to get some too. We took home about a dozen bottles of the liquid gold for baby Linnaeus.

B getting her post breastfeeding top up

On top of the milk from BC Women's that we got, my sister also gave some to Linnaeus. Her daughters are ten months older than him & during a nursing strike, my sister pumped milk. Her daughters wouldn't take it in bottles, so she gave it to us.

I tried everything I could to increase my milk supply, but I never got up to more than about 80% of his needs, so I supplemented breastfeeding with the donated milk & formula for nearly ten months with Linnaeus.

When I became pregnant again with Brontë, I started planning as much as possible in an attempt to avoid low milk supply again. Despite my best efforts, I still wasn't making enough for baby Bronte in the first months. I put the word out to find some informal milk sharing situation. A friend donated a bottle to us, but I was too overwhelmed with now being mother of two kids to seek more. Thankfully, I managed to make more milk than I had with Linnaeus & we dispensed with the supplementing when Brontë was about three months old.

Though we didn't use a huge amount of donated milk, I'm so very grateful for every ounce that we got. I spent many hours of my life hooked up to a breast pump & I have to admit, I'm really glad those daily pumping sessions are well behind me. I applaud the mamas who give their time & their milk to BC Women's, or to more informal milk sharing arrangements, so that other babies can have the benefits of breast milk.

If you're interested in donating milk to BC Women's Milk Bank, please visit their site to find out more on eligibility.

Snugabell, a local company that makes the PumpEase bras & other accessories to make pumping better for mamas, created a great video celebrating the beauty of breastfeeding for Pump Across America. You can watch it right here:


I saved the fun stuff for last:

Snugabell is offering you the chance to save some money on PumpEase hands-free pumping bras from Sept. 24 - 30 on Snugabell.com, Amazon.com, and Amazon.ca. Just use promo code GIVEMILK. There's more info on the Snugabell Facebook page.

In honour of World Milk Sharing Week, Snugabell will be giving away a PumpEase Prize Pack (one of their awesome hands-free pumping bras, a wet bag to match, & a door hanger) as a grand prize and Through a Child's Eyes Keepsake Colouring Books as runner-up prizes. 

You can enter here. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read more stories of milk sharing on the Snugabell blog!

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Review: PumpEase Wet Bag

My PumpEase Wet Bag full of diapers, wipes & a change of clothes.

You might have heard of the PumpEase hands-free pumping bra before--it's a bandeau that holds your breast pump on for hands-free pumping. I recently bought one & it's made my life a whole lot easier, I can tell you. Snugabell, the company that makes PumpEase, also has a number of other handy products & they sent me a wet bag to try out. I've had a Bummis wet bag for cloth diapers for three years now--they're great to have one or two around. I'd never thought of getting a wet bag specifically for my breast pump before.

The PumpEase Wet Bag is a 9" x 11" cloth zippered pouch with a snap open loop at one end. The outside fabric comes in six different fun prints & the inside is lined with waterproof PUL. It's designed to hold breast pump parts for when you're pumping at work or travelling. But being a simple waterproof bag, there are many other uses for it too, including holding snacks, cosmetics, electronics, soiled cloth diapers, clothes when potty training, or wet swimsuits.

The handy snap loop will hang pretty much anywhere.

I love the prints that the wet bags are offered in--I got mine in snow leopard print to match my pumping bra. The snap open loop handle is a great feature as well, because you can attach it to virtually anything--the outside of a purse strap, your stroller handle, a hook on a wall in a public washroom... The PumpEase Wet Bag is easy to clean too--just machine wash it in warm water, no bleach & hang to dry.

Besides making great products, I've got three more reasons you should support Snugabell:

• they're local (based in Coquitlam, BC)
• the company was started by a mom (Wendy Armbruster) who saw a need for great products to support breastfeeding by making pumping a little easier (read the whole story here)
• the products are made in Canada

Even if you're not pumping, you probably could use one of these wet bags. In fact, even if you have no children, you'd find one handy. You can buy them online at www.snugabell.ca, for $14.



Follow Snugabell on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter & read their blog for breastfeeding resources & lots more.

Disclaimer: This was not a sponsored post, however, I did receive a free wet bag to review. I am also an Amazon.ca affiliate & the first link is an affiliate link, so I'll receive a small commission if you buy a Pumpease bra via my link.

Follow Spokesmama here too:

Wordless Wednesday, a bit late

Oh the joys of low milk supply:

Breastfeed
Bottle feed formula/pumped milk
Burp, wipe up inevitable spit-ups
Change diaper
Wash hands
Pump
Wash various small plastic parts & containers

Repeat six to eight times a day.

Back to School

Today I headed back to school: Psychology 102 at SFU Surrey Campus. I took one class a year ago, Psychology 100, to get started on my Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Linguistics & Psychology. I wanted to do another class or two in the summer, but the exam dates were just past Sprout's due date. So I took that semester off. Before he was born, I briefly considered doing a class or two in the fall by distance education, but life with a newborn soon made me forget that idea.

When it came time to register for the Winter semester, I found two courses that I need are offered. I decided to go for it & hope that I'll have enough time to get my assignments done, complete the required research participation & study for exams around Sprout's schedule. Though it would be great if Oliver gets full-time work soon, I will have a lot more time to study if he doesn't.

Being a student as a mama is definitely different. I felt like an alien in my Psychology 100 class a year ago, being pregnant & about 16 years older than most of the students. Now it's even weirder, being a mother. The instructor asked us to vote on having one longer break or two short breaks during the three-hour class. I voted for the longer break, because my main concern was how I am going to pump breast milk while I'm away from Sprout for five hours. Sadly, the majority wanted two short breaks, so I'll have to figure that out.

I feel like my reality is pretty different from that of my classmates; breastfeeding, diapers, baby groups, property taxes & managing basement suites are all things they likely don't have much experience with. Not that it matters for this class--there are no group projects or anything at all that requires us to interact.

I wonder what the students in my other 300-level class Tuesday will be like. Linguistics 350 is on First Language Acquisition, so maybe there's a chance that someone else in there will be taking it because they have a child too. Maybe?

The latest from Breastfeedingland

Yesterday I had an appointment in the afternoon & Sprout was going to need to eat after I had to leave, so I decided to try pumping before I left. I also wanted to see how much milk I could get out, as I'd never pumped except after a feeding. I confirmed what I'd suspected for a while: my right side produced only about half what my left side did. I only ended up with about 105mL, which is a bit less than Sprout probably needs per feeding, so I was a little sad about that. However, it was nice to finally know why I haven't had enough milk--one breast just can't produce enough. I resigned myself to supplementing, hoping to be able to continue the breast + bottle routine for another three months or so.

Today we had an appointment at the Vancouver Breastfeeding Centre. It's been three weeks since we last went & I was looking forward to telling Doctor Lin what I'd figured out yesterday then seeing what her suggestions were. We weighed Little L when we arrived, discovering that he'd gained 20 ounces in 21 days: right on track! Then I fed him on each side, weighing him twice more to see how much he was getting from each breast. This is what the doctors call a test feeding--the only way to know how much Linnaeus is drinking when he breastfeeds. The results were great: 5890g, 5947g & 6024g. He got about two ounces from my 'bad' side, then nearly three from my 'good' side. Dr. Lin was impressed & said that with a feeding like that, I no longer qualify as having a low milk supply!

We also talked about how much supplemental formula Sprout's taking. He rarely seems all that hungry after breastfeeding & we've all but stopped bothering with a bottle for his 'first breakfast'. Sometimes he flat-out refuses to drink from the bottle we offer: when we put it to his lips, he pushes it away with his tongue. Occasionally he humours us briefly & sucks a little bit of formula, only to spit it all out a few seconds later with a grin. He's also been feeding less frequently--sleeping through the night & sometimes going four or five hours between feedings during the day. Dr. Lin said it seems he might be taking the formula just because it's there & we are fairly persistent about offering it to him. If we just don't offer it unless he seems to be still hungry, he might start breastfeeding a bit more frequently. Higher demand might further increase supply. More importantly though, it would mean I might not have to always have a bottle, boiled water & powdered formula with me, at the ready every time I go out.

I came away from the appointment today incredibly happy. It's been my dream for over two months now to achieve exclusive breastfeeding without supplementing. I've fought through tears from pain when my nipples were cracked & bruised. I've wrestled with a flailing baby, desperately trying to get him to latch properly so he could drink deeply. I tried tickling him, poking him, rubbing his feet, cool wet cloths, anything to keep him awake & drinking. Day & night for a week both Oli helped me struggle with a lactation aid, feeding a tiny tube into the corner of Sprout's mouth as he nursed, so that he'd get supplement while stimulating more milk. I've tried herbal tincture, lactation tea, Domperidone & Guinness to increase my milk supply. I fed Sprout every time he asked for it, then pumped for at least ten minutes after every single feeding, even when I was away from home. I've worked for it: I really want this.

Besides the fact that breastfeeding is more convenient than formula feeding, it's better for Linnaeus: my milk is perfectly balanced nutritionally for his needs & easier for him to digest than something based on cow's milk or soy. I know Sprout would be fine even if he got no more breast milk at all--as a baby I was fed on formula only, as was my husband & many of our generation--we turned out fine. However, if I could stop using formula, I wouldn't have to worry about expiration dates or product recalls. I'd love to leave behind the never ending bottle-washing, sterilizing & keeping track of how long prepared formula has been in the fridge or at room temperature.

Another reason I keep breastfeeding is emotional: I love the bonding with my baby when I hold him against my ribs & watch his little face. I like the relaxing oxytocin haze that I often get while nursing. It's an amazing feeling to be able to instantly calm this little child when he's tired, cranky or just got his first vaccinations. I believe that the benefits of breastfeeding to babies (decreased chance of allergies, eczema, asthma, increased immunity, lower chance of being obese, better cognitive, social & psychomotor development, etc) as well as their mothers (lower incidence of breast, uterine & ovarian cancer, faster loss of 'baby weight', lessens osteoporosis, etc) are worth promoting. I think that if the women who are able to breastfeed did so for at least the first year or two of their baby's life, we might have a whole generation of healthier adults. Imagine the long-term consequences of that on the health care system!

I believe strongly that all mothers should be made comfortable to feed their babies in public. Forget the Udder Covers, Hooter Hiders & all the other brands of tent that women use to 'spare' the general public a glimpse of breast while feeding their infants. This is a political issue to me: I refuse to use one of those things, although I was given one, because I feel I should not have to hide my son under a curtain, or worse, feed him in a public toilet. He has the right to eat wherever & whenever he needs to & I have the right to breastfeed him where & when I choose. I think that my doing so as much as possible might encourage other women to do the same & also normalize it for whoever might be watching.

Well, that's enough ranting for me & now you've all got an update, I'll sign off.

Hungry Monkey

Sprout had a bit of a catch-up growth spurt this past weekend: Thursday he weighed 8 pounds 0.5 ounces, today he was 8 pounds 8.5 ounces. So now he's gained 18.5 ounces since we left the hospital 19 days ago. Whew.

I think he's getting tired of wearing the same newborn sleepers day in & day out. He wants to grow into all the 3-month-sized onesies & outfits he's gotten as gifts.

I'm still working on latch issues, sucking back herbal tinctures & lactation tea like there's no tomorrow & pumping after feedings, but I feel a little more positive about it all today. Seeing the midwife & getting reassurance that Linnaeus is healthy & fattening up helped. I also got a prescription for Domperidone, which I am hoping will be a magic bullet for my supply issues... Keep your fingers crossed for me.

8 pounds 0.5 ounces

So as of today at the midwife's office, Linnaeus has regained his birth weight. With all this supplementing & pumping, he gained 4.5 ounces in just under three days. Until our next midwife appointment on Monday, I need to continue the hectic schedule of:

1. change diaper to wake him up, 
2. get donor milk ready & warm, 
3. breastfeed til he slows down, 
4. insert lactation aid tube & fiddle with it til it's working, 
5. offer the rest by bottle if necessary,
6. pump 20 mins, 
7. clean everything, 
8. sleep. 

 Somewhere in there I need to eat, take my supplements & tea... wish me luck.