World Milksharing Week

It was World Milksharing Week last week. I meant to post earlier, but somehow was busy, what with it being the first week back at work and all.  Before I had Sterling, I didn't know that milksharing was a thing, much less that there was a whole week where one could celebrate it. If you look closely at the picture of the two nursing women, one of them is using an at-breast supplementing system similar to what I use with Sterling. I really like the fact that the two babies are holding hands. If we assume that the two babies are both getting milk from the blue mother, that makes them "milk siblings". That's not really a thing in our culture, but it still is in many cultures where infant formula isn't readily available and having a wetnurse or milk from another mother can really be the difference between life and death for a baby.

Wikipedia (my favorite source of information) says that "In Islam those who are fed in this way become siblings to the biological children of their wetnurse, provided that they are less than 2 years old. Islamic law (shariah) codifies the relationship between these people, and certain specified relatives, as rada'a; given that a child is breastfed five fulfilling (satisfactory to him) times, once they are adult, they are mahram, meaning that they are not allowed to marry each other, and the rules of modesty known as purdah are relaxed, as with other family members. But, laws of inheritance do not apply in the case of milk siblings." I think that's a pretty neat idea. If we were to follow that, Sterling would have a huge family. Let's count them up.

1. We got fresh (unfrozen) milk for several months from a wonderful woman with a baby girl only 3 weeks older than Sterling. It was really neat to watch the baby grow. It was like a preview of what Sterling would be doing in a few weeks. I saw them twice a week for several months and we spent a lot of time talking. It was nice to establish a relationship beyond just picking up milk. 
2. We picked up milk twice from a woman in Eugene with a baby boy a couple of months older than Sterling. She was the first person to agree with me that S had at tongue and lip tie (she'd had the same issue with her baby). That agreement led me to seek help from one more person, my wonderful Lactation Consultant Melissa Cole.
3. One of my colleagues from work was pregnant at the same time I was with a baby boy. We got into a discussion one day about nursing: I mentioned that I wasn't producing a lot of milk and she mentioned that the last time she was pregnant, she produced way more milk than she needed. When I decided to try donated milk, she was one of the first people I emailed. She's been pumping 4oz of milk for us a day for months now. She and I have gotten to know each other much better since our original discussion and we have a lot in common. I really enjoy getting together with her. 
4. We got milk from someone who lives very nearby and has a baby boy several months older than S. She pumps and donates to different mothers every time she collects about 100oz extra. When I walked into her house with S, her son was sitting in his Bumbo chair eating sweet potatoes and had them all over himself.
5. I picked up a whole bunch of milk from a woman in Vancouver. She was so sweet - we were meeting at Starbucks and I had the wrong one because I'm not familiar with Vancouver. It was about a thousand degrees that day and she drove to meet me (out of her way) at a second Starbucks to give me two full grocery bags full of frozen milk.
6. A woman who is hoping to adopt a baby has given me milk twice. She's induced lactation by taking medication and by pumping extensively. She's worked up from pumping a few drops to pumping about 13oz a day. Her plan is to continue pumping until they call her to tell her that they have a baby for her to adopt. It could be tomorrow or it could be a year from now. That's dedication. She always says she's happy that the milk can be used: she called a milk bank and they wouldn't take it because of the medication she has to take to induce lactation. 
7. When we were in Virginia, we got milk from three different people. The first was a friend who has a baby girl about a year old. I've gotten to see the baby grow up through picture on facebook, but haven't ever met her in person.
8. A work colleague of my mother-in-law's gave us milk before we got there and while we were there, when we started running low. She has a very healthy baby boy a few months older than Sterling. When we went to pick up emergency milk the second time, she was holding him and he looked at us very seriously.
9. I found someone in Sterling, VA through Human Milk 4 Human Babies - Virginia. I don't know whether she has a boy or a girl, but she was willing to share her milk with a baby that she'll never meet.
10. Another friend of mine from work brought over a 5oz bottle of milk that she had pumped (she exclusively pumps and then feeds her baby via a bottle because he finds nursing to be frustrating). It was an amazing gift because up until that point, she hadn't been pumping enough to fully cover his needs and she'd had to supplement with formula. That bottle was one of the first times that she'd produced over his needs for the day. Since then, she's gotten her supply up past his milk needs for the day and has offered to share the excess with Sterling.

This is what breastfeeding looks like for us.

All of these women are fabulous and I appreciate their generosity every day when I'm able to feed my baby on exclusively human milk. She's growing up happy and healthy and amazing. How could she not, when she's getting love from all of these amazing mamas?