Moms of NICU babies know how precious donor milk is. NorthernStar Milk Donor Nicole has graciously shared her story of the NICU and milk donation journey she had with her son George:
"Our son George was born in our home city, Calgary, with a heart condition. He was transferred to Edmonton when he was three days old, and went in for open heart surgery a week after birth.
"He was given some donor milk in the first couple days after birth while my milk supply was coming in. Then with the heart condition and surgery, he was completely off feeds for some time, and taking small volumes mostly through a feeding tube when he was able to feed.
"Because of this, my milk stash grew and grew to the point where I had two large boxes full of frozen milk to bring back to Calgary with me when we left Edmonton. With a deep freeze full of milk, and having benefitted from donor milk ourselves, it seemed like a no-brainer to donate to the milk bank!
"George continued with tube feeds after being discharged from the hospital at three weeks old, and got the go-ahead to start trying to introduce bottle feeds about two weeks later. He slowly got better and better with the bottle, until at almost three months old he no longer needed to be topped up with tube feeds at all.
"Though he has already been through so much, he is a happy, thriving baby boy!"
- Nicole, NorthernStar Milk Donor & NICU Mom
Thank you, Nicole, for sharing your milk with others, and thank you, George, for providing us with these adorable photos and sharing your milk with your friends in need! You are the heart of the milk bank.
