We have an INCREDIBLE donor story to share with you! 👦👦👶👶
Against the odds, Kristine is mother to not one but TWO sets of twins, and each of their birth stories is fascinating and inspiring:
"I was incredibly excited to have twins on the way. I researched prior to having them about using donor milk if they came early. I was lucky and had my twin boys in 2019 at 37 weeks which is term for twins. They didn’t need to use donor milk and didn’t require any NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) time.
"When they were three months old I had appendicitis and had to stop using my breast milk immediately due to the additional abscesses that came along with my appendix issues. I was hospitalized for thirteen days and needed antibiotics to help fight the infection. Thankfully I had about a month's worth of frozen breast milk during this time to have family feed my boys.
"Things still weren’t quite right, and when my boys were 18 months I had appendicitis again (which is incredibly rare) and needed surgery. This was a much smoother recovery. Due to all of my abscesses and scarring I was told that I most likely wouldn’t be able to have kids again. I was always hoping for one more but was at peace at whatever might happen.
"Fast forward to a week before my twin boy’s third birthday. I took a pregnancy test and found out that I was pregnant. Shortly after I I went to my first ultrasound and the technician told me that I was expecting twins. I almost fell off of the bed.
"My husband and I were in shock. We had a lot of changes and planning to do. We needed bigger vehicles and to set up a twin nursery. Thankfully we still had the two cribs that my twin boys used. I took a blood test to find out the gender of the babies and the result was girls.
"The pregnancy was going as smooth until my water broke at 27 weeks. Water breaking this early is known as PPROM (preterm premature rupture of the membranes). I had to take it extremely easy and was able to safely keep my girls in my body until the goal of 34 weeks.
"We knew they were coming early and would require NICU time. We were thankful to know that donor milk would be available to them. My one daughter spent five weeks in the NICU and my other spent three weeks.
"Once my milk can in I started freezing any additional milk. Both of my daughters ended up having the cow’s milk protein allergy so I wasn’t able to give them any of my pumped frozen milk. I wanted to donate any frozen pumped milk to someone who could use it. I was able to donate 20.9 litres. I was incredibly happy to help other babies who needed donor milk."
Thank you, Kristine, for sharing your milk with other babies - especially as a busy mother of four and with newborn twins! And thank you to Alex and Austin, Emerald and Isobel, for sharing your sweet photos and your precious milk with other babies.
Santa Claus photo by @shutterbeanphotography