Giving Back

My son Tyler was born 4 weeks early. He was 4 pounds, 5 ounces - small for that stage of pregnancy due to what I was told was called Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction (IUGR). In order to keep his weight from dropping while waiting for my mine to come in, Tyler was given donor milk for the 1st 2 days of his life. I was so grateful that this was possible!

I'm sure that largely because of this donation of nutrition, he was able to avoid needing NICU services & was also able to stay with me in the birthing center and to go home with me without an extended hospital stay.

In an effort to stimulate my milk to come in ASAP, I began pumping immediately after delivery - every 3 hours as I would normally feed. Consequently, my milk came in in droves - I could have fed triplets, I'm pretty sure! I froze piles of extra milk. It took about 6 months for Tyler's consumption to catch up with my production. I was, therefore, able to donate almost 200 ounces of milk to the Mother's Milk Bank.

This made me feel like I had been given the opportunity to say 'Thank You' in actions as well as in words for the gift that was given to me, my son, & my family as he began his life.

I've long since stopped breast feeding. Tyler is now a 6 year old Kindergartener, & his little sister Ashley is 4. However, in lieu of milk my family continues a tradition of making a monetary donation to the Milk Bank every Mothers' Day - in honor of my kids' two grandmothers & in remembrance of the day that I first became a mom myself.

Julie Mankinen

Former donor mom and financial supporter of MMBA