love is...

i've been a "guest blogger" over at my friend mia's blog this month as a participant in her little "love is..." series. each wednesday she has her contributor {it's a different one each month} talk about a different way to show love. it's been fun to read other people's ideas of showing love - and learning how sometimes showing love can be a simple act that takes no more time out of our day! 

here's the link to the first week that i participated. i blogged about my home away from home: HEB.

 and here's this week's blog...

{since i was a guest blogger, i did fancy things like use capital letters. don't get used to it :)}

this week i wrote about milk-banking and milk donation. i just thought i'd share it with you too for 2 reasons: 1) if you're like me, you didn't really know such a thing existed and it really is fascinating 2) i always love knowing how i can support, embrace and really press-in to the life stage that God has me in. this was one of those ways for me!

Love is…Expressing your inner lifesaver!

I’m in my twenties {even if only for one more year…gulp!}, have a 13 month old rover and am expecting a new little wee wonderful in September. It seems as if most of the friends I have right now are also moms of wee ones and are in similar life stages as me. Either that or their older than I am, with teenagers…and those are also important friends to have because they are proof that you WILL live to see a day when you aren’t up to your elbows in spit up, dirty doody diapers and finding yourself humming the intro song to Baby Signing Time while you unload your dishwasher....which is, incidentally, loaded with sippy cups and bright BPA free plastic dish-ware with fancy brand names like Munchkin and Tommee Tippee.

Because of this wildly popular life stage that many of us are in, I’m going out on a limb today! And gentlemen, you’ll soon find that this post is dedicated to the ladies. You’re off the hook this week :)

When Owen was born, I ventured into the mysterious realm of nursing, as many moms do. I loved it! It was a super special way to bond with Owen, easy, convenient, great for my little guy, free and a good excuse to sit down every 3-4 hours. Many other nursing mothers who had gone before me had stressed to me the importance of building a milk stash in your freezer. Milk for emergencies, for back up, for times when you just don’t want to have to wear a nursing friendly shirt or a bra that dismantles, for times when you just need a break. And so I learned the skill of pumping. And pump I did. By the time my little guy was a few months old, our freezer was PACKED full of milk. Nary a frozen pizza or popsicle could fit. It was then that I came to a crossroads…what on earth do I do with all of this?! I’m a stay at home mom, I was hardly ever using any of it, it won’t last forever and everyday there is more to add to the stash. And so I turned to the all-knowing source for life’s most important questions. I Googled: what to do with a lifetime supply of breast milk. Just kidding. But seriously, I did sit down at my computer to start researching milk banking and milk donation. I had never really heard much about it, but after reading about this approach to saving lives, I was hooked.

I was super excited to happen upon Mothers’ Milk Bank of Austin. They’re an awesome non-profit organization that works hard for a cause they believe in! After a few inquiry e-mails and a phone interview, we were ready to go! They sent me the information that I needed to complete in order to be an official donor, sent me to get my free lab work done and thanked me a million times over for becoming a Donor Mom. I thanked them for what they do and was so excited to get started.

It was a win/win! I got to restock my freezer with things that sustain my WHOLE family…things like chicken breasts and ice cream, all while making a huge difference in a little bitty tiny fragile life.

Here in Corpus Christi, the local area drop off is at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. You just take your donations there, leave them with the ladies in the Mom’s Place and you’re done. From there, they send it through the pasteurization process and get it to the little tiny ones that need it the most.

As soon as we found out we were expecting again I had to put a halt on my donating, but I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby #2 so that we can start up again! They will accept a one-time donation {there is a minimum donation requirement}, but they really thrive on the frequent donations. I took my initial stash, then continued to pump once a day – alternating one day for Owen’s stash, one day for the milk bank. Our little system worked great and Owen was all too happy to share.

As a busy mom, it’s hard to find ways to feel like you’re making a difference. Especially to feel like you’re making a difference for anyone outside of your own little family. It takes a LOT to keep life going. Laundry doesn’t do itself and dinner doesn’t magically appear on your table each night {but I’ve waited just to see several times}. This is a great way to show love to a new little life – and also a way to show love to the family that cares more about that new little life than anyone in the world! What a rewarding gift!

If you’re not able to donate cold milk, they also accept cold cash :) MMBA is experiencing a serious shortage here in Texas and could use any and every donation!

Here’s an article that was recently written about MMBA, the importance of milk donations and how donated breast milk can actually save a life! 

They need 500 donors in order to keep things rolling and they only have 250 so far this year. Could you be #251? And if you’re one of those people that will do anything for a free t-shirt, look no further! You’ll get one! Owen even got a cute little MMBA onesie as a thank you for sharing :)

Share the Love, if you can. I’ll be right there with you, come September.

For more information…

Mothers’ Milk Bank Austin – www.milkbank.org

Or contact them at 877-813-6455