Got Milk?

I certainly do!! I have been blessed with an abundant supply of milk for my baby. Breastfeeding is something that I feel really good about doing for my children, and I know that I am giving my babies the best possible start in this world. Breast milk has shown to protect babies from all kinds of illnesses. In fact, when a mother is sick, she passes on the antibodies for her illness directly to her nursing infant to help and protect them from contracting the illness themselves.
Recent studies have shown that breastfed babies are even believed to have extra protection against childhood cancers. Another cool thing I recently learned about the boob juice...it has Stem cells in it! What an amazing substance.

Not to mention the benefits for me...reduced risk of both breast cancer and heart disease!

So, there actually is a point to this post. Because I am both blessed to have an abundant supply, and such a strong believer in the benefits of breastfeeding, I have decided to become a donor for the Mother's milk bank of Iowa. The milk bank provides milk to premature babies, who are often too underdeveloped to be able to process infant formula. It also provides milk to infants with other special needs, and contributes milk to be tested for the kinds of studies that result in more evidence for the merits of breastfeeding.
I added a ticker to the sidebar of my blog to track the number of ounces I am able to donate, on top of exclusively breastfeeding Thea. Wish me luck! And for those of you that are skeeved out by the idea of sharing breast milk, I have been through blood tests to ensure my health and my milk is very carefully handled, pasteurized and tested for bacteria before it is given to any other baby.

Here is some more information about the Mother's Milk bank of Iowa: http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/uichildrenshospital/milkbank/index.html