Calling all #BlogHer12 Pumpers!

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One week from tomorrow, I’ll be getting ready to hop in the car and drive to up state New York, where I’ll be meeting with my blogger friend Sarah from Mindfully Frugal Mom. Together we’ll be taking the train (best way to travel in my opinion) to NYC where we will attend our first BlogHer conference!

Ever since deciding that I’d be attending this year, I’ve been pumping extra milk so that Monkey will have enough here at home to last him while I’m gone. Something many might not know if they haven’t breastfed their child, is that breastfeeding is all about supply and demand. This means that your body gauges how much milk to make based off of how much your baby is eating. Because of this, I’ll need to pump regularly while I’m at the conference – basically as if Monkey was there with me. If I didn’t, my body would think that Monkey has stopped breastfeeding and it will quit producing milk…which obviously I don’t want!

Monkey currently eats every 3-4 hours, so I have it planned into my schedule to pump every 4 hours. By the end of the conference, I should have somewhere around 85 ounces of milk. Breastmilk is special – some even call it liquid gold (and I agree with them). It amazes me every time I think about the fact that Monkey has grown to be this thriving baby all because of the milk my body has produced for him. Miraculous, if you ask me. Now, I’ve been going back and forth as to what exactly I’m going to do with the milk I pump over the four days I’m gone. Part of me wants to bring it back for Monkey – but the thought of getting enough ice (or dry ice) to last a 7 hour train ride, plus a 5 1/2 hour drive home on Sunday makes me antsy. Not to mention carrying all of that milk around along with my luggage by myself would be tough. Lastly, Monkey won’t really need the milk when I get home. Back in Portland, I donated about 40 ounces to a local mom who had had a double mastectomy and was not able to breastfeed her newborn son. Those 40 ounces were stored from when Monkey was brand new and I was still eating dairy. I had no use for them, so I opted to give the milk to someone in need and man did it feel good.

So, over the last few weeks, I’ve been toying with the idea of finding a mom in need in the NYC area to donate the milk to. The other day, someone pointed me in the direction of Kim over at Dirty Diaper Laundry. Last year at BlogHer11, she organized a group donation. She collected milk from 14 moms who were pumping during the conference and donated that milk to one very deserving mom and baby. After reading her post from last year, it not only solidified my decision to donate my expressed milk, but also inspired me to organize a group donation for this year.

At this point, I don’t have all of the details worked out, but if you are a pumping mom and are interested in donating your milk at the end of the conference, please contact me so that I can keep you in the loop as I iron out the details. Leave a comment on this post with your contact info or shoot an e-mail to jenny@thecrunchywife.com (I’ve created a facebook group, so please e-mail me so that I can add you). Likewise, if you know of a mom in need of some donor milk in the NYC area, please contact me as well! I am so excited for this opportunity and I can’t wait to see how much milk we are able to collect together!

Do you have extra milk in your freezer stash that you won’t use for your baby? Do you have an oversupply? Consider donating! Check out East On Feets and Human Milk for Human Babies to learn how you can help a baby in need.