Earlier this week, Myke and I had to bring my MIL (mom-in-law) to the hospital because of high blood pressure. We came straight from the office to fetch my MIL before proceededing to the ER so my last pumping session was at 3pm that day. We stayed in the ER til the wee hours of the morning and during our vigil, I was getting uncomfortable since I was feeling "full". Since I didn't have an idea of how long are we going to stay in the ER or if my MIL had to be confined, I decided to seek out the nursery of the hospital so I could pump and donate my breastmilk. Though I would have wanted to let my baby have the milk, there's the risk that it will spoil if left standing in room temperature. So rather than letting it go to waste, I thought it'll be better to let the other babies have the milk.
I wasn't wrong in the decision. When I told the midwife in the nursery that I want to donate the milk, they were very grateful and said that they need breastmilk badly. But they didn't have any breastpumps and I left mine in the car so I had to learn to express my milk manually. It was hard and I was a bit disappointed with the little milk I got. But the nurses still received them gratefully.
A couple of hours later, we were still in the ER and the doctors were still monitoring my MIL's condition. I asked Myke to get my breastpump from the car and then headed out again to the nursery of the hospital's charity ward. I gave them the milk I expressed earlier (I kept them in the insulated bag with some ice but because of the long hours, the ice had already melted) and proceeded to pump more milk. This time, the midwife asked me to stay in the NICU instead of their breastfeeding room (which was occupied at the time). And during my stay there, I got a glimpse of the preemies who were inside incubators and babies with birth complications and had tubes stucked onto their frail little bodies. Nakakalungkot kasi tayo nga na matanda na, nasasaktan pag may nakatusok na IV sa atin, pano ba kaya yung mga babies? So I was glad to have made the right decision to give them my milk. The babies in that ward need them more and my Georgie still has me to give her the milk she needs. Seeing the plight on those babies, I was wishing that I had a large stash of milk at home so I could donate some more but the milk that I express when I'm at work is just enough for my baby's feed for the next day. Still, I'm still happy that I was able to help in a small way. When I got home, I talked to Georgie and told her that mama doesn't have a "pasalubong" (her milk) because I shared them with other babies. And you know what? My daughter who probably had no idea what I just said, just gave me a beatific smile in response :)
I wasn't wrong in the decision. When I told the midwife in the nursery that I want to donate the milk, they were very grateful and said that they need breastmilk badly. But they didn't have any breastpumps and I left mine in the car so I had to learn to express my milk manually. It was hard and I was a bit disappointed with the little milk I got. But the nurses still received them gratefully.
A couple of hours later, we were still in the ER and the doctors were still monitoring my MIL's condition. I asked Myke to get my breastpump from the car and then headed out again to the nursery of the hospital's charity ward. I gave them the milk I expressed earlier (I kept them in the insulated bag with some ice but because of the long hours, the ice had already melted) and proceeded to pump more milk. This time, the midwife asked me to stay in the NICU instead of their breastfeeding room (which was occupied at the time). And during my stay there, I got a glimpse of the preemies who were inside incubators and babies with birth complications and had tubes stucked onto their frail little bodies. Nakakalungkot kasi tayo nga na matanda na, nasasaktan pag may nakatusok na IV sa atin, pano ba kaya yung mga babies? So I was glad to have made the right decision to give them my milk. The babies in that ward need them more and my Georgie still has me to give her the milk she needs. Seeing the plight on those babies, I was wishing that I had a large stash of milk at home so I could donate some more but the milk that I express when I'm at work is just enough for my baby's feed for the next day. Still, I'm still happy that I was able to help in a small way. When I got home, I talked to Georgie and told her that mama doesn't have a "pasalubong" (her milk) because I shared them with other babies. And you know what? My daughter who probably had no idea what I just said, just gave me a beatific smile in response :)
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