Negative!
I've been donating my excess breastmilk in the interest of having some space that I can use in the freezer. There are different ways you can donate. There are actually milk banks, although not in this state. In order to receive milk from a milk bank you need a doctor's prescription so that your insurance will cover the cost, because they will charge anywhere from $3 to $4 an ounce for this stuff.
Ah, if only I could sell my own breastmilk, I'd have our hospital bills all paid off already!
Milk banks require you to take a battery of tests to be sure that you're in good health. A lot of them are the same ones that you take at the beginning of your pregnancy. You also have to buy styrofoam containers, dry ice, and pay to ship the milk to the milk bank. As much as I'd like to help someone, I can't really afford to spend all that. Even if they do reimburse me, I still have to pay out the money up front. Pesky hospital bills!
Another option that I came across was something called MilkShare. They have a Yahoo group where you can post if you have milk to donate, and then someone who has a need can respond. There are people who have adopted babies, people who are unable for whatever reason to make enough milk, women who've had cancer and needed mastectomies, and people who have had preemies (especially multiples) who need extra milk to harvest the cream so their diet can be fortified. It's actually preferable to do that instead of adding formula to the breastmilk, from what I understand.
Anyway, since I'm making 2-3 times the amount I need to feed my own child, I decided to go ahead and donate the excess milk. It's a gift, from me to them, and all I ask for are some of the bags I use to freeze the milk since I go through so many. The first person who responded to my posting said she wanted me to take the battery of tests that the milk banks require, and I said sure, as long as she paid for them. She said no sweat, she'd reimburse me. I told her I couldn't afford to pay for them, but if she arranged it and paid up front I'd go take them. She said she'd do it and get back to me and then I never heard from her again.
Yeah, I'm no sucker.
I contacted the next person who responded and she said her mom would come to pick up the milk. I donated 303 oz (which from what I understand is a pretty decent donation) to her family and then I never heard from again. She didn't even send the milk bags to replace the ones I gave her full of milk! Way to shoot the golden goose lady. I fed her child for a month for free, so I'm just going to chalk that up to being a good deed.
I moved on to the next person on my list, and finally found a winner. I gave them almost EVERYTHING that was left in the freezer, which I estimated to be about 900 oz. It filled two BIG plastic coolers, the kind on wheels that you take camping. They brought me four boxes of bags and just asked that I give them a printout saying that I had a negative HIV test. They even gave me cash that day to cover the cost.
I've taken an HIV test before, obviously. (It's been a while though.) I've also been with my husband for almost nine years now, and don't do any kind of drugs (okay, to be completely honest I tried pot last year for the first time ever in my life and was kinda disappointed - why do people LIKE that crap?) and have never had a blood transfusion. Basically, I knew that test was going to be negative. It's funny though, because even though you know there's no way that you have it, there's still a little part of you that is freaking out inside during the week that you're waiting for the test results. Maybe that's just me though. I am an obsessive worrier, after all!
The doctor told me, as they have when I've had the test in the past, that no news is good news. Basically, if no one had called me by the following Wednesday, that meant my test was negative. I told her that I actually needed the results in writing and explained why. She said okay, but since they will only call me if my test is positive, I would have to call their office to see if the results were in and then I could come pick them up.
Well, you guessed it... yesterday the phone rang and when the caller identified herself as being from my doctor's office, I nearly wet my pants. I also swear I sprouted about 15 gray hairs on the spot. I guess the nurse practitioner had helpfully made a notation on my chart that I wanted to know when the results were in and that's why they called! Even though she told me they would not!
Of course, the test was negative. Holy crap though. Sheesh.
Ah, if only I could sell my own breastmilk, I'd have our hospital bills all paid off already!
Milk banks require you to take a battery of tests to be sure that you're in good health. A lot of them are the same ones that you take at the beginning of your pregnancy. You also have to buy styrofoam containers, dry ice, and pay to ship the milk to the milk bank. As much as I'd like to help someone, I can't really afford to spend all that. Even if they do reimburse me, I still have to pay out the money up front. Pesky hospital bills!
Another option that I came across was something called MilkShare. They have a Yahoo group where you can post if you have milk to donate, and then someone who has a need can respond. There are people who have adopted babies, people who are unable for whatever reason to make enough milk, women who've had cancer and needed mastectomies, and people who have had preemies (especially multiples) who need extra milk to harvest the cream so their diet can be fortified. It's actually preferable to do that instead of adding formula to the breastmilk, from what I understand.
Anyway, since I'm making 2-3 times the amount I need to feed my own child, I decided to go ahead and donate the excess milk. It's a gift, from me to them, and all I ask for are some of the bags I use to freeze the milk since I go through so many. The first person who responded to my posting said she wanted me to take the battery of tests that the milk banks require, and I said sure, as long as she paid for them. She said no sweat, she'd reimburse me. I told her I couldn't afford to pay for them, but if she arranged it and paid up front I'd go take them. She said she'd do it and get back to me and then I never heard from her again.
Yeah, I'm no sucker.
I contacted the next person who responded and she said her mom would come to pick up the milk. I donated 303 oz (which from what I understand is a pretty decent donation) to her family and then I never heard from again. She didn't even send the milk bags to replace the ones I gave her full of milk! Way to shoot the golden goose lady. I fed her child for a month for free, so I'm just going to chalk that up to being a good deed.
I moved on to the next person on my list, and finally found a winner. I gave them almost EVERYTHING that was left in the freezer, which I estimated to be about 900 oz. It filled two BIG plastic coolers, the kind on wheels that you take camping. They brought me four boxes of bags and just asked that I give them a printout saying that I had a negative HIV test. They even gave me cash that day to cover the cost.
I've taken an HIV test before, obviously. (It's been a while though.) I've also been with my husband for almost nine years now, and don't do any kind of drugs (okay, to be completely honest I tried pot last year for the first time ever in my life and was kinda disappointed - why do people LIKE that crap?) and have never had a blood transfusion. Basically, I knew that test was going to be negative. It's funny though, because even though you know there's no way that you have it, there's still a little part of you that is freaking out inside during the week that you're waiting for the test results. Maybe that's just me though. I am an obsessive worrier, after all!
The doctor told me, as they have when I've had the test in the past, that no news is good news. Basically, if no one had called me by the following Wednesday, that meant my test was negative. I told her that I actually needed the results in writing and explained why. She said okay, but since they will only call me if my test is positive, I would have to call their office to see if the results were in and then I could come pick them up.
Well, you guessed it... yesterday the phone rang and when the caller identified herself as being from my doctor's office, I nearly wet my pants. I also swear I sprouted about 15 gray hairs on the spot. I guess the nurse practitioner had helpfully made a notation on my chart that I wanted to know when the results were in and that's why they called! Even though she told me they would not!
Of course, the test was negative. Holy crap though. Sheesh.
Labels: about me
Miss M told you so @ 4:55 PM
2 Comments:
You ought to write Oprah and ask her to make you one of her "angels." Hell, that's a lot of milk.
HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!!
Amen for finding the right one...
of course it is Negative sweet pea! duh!
xoxo..
p.s. i've never done pot... thank for the reassurance that it's not worth it.
xo
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