Donating milk

[OvenSeeksBun]

Hello! I've decided to share my milk with a local family through Human Milk 4 Human Babies. My baby is almost 4 months old, and growing well (nearly doubled her birth weight by 3 months!) I have always had "enough" milk for her but I wouldn't say I have extra, and I have only pumped a few times since she was born.

How should I go about this?? Do I have to increase my supply somehow? What if she gets hungry right after I pump and there's nothing left? I have more questions, but let's start here.

[Erin77]

I'd say start by pumping right after you feed her, so she wouldn't lose any milk. Once you start doing that a few times a day, your supply will start to increase and then it will be less likely that she'd be hungry when you were "dry." Also, pump in the middle of her nap time, so there will be some time before she wakes up. In my experience, my son (he's now 7 months) ate the most he ever had at 3-4 months old! He eats less now, so my supply is even better. I was able to donate 120 oz to an Eats on Feets mom in March and it was great. I freeze all 4 oz bags, FWIW, and be sure to freeze them flat for more storage. 

[LaughingHyena]

DD generally only took one side at a time so I found I could pump one side while she was feeding on the other. It was a bit of a juggling act to start with but once I got the hang of it it was OK.

I was never able to express much at once, never more than 2oz usually less. Though if I was away form home over the times I usually expressed I noticed feeling fuller.

Bags defiantly take up less freezer space but I used the bottles supplied by the milk bank.

[anjsmama]

You can try taking a warm/hot shower before bed at night. The warmth + the rest will definitely give you some extra milk and you should be able to pump pretty easily after the morning nursing session. Although I have always had more than I need so I guess that could just be coincidence! But it does seem to be the one thing that makes my supply a little "uncomfortable". 

I am also really interested in milk donation. It seems I can produce milk at the drop of a hat - i.e. I accidentally do one milk-increasing thing and have a ridiculous oversupply on my hands! How did you go about contacting/finding the organization you are donating to?