"After giving birth to my teeny tiny son at 25 weeks 6 days, I expressed milk for him religiously as I wanted to be able to give him the best start that I could in his very early life.
I had soooo much milk! It felt great to know I had more than enough to feed him, but I knew I could afford to share it. So I contacted Milk Matters.
It felt so good to give my precious milk to other little babies just like my son. It has now been over a year & I still donate.
The gift of life is the most amazing gift one can give, and donating milk to feed tiny little fragile tummies makes me feel I am part of that gift of life for these precious little miracles."
Autumn (breastmilk donor) - Wetton
"I have cherished the opportunity to donate milk to a worthy cause."
Chloe (breastmilk donor) - Kreupelbosch
Dr Alan Horn, Neonatologist, Cape Town
"I never knew the babies I donated to, but I am very happy in the knowledge that my body was able to provide for sickly newborns whose mothers were unable to breastfeed."
Nwabisa (breastmilk donor) - Pinelands
Should I demand feed or schedule-feed my baby?
A newborn baby's stomach is about the size of a marble with a capacity of around 5 ml. By the time he is a week old it is around 50ml. He just can't cope with too much, too soon.
Breastmilk is also readily digested. Most babies therefore need frequent feeds, round 10 to 12 feeds in 24 hours during the first few days. You could even wake your baby during the day time to fit in extra feeds. He is then more likely to sleep for longer stretches at night. It won't be long before he settles into his own pattern.
Should you baby still be feeding often and not settling between feeds, after the first few days, have a lactation consultant or breastfeeding expert check your baby's latch.
Avoid being tempted by well meaning advice about stretching your babies feeds. Take a moment to count how often you have a drink or snack during the course of a day and your stomach capacity? What's more you have stopped growing and your baby has only just started.