Still Pumping Along…
If you follow me on Instagram you know that I’m supposed to be weaning. I’d planned to complete my journey and publish this as my final blog post wrapping up all the details in celebration of World Breast Pumping Day. Well… not everything goes according to plan.
As I was retrieving some data for this post, I signed into the wrong milk bank portal. When I was initially researching paid banks back in November 2024, I’d also signed up with NI-Q but they weren’t actively accepting applications. I checked in a few times over the first few months and then forgot about it. Till now. And as I logged in, a big pop up came across the screen stating: “Open for Donations!” Well, okay! Why not? So I applied. If I got in, cool. If I didn’t, I’m okay to end my pumping journey.
It’s a good thing I’m at least trying though. When I reached out to Mother’s Milk Bank of SC about scheduling a direct drop-off, I learned they only accept milk up until the day before the baby’s first birthday. Oops! I found myself sitting on a goldmine of 1,000oz with nowhere for it to go. Plus, weaning hasn’t gone as easy as I thought it would. As it turns out, there was no way I was going to slow down in a month. More like 3-4 months. And my milk freezer has already been taken over by frozen meals and venison. All that milk needs somewhere to go.
Well, a week after applying, I was approved. Man, that was fast! Since the new company was still located on the West Coast, it took a week to get here. But I didn’t have to wait 48 hours for the ice packs to freeze before shipping it back. I was able to send it out the following morning. However, I was a little skeptical when the box came. All the instructions said they expected 500oz in their milk kits. I struggled to squeeze 450oz in the previous coolers so I was worried. When the new kit arrived it was much smaller. But the cooler was made a little differently. I surprised myself when I was able to pack 700oz into it, and I probably could’ve fit one or two more bags in but I wanted an easy number. Now, this new bank does only pay $1 per ounce (vs $1.20) but since I can fit 250oz more per box, in the end I can get paid more quicker.
The Data
Over the course of 16 months, I have completed 2,978 pumping sessions, totaling 1,464.5 hours (that’s almost 61 days) and producing 34,882.05 ounces of milk (that’s equivalent to 273 gallons). According to ChatGPT, that equates to approximately 697,641 calories burned and can be estimated to be worth about $139,500. My personal records include pumping 38 ounces in a single session and 105.5 ounces in one day.
Across 15 visits to the depot at HCA Healthcare Summerville Hospital and 3 direct drop-offs, we donated 9,475 ounces to the Mother’s Milk Bank of SC. At last count, this has helped feed 450 NICU babies. As soon as they process my final donation from Giving Tuesday 2025, they will be reaching out with official and final numbers for me. I have loved working with them and I think the end of that partnership is the saddest part of this journey for me.
Over the course of 28 coolers across 19 shipments, Tiny Treasures received just over 12,000oz which paid out a few dollars shy of $14,500. This equates to making on average somewhere between $15 and 20 an hour, but the most I’d ever pump in a day was 4 hours. That’s quite a pay rate! But as much as I was grateful to be able to make my own money as a Stay at Home Mom to cover my truck payments and spoil Parker, working with Tiny Treasures could be exhausting and caused unnecessary stress and anxiety.
So What Now?
In my post for World Breastfeeding Week last August, I talked about how every single day lately I’d wanted to quit. At that time, I had enough milk in my freezer to last Parker through her first birthday. But then I thought about every mom who wanted to breastfeed and couldn’t. I thought of every NICU baby we could help with our donations. Also during that time, my favorite pump died and I was devastated. I guess I wasn’t ready to quit. Plus the money was nice. So I pushed on.
I made it to a year. At this point, I was pumping solely for the money and to maintain my weight loss. I was worried about ballooning back up as soon as I put those pumps away. So I kept going. Then I called it quits with Tiny Treasures two months later. I figured since I was no longer getting paid to pump, I’d hang it up. Had I not stumbled upon the other milk bank, I’d be done and trying to figure out what to do with all this excess milk. At this point, I’ve gotten through 16 months, may as well stretch it to 18 months. At least I don’t have to go as hardcore anymore. I don’t miss those early months of round the clock pumping: 4:30, 7:30, 10:30, 1:30, repeat. From 8 pumps a day down to 3. That will allow me to ship off a cooler every 2.5 weeks and build up our savings again. Plus, I will be hopefully weaning down to 2 pumps per day next month. Fingers crossed!
See you back here in May to celebrate World Human Milk Donation Day!
Danielle D. Mercer 