Donor Melanie is committed to her patients and NICU babies

“My husband and I have a son, Blaze, 4 and daughter, Landry, 3. I work as a Physical Therapist in Houston, TX. Prior to having kids, I was an avid cyclist and did the MS150, riding my bike from Houston to Austin, TX in 2 days. Now that my pumping journey is coming to a close, I’m looking forward to having more time to get back to cycling!

I heard about Tiny Treasures through Facebook over supplier groups at the end of my pumping journey with Blaze. I knew if I ever had another baby, I would apply right away, and that’s just what I did after Landry was born. I intended to breastfeed Landry for 1 year, but since Tiny Treasures was greatly supplementing our income and I continued to have a significant oversupply at the 1-year mark, I decided to keep going.

I successfully made it to just over 2.5 years pumping for my daughter and Tiny Treasures. I would have never made it that long without the positive financial impact that Tiny Treasures provided for us.

The compensation from donation recently helped our family purchase our forever home. Thanks to my income from Tiny Treasures and making some smart financial decisions, we were able to put a down payment to greatly reduce our monthly mortgage payments.

The biggest challenge I encountered throughout my donation journey was the time commitment to staying consistent with my pumping schedule. I had to wake up early to pump and was always the last one going to bed at night, due to pumping. On weekends after lunch when everyone else was napping, I was pumping. It has been a huge time commitment for me.

Knowing that I helped give NICU babies the best nutrition has been very rewarding.

My advice to other donors: Tiny Treasures will make this journey worth your time and effort, but it is a lot of time and effort. Make sure you have strong family support and always ensure your mental health comes first.”

* Any views, opinions, findings, assertions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are solely those of the individual. The content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.