by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

St. Louis-area mom Danielle Palmer found a unique and vital way to help families affected by Hurricane Harvey: She donated more than 1,000 ounces of breast milk.
Mothers losing their stashes of frozen breast milk probably isn't the first problem that comes to mind in the wake of a hurricane. However, it's a reality many families have faced since the catastrophic flooding in Texas. And for Palmer, it was an opportunity to bring some good out of a bad situation -- in more ways than one.

"My son, Truett, was born with a complex congenital heart defect," the mom of three told BabyCenter, noting her baby boy has had eight surgeries in the past six months. "So for the first big part of his life, he was unable to take my milk. All the milk I was pumping was going into the freezer." In the beginning, Palmer was pumping between 16 and 20 ounces at a time --  every four hours! Truett is able to receive his mama's milk through a gastrostomy tube; so now she pumps 8-10 ounces every six hours. Still, her milk stash has rapidly grown through the months.

"Truett?s speech therapist, Nicole Edwin, knew of my oversupply and really large stash of milk," Palmer said, adding she has also shared her milk with one local mom. "Nicole reached out to me asking if I would be interested in donating milk for some mothers and babies in Texas. She had been contacted by someone from Texas letting her know of the need for bre...