Fairhaven Health’s commitment to supporting couples through the ups and downs of trying-to-conceive, pregnancy, and becoming new parents, is apparent through their own products and outstanding customer service, through their sponsorship of communities such as The Leaky Boob, and now extends through their newest addition: Milkies, specializing in breastmilk collection and storage, to the very last drop! Fairhaven Health is sponsoring a conversation on Facebook about storing breastmilk and has brought Helen Anderson, the creator of Milkies, as the expert to answer your questions. She also took a few minutes to speak with us about her products and her passion for donating milk. This is also your opportunity to enter a giveaway to win Milkies’ products below. To find the archived chat threads full of information supporting storing your breastmilk and pumping, see here for info on hand expression, we talked about spilling our milk here, heating milk and bottle-feeding a breastfed baby, proper temperatures and safe handling practices, and tips for storing breastmilk here. Through January 10th, 2014, there is also a 15% off discount for all breastfeeding related products including Milkies Milk Savers on fairhavenhealth.com when you use the code LEAKIES in the coupon code section of the checkout process.
TLB: Necessity is often the mother of invention, and this seems to ring true with the Milkies’ products. How did you come up with the idea for the Milk-Saver and the Freeze?
Helen: I would make such a mess of my son and I when I nursed him – I was going through a box of nursing pads in a few days and still soaking my shirt! I knew I was leaking a lot of milk so I held a bottle under the other side to collect the dripping milk – I discovered I was wasting about 2 ounces every time I breastfed!
I planned to go back to work in the same busy ER and I needed to store enough milk for my 12 hour shift. I wanted to collect and store the milk instead of wasting it into pads, but there was nothing out there. So I created the Milk-Saver.
The Freeze was developed because I needed to store and organize a large volume of milk in our family freezer. I also needed to protect the milk storage bags from being damaged in the freezer and make it easy for my husband or mother-in-law to use the oldest milk first. The Freeze does all these tasks very simply. I am very proud of the final product!
TLB: Can you describe how to use the Milk-Saver?
Helen: Before nursing your baby, simply slip the Milk-Saver into your bra or snug tank. When your baby begins to nurse and the leaking starts, the Milk-Saver collects it. When you are ready to switch sides, remove the Milk-Saver and stand it up in the case so the milk doesn’t spill. When you are all finished with the nursing session, pour your milk into another container to refrigerate or freeze.
TLB: Tell us why you love the Freeze.
Helen: I know from my own experience that freezing and organizing breast milk in the freezer is challenging. I heard the same complaint from my friends so I knew it wasn’t just me! My storage bags leaked, milk would be lost under a bag of peas and my husband was always guessing which milk was the oldest and should be used first. I wanted to solve this problem with a simple and space saving product – the Freeze. It freezes your milk flat on a quick freeze tray, then helps you organize it with a first-in, first-out system. My storage bags stay safe and protected from the typical bumps and bruises of freezer containers so my hard earned milk doesn’t leak out when thawed.
TLB: What do you want Leakies to know about how the Milkies products are constructed and the quality of the materials that are used to make them?
Helen: Milkies products are made out of the safest and most durable material I could find. I decided to manufacture the products in the Pacific Northwest, near the Milkies offices. The factory I chose is very environmentally aware – they recycle, and produce very little waste.
TLB: The Milk-Saver has been on the market for several years now, right? What are some of your favorite comments you have heard from moms that have used this product?
Helen: There are several favorites! A mom in Seattle saved almost 400 ounces using a Milk-Saver and donated her milk to a milk bank. I have heard from many moms that struggle with supply and storing enough for returning to work. Saving a half an ounce each nursing session with a Milk-Saver gave them the freezer stash to return to work and leave breast milk instead of switching to formula.
TLB: You seem to have a special interest in milk banking. Tell us more about your experience as a milk donor, and why you feel so strongly about breast milk donation.
Helen: I have donated over 200 ounces of breast milk to a bank and I am planning to donate more. Human milk has around 200,000 components, it cannot be replicated in a lab. Donor milk is processed then sent to a hospital and used to nourish infants in a NICU setting or full term infants requiring supplementation. Donating breast milk can save the lives of our most vulnerable babies, it is very important and easy to do.
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Fairhaven Health is giving away a Milkies Milk-Saver and a Milkies Freeze to 3 lucky Leakies.
Milkies Milk-Saver: The patented Milk-Saver collects your leaking breast milk as you nurse – allowing you to store extra breast milk effortlessly with each feeding. A comprehensive dietary supplement that provides essential vitamins and minerals for nursing moms, along with a blend of herbal ingredients to support breast milk production, including a concentrated Fenugreek extract.
Milkies Freeze: The Milkies Freeze is a “first in, first out” breast milk storage system that fits in your freezer, and conveniently and safely stores up to 60 ounces of breast milk.
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Currently Leakies can find these and other natural products for fertility, pregnancy and nursing at www.FairhavenHealth.com.
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Good luck to everyone! Please use the widget below to be entered. The giveaway is open from January 9, 2014 through January 15, 2014. A big thanks to Helen Anderson (inventor of the Milkies Milk Saver and Milkies Freeze) and the team at Fairhaven Health for their ongoing support of TLB and all breastfeeding women; please be sure to visit their Facebook page or follow them on twitter and thank them for their support of TLB and this giveaway opportunity.
This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents.
