Breastfeeding is not just a source of nourishment for babies, but it’s also an important way for mom and baby to bond. However, when one mom no longer had a baby to drink her breast milk, she decided to do something not every mother would be strong enough to do.
Sarah Rieke was thrilled when she found out she was pregnant not just because of the addition to her family, but because her best friend Lauren Casper was in the process of adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia, and the two were due to arrive around the same time. When Rieke went in to find out the sex of her baby at 20 weeks, however, doctors discovered there were complications and her little girl wouldn’t survive more than a few hours after birth.
“I prepared my nursery for the homecoming of my daughter and Rieke planned a funeral,” Casper said. “We spent a lot of mornings together crying and talking and even laughing at times. She threw me a baby shower and gave me two blankets out of a packet of four… the other two would be wrapped around her daughter after she was born.”
As Rieke’s due date approached and Casper brought her adopted daughter Arsema home, Rieke couldn’t help but think about what would happen after the birth and approached her friend.“I was wondering if you would like to have my breast milk after Evie is born. I thought maybe you could use it to feed Arsema. I don’t know how long I’ll pump or how much I’ll be able to produce, but I’d love to give it to you if you want it,” Rieke offered.
A month after Arsema was brought home, Rieke went into labor, but her daughter, who she named Evie, only lived for four hours. Rieke was devastated, but a week later she began delivering milk to her friend.
“I wish I could have breastfed my children. Sarah wishes she could have fed her daughter (and so do I… oh so do I). But life doesn’t always make sense. When everything is broken and mixed up, we have to create our own beauty from the pieces.”
Would you be as strong as this mom if you were in this situation? Let us know what you think in the comments below, and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image credit: Lauren Casper]
Mom Offers Breast Milk To Her Friend’s Adopted Baby After Her Own Baby Dies is an article from: LifeDaily