Putting a baby up for adoption isn’t an easy choice to make, no matter what the circumstances. Most teen birth mothers who make this choice do so because they believe it will give their baby the best chance in life.
When Kaleener Pysher discovered she was pregnant in her last year of high school, she quickly decided that adoption was the best option for her baby. Kaleener felt she was too young to become a parent, so the teen birth mother from Alaska decided to find a nice couple who would take good care of her baby girl.
Luckily, a trusted family friend stepped in, and offered to adopt Kaleener’s baby. Knowing her daughter would be in great hands, and she would be able to keep in touch, Kaleener decided this was the best start in life for her daughter.
An open adoption was arranged, so Kaleener would be able to stay in touch with the family and see her daughter.
A Special Donation From A Teen Birth Mother
Kaleener could have easily done what many 18 year olds would have done — put the adoption behind her and focused on having fun and getting to college. But instead, she decided to go one step further for her daughter. In the days following the birth, the teenager learned about the benefits of breastfeeding. Knowing that she wanted the best for her baby, Kaleener decided to donate her breast milk to the family.
Though her baby now lives out of state, Kaleener has been busy expressing, freezing and sending milk to the new parents. The new parents bought Kaleener a breast pump, and paid shipping for the milk to be transported to their home.
To keep her supply up, Kaleener has been busy pumping every couple of hours, even waking in the night to express. That’s a pretty incredible gesture, and one Kaleener was happy to make for her daughter. Focusing on what she knew about breastmilk and how it supports brain growth and the immune system, the teenager was able to regularly ship whole boxes of breast milk to her daughter’s new home. One box weighed an impressive 80 pounds (36 kilos). The new parents had to buy a new freezer to store all the breast milk in.
“I’m Doing All This Out Of Love”
Kaleener told the Alaska Dispatch News, “I’m not saying it’s easy. It’s definitely hard. But I’m doing all this out of love, because I want the best thing for my daughter.”
With her daughter now weaning off breast milk, Kaleener decided to donate any leftover milk to a milk bank in Colorado. The milk was screened and then used to feed premature babies in the neonatal unit, allowing even more babies to benefit from Kaleener’s determination.
Recommended Reading
Check out BellyBelly’s article 5 Tips To Help You Express Breast Milk Like A Pro.
