Great Falls 'Dairy godmother' shares breast milk donation story that went viral

Christina Nichter's breast milk dried up with her first child, an experience that inspired her to donate surplus breast milk — eventually an astonishing 128 gallons — after her second baby arrived.

"I still remember the first day giving Cooper formula," she said. "I cried hysterically."

Nichter coached herself that his needs were still being met, that his belly was still full and that she had nothing to feel guilty about. Still, she didn't want another mother to experience the same stress when Nichter had a freezer full of milk.

The Great Falls mom filled a notebook with her log of daily pumps and the donations she made. 

Two weeks after having Jayden, Nichter had 250 oz. of breast milk stocked in the freezer and the surplus increased every day. 

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She feared that she would run out of milk for Jayden but decided to let go of that fear and focus on helping those in need.

She connected with the online breast milk-sharing network "Human Milk 4 Human Babies." 

"There are so many mothers looking for milk. Knowing I had as much as I did, I reached out," she said.

The response was immediate.

Nichter talked to the local neonatal intensive care unit and lactation consultants. She also became a donor through the Mothers' Milk Bank of Montana. Once she passed the health screening, the organization would send a cooler, which she would fill with frozen milk and ship overnight back to Missoula.

"You always have that fear that what happens if there's something wrong. This way I knew it was clean and to their standards," she said.

A friend introduced her to a mother in need. Soon Nichter was donating directly to mothers in Kalispell, Havre, Conrad, Great Falls and Choteau. Getting the milk to Kalispell was a team effort, with Nichter meeting the mom in Cut Bank the first time and then her family took over the deliveries.

Sometimes, women left with their coolers full and tears in their eyes.

Nichter's first goal was to donate 5,000 oz. Then 10,000. Then 100 gallons. She still had a freezer full and eventually reached the 128-gallon mark. 

That's 16,385 oz. or 1,072 pounds. That's more than a grand piano weighs.

Milk in the deep freezer can be used for a year, but she never kept any that long.

"The oldest I ever had was a month and a half and then I was filling up the second freezer so I needed it gone," she said. "I just wanted to help when I could ... and I ran out of freezer space."

In fact, first Nichter filled up the freezer with the refrigerator. Her husband wondered if perhaps they could restock it with food for the rest of the family. Then she filled up a deep freezer ... and then another one.

"I had enough to give it to some other moms. I couldn't pour it down the drain or horde it with babies who need help and mamas stressing over not being able to provide," she said. "Being a mom is hard enough."

At her peak, Nichter produced 95 oz. a day, which burned an estimated 1,900 calories a day. She could hardly eat enough to keep up with the demands, especially with two little boys to chase after.

"I was out-eating high school boys," she said.

Nichter wrote a sweet Facebook post saying goodbye to a year of donating breast milk.

She shared her story with a pumping group on Facebook and the response inspired her to share the story with LoveWhatMatters.com.

"Once I posted my journey it really hit me. I was told I was amazing, a ‘dairy godmother,’ and selfless," she wrote.

Two hours later, Nichter's story was on the Ellen Nation website under the headline "Got milk? ‘Dairy Godmother’ donates 128 GALLONS of breast milk to mothers in need" and then the Today Show called.

"When my husband came home, I told him I'm a celebrity. He said it's about time," she said. "He works at the hospital, and I'm known as the 'Milk Mom' through the hospital."

Nichter said she's glad the story can provide a feel-good moment amid the rest of the drama in the world.

"This is something that isn't adding to the negative," she said. 

Counting what she fed Jayden, Nichter produced 29,000 oz. of milk. 

"Holy buckets that's a lot," she said.

"It was an adventure but a good one," she said. "I'm ready to be done"