Bambi saw me reading the pamphlet and said, "In case you are wondering: Yes, they will work. You will be able to breastfeed when the time comes. I had more than enough for my boys. In fact, I probably overdid it. I let them decide when to stop nursing."
"How old were they when they quit?" I asked. This was something I had guessed at and I would never have a better opportunity to get an answer. At first I thought she wasn't going to say, but she finally mumbled something I did not quite catch. I asked her to repeat it.
"Three," she said. "They were three and a half, actually. Well, closer to four." She trailed off at the end. I got the impression that they had really been closer to five, but I didn't want to embarrass her.
"You breastfed for four years?" I tried not to sound incredulous, but I'm sure she heard it in my voice. I had always heard how hard it was on the mother and how they used to recommend bottle-feeding babies because of the toll it took on you. I knew that had changed, that breastfeeding was the best thing you could do for a baby, but a lot of girls still thought it was something you had to endure for only the shortest possible time.
"Yes. I did. I enjoyed it. They enjoyed it. Look, I know everyone thinks that's an awful long time, but one day you will find out for yourself that feeding your child from your own body is the most beautiful and emotionally satisfying experience you will ever have. I know some women find it exhausting, and it does take quite a large amount of energy to make all that milk, but if you are in good shape you should have no problem. And one of the benefits is you get to eat like a horse... well, actually a cow, but you get the idea."
"So you think I should do it?"
"What? Breastfeed your children someday? Certainly. Wait... what are you asking?"
"Should I induce lactation and donate the milk?"
"What? Let me see that flyer. Hmmm. Human Milk Bank Association of North America. Locations. Qualifications. Clinical uses. I had no idea. I never knew about this when I had my children. This is interesting. You think this is something you would like to do?"
"I do seem to be qualified." I said.
"According to this, if you don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't have any diseases and can produce milk in a reasonable quantity, you qualify. I guess we both do. Actually we are more qualified than most. I remember I could produce a pint a day from each breast while I was nursing both boys. That's... almost two gallons a week. It says here they want about half that per donor as a minimum. You might be able to do three gallons a week, the shape you're in. And I mean that both ways, honey."
"May I do this?"
Bambi stopped walking. The mother-daughter thing had just become very real to her. "I need to think a minute." She said. She looked around at the storefronts around us and pointed to one. "Let's go in this coffee shop and talk it over."
We bought a couple of iced decaf lattes from the cute redheaded girl at the counter and then, even though the place was almost empty, we took a booth way in the back so we could talk in private. As we sipped our coffee Bambi thought over my question. She looked me in the eye and said, "Sam, you are a very smart girl. If this is something you want to try, then go for it. I am not going to tell you that you can or that you can't. I am going to give you the best advice that I can and then you can make up your own mind. OK?"
I nodded. Mrs. Reynolds was treating me like an adult. This was a first for me. To go from Warden Mom to someone who respected me enough to discuss things with me rationally without using that awful "I'll decide what's best for you" crap was a heady experience. I made up my mind right then not to do anything to give Mrs. Reynolds a reason to change her mind about me. If she advised me not to do something, I would not do it. If she made a suggestion, I would take it.
Seeing that I was listening attentively, she said, "OK. First, even though you are legally an adult, and even very mature for your age, my immediate reaction is that it's still too soon for you to be getting into something like this. Second, this is a big commitment in time and energy. You will have to work around your school, cheerleading, and dating. Third, this is not something you can change your mind about once you start. It takes a week or two so to start up and up to a month to taper off. So once you start, you will be committed for at least a couple of months. Fourth, your new breasts need some time to rest before you start using them to pump out gallons of milk. I didn't start lactating for several months after I got the treatment, until I had Jim. Looking back, it would have been better to have induced before childbirth, so it would not have been so much of a shock to my system."
"Does me being a virgin figure into it?" I asked.
Bambi looked startled at that piece of news. She hadn't thought about me being 'virgo intacta', a term I picked up in the Languages of the World section we had done in Social Studies class, and all the fun we had earlier did not involve any insertions, so she wouldn't have known. She reached across the table and took my hand and looked at me like I had just got several years younger.
"I didn't know." She said. "I guess I didn't even think about it. Well, honey, as far as becoming a milk factory goes, your virginity does not matter. Being pregnant does not figure either. Your womb and your breasts are completely separate. You can lactate without being pregnant and you can even stay a virgin. Do you want to stay a virgin?"