Chapter 5

"Of course, this hospital gladly accepts breast milk donors. If you want to donate, please go to the baby care unit on the fourth floor," the woman at the cashier responded.

Ellie smiled. "Thank you, ma'am."

After completing the paperwork, she headed to the fourth floor as directed by the woman at the cashier.

Ellie knew where the baby care unit was because Nick had been born here. After birth, Nick was placed in an incubator because he had ingested too much amniotic fluid. He was born with blue lips and did not cry.

So, Ellie frequently visited the baby unit to deliver breast milk for her child.

This hospital held great significance.

The place where her child was born and took his last breath.

Ellie's chest tightened as she remembered.

Ellie steadied herself, opened the door, and saw three nurses in the baby care unit. "Excuse me, nurse."

"Yes, miss, how can I help you?" asked the nurse on duty in the baby care unit.

Indeed, Ellie's appearance still resembled that of a teenager.

No one would guess that she had given birth.

"I want to donate breast milk," Ellie finally said.

"Of course, please come in."

The nurse smiled at Ellie, who then entered the room filled with babies.

Inside the room, Ellie could hear the cries of babies.

However, one baby's cry sounded so much like Nick's.

Ellie's eyes welled up with tears. She almost cried if not for a nurse who spoke to her. "Are you here to donate breast milk, miss?"

Ellie took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yes," she replied.

"It's very fortunate that there's a baby here who desperately needs breast milk. The baby was born prematurely and cannot be given formula milk," the nurse explained.

"Oh, which one is the baby, nurse?" Ellie asked. She wanted to know which baby she would be helping.

"This one," the nurse replied, showing the baby box that Ellie had just seen.

"He was born weighing 1.2 kilograms. For a week now, his weight hasn't increased. His mother has never come here to see him. Usually, only his father and grandmother would visit."

The nurse explained briefly.

Ellie continued to look at the crying baby.

Unconsciously, she smiled and then inserted her finger into the small gap in the wall of the box. A smile spread across her lips as she touched the cheek of the very tiny baby.

The baby, who had been sleeping, now opened his eyes and looked at Ellie.

"Hello, how are you? My name is Ellie," she said, smiling as she introduced herself.

The baby looked at her, rounding his tiny lips.

"I hope that your weight will increase quickly, so you can get out of this box and see the morning sun. Sunlight is very good for newborns." Ellie smiled as she spoke to the child.

The baby, wearing only a diaper, continued to gaze at Ellie.

"Excuse me, whose milk bag is this?" the nurse suddenly asked.

It seemed impossible that the milk belonged to the young girl standing before her.

However, Ellie's answer surprised the nurse. "It's mine."

"Yours?"

Not only the nurse speaking to Ellie but also the other two nurses looked at her.

"Yes," Ellie replied.

"How do you have breast milk?" another nurse asked.

"I am married and have a child," Ellie answered, confused by the nurse's question.

"Oh, you're married? We thought you were still in school," said the other nurse.

Ellie just smiled at the nurse's comment.

"Here are the rest." Ellie then took out the other milk bags from her cooler pack.

"I see the date and time," the nurse observed, looking at the date on the breast milk bags.

"Yes, I stored the milk in the freezer because when I pumped them, I didn't know who to give them to." Ellie showed eight bags of frozen breast milk.

"Wow, that's a lot of milk," the nurse said.

Ellie just smiled at the nurse's comment.

"What about your child if you donate your milk like this?"

"My son died a week ago, so I pumped because I have an oversupply."

The room fell silent.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," the nurse said sympathetically.

Ellie nodded.

"Oh, a few days ago, I had the flu and took some medication. I've written the names of the medicines on the bags. Other than that, I don't have any infectious or chronic diseases. Thankfully I'm completely healthy."

She showed some milk bags labeled with the medication consumed.

"If this milk can't be given to the baby, just throw it away," she added.

The nurse nodded. "Alright, we'll consult with the pediatrician to see if this milk can be given to the baby. But usually, it's fine even if the mother has taken paracetamol," she replied.

Ellie smiled. "Okay, thank you, I'll be off now."

"Yes, ma'am," the nurse replied.

Ellie then walked back to the baby box that was housing the baby who would benefit from her milk.

She smiled at him.

Ellie inserted her finger into the gap in the box wall and touched his cheek. "Hi, little one, I'm heading home now."

—

Nathan came to the hospital to check on his son's condition.

From morning until evening, he spent his time looking for a breast milk donor.

However, the results were very disappointing. The man was almost desperate and didn't know where else to look.

"Good evening, Mr. Hemingway," greeted the nurse on duty in the baby care unit.

Nathan only slightly nodded. "I haven't found a breast milk donor for my baby," he said, watching his tiny baby who was sleeping peacefully.

Strangely, his son seemed very calm.

The nurse smiled. "It's okay, sir. Earlier this afternoon, a mother donated her breast milk here. We informed her that the milk would be given to your son."

When he heard this, Nathan's eyes widened. "Is that true?"