All my life I have always had a passion for working with children. I went to college and got my degree in elementary education and special education. I later went back to school and received a masters in education. During my educational journey I learned so much about children's development and what to do to support their development in those first crucial years in life. Nutrition was a topic studied frequently as nutrition plays one of the most significant roles in a child's physical and mental development.

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When I had my daughter, Ava, in February of 2023 I knew that I was going to exclusively breastfeed her. I wanted to make sure that she was getting all of those amazing nutrients that breastmilk is packed full of. The first couple weeks of breastfeeding were difficult as Ava and I were both learning together and adjusting to the changes. After those first weeks, I loved breastfeeding and was lucky to be producing more than enough for her. I was able to fill my freezer with hundreds of extra ounces for her to later eat.

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When I thawed out my breastmilk I started noticing a metallic smell. At first I thought the milk batch must have spoiled somehow, but every bag I thawed had that same metallic smell. I researched hoping to find some answers on what the smell may be caused from. I found out that I had high lipase milk and that it is pretty common to have it. I researched ways to get rid of the smell and taste so Ava wouldn't reject the stored milk. I was devastated to find out that there is very little to be done to remove the taste and smell of metal within the milk. The best option was to get the milk to 180 degrees and then immediately cool it down after being freshly expressed. Meaning it was going to be a lot of work to store the milk, and my freezer stash couldn't be saved. Then I found out about freeze drying and that after the water is removed the metal smell and taste almost completely, or completely diminishes. 

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I was so excited to find out that my freezer stash of breastmilk could be saved, and I would no longer have to go through a very time consuming process to store the milk. As all mama's know time is not on our side when taking care of an infant. Then I started thinking about all of the other benefits of freeze drying my breastmilk. This included making traveling easier by just having to mix the powder in with warm water, getting my freezer space back, and I would be able to sprinkle it in her food when she's a toddler to give her extra nutrients and strengthen her immunity. 

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After finding out about the convenience of freeze drying and the fact that all of the nutrients of the breastmilk stays in the powder, I was sold on the idea. I started researching different companies that freeze dry for you but found out that it costs, on average, about two dollars an ounce which meant that I was looking at over one thousand dollars for my five hundred ounce stash and that was not including the shipping kits or shipping costs. 

That's when I decided to invest in a freeze dryer, equipment, and a sterile environment to not only provide for my daughter, but also to open up a small business to make it more affordable for midwestern mama's like myself!