Two Dozen Nursing Moms Come To Aid Of Baby Boy In Marquette

Emotional investment



Most of the women were strangers before Susan died. That included 29-year-old Carrie Fiocchi, the first mother to nurse Moses. She had no reservations about nursing someone else's baby.

"I was like, 'I've got milk. Let's do it.' "

Each volunteer was also nursing her own child. But there was little worry about milk supplies.

"You make enough" milk, Sally Keskey said. "I just started drinking Mother's Milk a lot more. And I take fenugreek. I didn't even have to continue taking it. I just kept pumping."

Fiocchi, who nurses Moses at 9 a.m. every day, said she tried to stay detached, but it was impossible.

"I don't think of myself as his mom, but he's this little baby I see every day. I love him," she said, a sentiment each volunteer echoed. "He definitely feels like family."

That sense of community has been the unpredictable byproduct of a tragic situation. In the first six weeks, Goodrich said there was almost always a nursing mom in his home. Eventually, they came seven times a day. Now, it's five.

They often bring their own children, who romp around the house with Julia. And the women, who plan to nurse Moses until he's a year old, chat with Goodrich over tea and pastries.


"It's life-changing," said 20-year-old Keskey, who nursed Moses for two months. "I think the biggest thing is ... that people can do amazing things when they're open."