I can now add wet nurse, of sorts, to my list of occupations.

It’s not quite as it was in biblical times or, more recently, in the early part of the last century.

I wasn’t actually suckling another baby. And I didn’t get paid. At least not in dollars.

Last week, I packed up a cooler full of ivory bricks of ice, kissed my kids goodbye and set off for the Mothers’ Milk Bank at WakeMed Health & Hospitals.

A nurse met me at the hospital entrance, exclaiming over the beauty of those ice blocks.

“Oooh, the babies are gonna love it,” she said. “So nice and creamy white.”

I just love compliments.

It was one of those altruistic moments when you give more than you get. I couldn’t have been more pleased.

I’ve blogged before about my commitment to breastfeeding. I wrote about how I love the way nursing facilitates baby-cuddling, one of my favorite pastimes. But this was an opportunity to actually do some good for someone besides me – or my baby.

It’s widely acknowledged that breast milk is brimming with good stuff for babies. It’s got antibodies that help fight disease, and because it’s perfectly balanced nutritionally speaking, it’s easy on tiny tummies.

And as good as it is for healthy babies, it’s even more crucial for those born early or sick.

That’s where the milk bank comes in.

I heard about the milk bank a few years ago then promptly forgot about it. When I read a short article about it in The News & Observer in February, I clipped it out and carted it around for a few days while I tried to figure out how in the world I had time to tack on an extra responsibility. More importantly, when would I do it?

Mornings were too wild, getting the baby and two preschoolers dressed, fed and out the door. Evenings were exhausting, too. After battling through bedtime, I went straight to work at my computer. Such is the life of a work-at-home mom.

But this was important, I decided. I would make the time, and I did, pumping extra milk after nursing my baby daughter to sleep.

The bank accepts milk from mothers whose babies are under a year old. After a year, the milk’s protein content changes and it’s not as useful to the milk bank.

Well, guess who turned 1 this week? My daughter, Orli.

Coincidentally, it turned out to be a perfect week to deliver milk to WakeMed.

Unbeknownst to me, their storage freezers were essentially empty. With school letting out and vacations on tap, many milk donors had slacked off on pumping.

When I dropped off my milk Tuesday, all 192 ounces of it, it was among the only frozen milk waiting to be processed.

That didn’t make Bonnie Moore, the milk bank’s supervisor, happy.

The day before, she had made a round of phone calls to her nearest local donors, who make up about a third of all donors. When a dad – a dad! – shlepped all he had of his wife’s milk left (18 ounces), he apologized for contributing such a meager amount.

“Every little bit helps,” he was told.

So – if you are a nursing mama and you can spare a little bit of time to pump some extra milk for some babies who really need it, there’s a hospital on New Bern Avenue that would love to hear from you.

To become a donor, contact the WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank at (919) 350-8599 or e-mail Bonnie Moore.

To read more about the Milk Bank, read Bonnie's story in The News & Observer.

Bonnie appears every Monday on TriangleMom2Mom.