When Sonny was born, a very generous friend of mine gave me a bunch of adorable Christmas-themed onesies in newborn size.

Unfortunately, he outgrew them by Thanksgiving.

All that’s left of his adorable Christmas wardrobe is a top that says “Santa’s Little Helper” and a pair of pants with Santa’s face on the bum. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried putting pants on a newborn; the experience suggests they have no appreciation for fashion.

Sonny has gained over three pounds in a month and a half; he’s done that because I’m able to produce copious amounts of high-quality breast milk. I’m able to do that because I can afford copious amounts of high-quality, nutritious food.

As we’ve seen as we face huge cuts to the federal SNAP program and other food assistance programs, and the corresponding increase in food pantry usage, this is an increasingly rare privilege in modern America. It simply shouldn’t be.

As I was drafting this column, news broke that the federal government was threatening to withhold SNAP funding from several states, including Maine, because those states are, so far, refusing to hand over personal data of recipients. Cutting off families from food just before Christmas? Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud, I’m sure.

And struggling families are only going to face more financial pressure going into the holiday season. The price of food, health care, health insurance, rent, heating oil — it’s all up. Christmas presents tend to get pushed to the bottom of the list. Someday the children without anything from Santa will grow up to understand, but in the moment, it’s just painful. Parents don’t want their kids to miss out on that experience.

In one of the “mom” Facebook groups I’m part of, I’ve seen more than one mother offering breast milk for sale so she could afford Christmas presents for her kids (who, hopefully, have been weaned.)

While it’s true that some people like breastfeeding, I have yet to meet a woman who enjoys pumping. It’s all the pain and discomfort with none of the tender infant bonding. Plus, you feel like a dairy cow and everyone in a quarter mile radius can hear what you’re doing.

Any pump that is labeled “silent” or “discreet” is lying through its tubes. The pneumatic pressure required practically breaks the sound barrier. Every ounce of that milk is hard-won and the product of- at best, mild discomfort, and at worst, suffering. To conclude: That mom loves her kids very much.

That mom and other moms have been on my mind as this holiday season’s fundraising drive for the annual Press Herald Toy Fund has kicked off.

Every year, I dedicate a December column encouraging readers to donate whatever they can spare to help buy families in need Christmas presents for their kids, books and toys.

Every child who celebrates the holiday should have gifts from Santa to unwrap, in my opinion.

I’m not sure what exactly Sonny will be unwrapping this year. He’s not into toys yet — he can barely track an object with his eyeballs, and his favorite thing to gaze at is the standing lamp in his nursery. He’ll probably like the holiday lights and the colorful wrapping paper.

The Toy Fund has been chugging along every year since 1949. In a perfect world, it wouldn’t have to exist, and nobody would struggle to purchase their kids a toy. But just covering the necessities is hard enough these days, and getting harder.

Already, the toy fund has received 1,000 more applications than it did last year — for a total of about 4,800 children. This is double the number of applications that the fund received three years ago. It’s an effective indicator of how our economy is doing, if a somewhat sad one.

And yet! Every year, the readers come through. No matter what the news media industry is doing, no matter how good or bad the economy is, Mainers come through to make sure thousands of children they may not even know get to have a merry Christmas.

It’s a bona fide Christmas miracle every year. As Sonny grows up, and starts to figure out the whole Christmas situation, I’m going to make sure to teach him that Christmas isn’t all about presents. But the things Christmas is about — love, joy, and generosity — well, those things are often shown through presents.

And as long as the Toy Fund is around, no matter how I’m doing in life, he’ll always have something under the tree.