Everybody’s got to get out sometime. I’d been thinking about taking a little mommy break for several weeks now, and Jon has been encouraging me to do so. While I’ve gotten a few solo walks to the local coffee shop, I haven’t had the nerve to actually separate my breasts from this child for more than about an hour. But today was a first: I actually left the house without Lucy and Jon fed her a bottle.
It might not sound like much: I went to Old Navy and bought a pair of capri pants that actually fit me. I ate an ice cream cone. I listened to NPR. I wondered if Lucy would take the bottle. I checked for messages from Jon on my cell phone several times. I went grocery shopping. I called home twice to check on how things were going. All told, I think I was gone for a little over two hours. And I had a great time!
Jon had a good time with Lucy too. There was a moment of panic when Lucy drained her four-ounce bottle, began to holler for more, and Papa quickly thawed a two-ounce portion of milk we had stashed away. His heart beat a little faster, too, when Lucy started to drain the two-ounce bottle too, but she was satiated with about a quarter of an ounce to spare. Mama came home to a happy baby and a proud Papa!
The challenge now is to keep up with pumping so that Lucy can have six-ounces on hand for feedings these days. Who knew she ate that much? I guess eight-week-old babies start to get bigger tummies! I’m definitely motivated to get some six-ounce portions together so that I can have fun like I did today. And I’m super-thankful for a terrific husband that made it all possible!
It’s a good thing you didn’t let me edit this post before you published it. I would have cut all the effusive folderol about how great Papa is. All I did was sit with Baby, sheesh! :) I’m so glad you had a good time.
Hey Ann – I froze all my milk in 2-oz portions using pint sized freezer bags. The milk freezes flat and if you simply run it under some warm water, it thaws it and warms it at the same time very quickly and then it’s ready for baby!
Nicole, I was wondering if I should start freezing in 2-oz portions instead of 4-oz or 6-oz. It’s a good idea. Did you use regular freezer bags or special bags for breast milk?
I just bought regular ziplock freezer bags. I did have some trouble initially finding the pint-size, but once I found them I just bought a whole bunch. It was actually a tip from a nurse at the hospital and it worked great for us. Especially nice once we started cereal, since you mix so little milk into it.