Starting August 30, I will be leaving my daughter for a good portion of the day, every Sunday, to participate in a yoga teacher training course at Magic Pond Yoga Studio. Up until now, I've made one, 20 minute roundtrip to the Post Office and maybe one quick grocery run, when I left her with my mom and I got a massage in Cambodia when I left her with Curt and my sister. Now, every Sunday, I will be leaving her with Curt. With Ian, we were separated a lot during Ian's infancy because I went back to the States to have him, Curt was traveling for work and then went to Iraq. He has never been too sure about what to do with an infant and didn't really get the chance to find out. Well, that's about to change. I think this will be a good thing for Curt, Eva and I, but it is a little scary.
With Ian, I had breastfeeding troubles so I started giving him one bottle a day from 6-12 weeks to give myself a break from breastfeeding so I could either pump, or just have a break. I've had absolutely no breastfeeding problems with Eva and with all the moving, she has only had one bottle and she didn't really drink it. We have less than 30 days to get her to take a bottle, or Curt and Eva are going to have very rough time. But, it has to be done.
So here is my plan, I am going to start pumping today. I am going to pump a little bit every day for the next 26 days and have Curt give her a bottle. I don't like pumping, so I will slowly increase the amount of pump time so I can build up a frozen supply and increase efficiency. My blog friend Connie, went back to work after a short maternity leave with both of her kids and neither ever had ANY formula. This was after 2 c-sections as well. That is dedication. If moms can pump enough for a 5-day work week, I can suck it up and pump for a once a week class.
14 comments:
Is Eva going to start solids soon? It will be easier if she takes to solids well, then at least there's a backup if she doesn't take the bottle.
Good point. I am planning to start solids in September because she'll be 6 months old. I'm going to work on the bottle this month and solids in September.
eHi Karen!! My son completely reverse-cycled when I returned to work. He never drank more than 3-4 oz all day while I was gone, but made up for it when I was home and all night long (thank goodness for co-sleeping). He was fine and you would never know from looking at him because he was (and still is) a big boy. Eva will be fine!! Enjoy your yoga training :)
Sorry Karen, not sure why my username is showing up like that--it's Maggie Wilson :)
Thanks, Maggie! I am using breastfeeding working moms like you as my inspiration on this one!
Say hello to Rob and those beautiful kids for me!
Yes, the solids will help you and Curt feel more confident about your time away. I remember when I joined the adult choir at church when Jax was 5 months old, and how nervous I was to leave him for 2 hours for rehearsal time every week.
Good luck with the pumping! And I am so happy for you that you are taking this class and this time for yourself!!!!
Pumping is hard work but I know you are a dedicated mama and everything will be fine!
It's cool that your husband is going to take care of Eva....
I saw your comment on my blog about meeting on Wednesday - count me in! I will email you from a differnt email address!
Thanks for the support, everyone!
Muslimama,
Looking forward to seeing you. Jessica and Louise will be there as well. Time is 10am.
That will definitely be a good experience for your Hubby!
Can you pump while online? I would surf the net and such while pumping. It helped to pass the time.
I'll tell you though, who ever said "Don't cry over spilled milk" never pumped and dropped a whole bottle of breast milk!!! ^.^
So true, Mommy Cha!
You'll be fine! You are one dedicated momma and have been taking excellent care of yourself! I found that all I needed for successful pumping was time. I pumped often, whether I felt like I needed to or not - even if it meant I had to throw out the oldest, unused milk in order to have a free storage container!
Relax and ENJOY your yoga :)
Thanks, Connie! Hope you are enjoying DC. I heard the summer has had great weather this year.
I am also thinking of the Magic pond yoga class, but feel bad about leaving the family on a Sunday. I missed the open house for the class program, what do you think about it? Thanks
Lisa.
Come join me at Magic Pond! It may be tough, but doing two classes on a Sunday will actually shorten the length of time. Living overseas is difficult to schedule things. The program will be done at the end of January. There will be a higher level offered after this class ends but even if we only do the first level, I think it will be beneficial to us. E-mail me a mamaseoul at gmail dot com if you want to talk more.
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