Mommy Time

On Sunday, Jamaal's day off, I decided to go get my hair cut and colored. I had prepared ahead of time by pumping 2 ounces. I instructed Jamaal how to bottle feed him according to The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, so as to not undermine our progress with breastfeeding. I hoped that they wouldn't have to use it, because some babies have a hard time using bottles for the first time. I had to sort of kick myself out and not look back, because I was worried about how this short separation would go.

Usually a hair cut and color only takes 1.5 hours at the most, unfortunately this trip ended up being 4 hours long. The hairdresser did a good job, but took her sweet time doing it. I texted Jamaal a couple times to check in on my boys, and he said that things were going fine. He said he took the bottle fine and all was good. I kind of got upset that Riley didn't miss me. How could my little man survive without me this well, when he seems to need me so much when I'm with him?!

The stylist ended up undercharging me for the haircut and color, which kind of made the whole experience worth it. I've lucked out the last two trips to this salon. (last time I went I ended up with a "free" foil and hair cut because the guy had a hard time getting the $30 gift card I had to work. He finally voided the transaction, which voided the part he had charged on my debit card, and sent me on my way. I was never charged the rest of the total which was about $60!)

When I got home, Riley was sleeping. "Has he been sleeping the whole time?" I asked.

No. He had been screaming the whole time. Other than the time when he had the bottle, which he took like a seasoned pro. We have two different definitions of "fine," I guess. Maybe he didn't want me worrying so he stretched the truth a little. I hope that is the case. My poor guy then proceeded to sleep. I tried waking him to nurse, and he did, but not for long. He didn't seem as interested. I think he was mad at me for abandoning him. On the plus side, he slept most of the night, waking to nurse for about 20 minutes at a time (when he does usually like to nurse a little longer at night) and going straight back to sleep. Monday morning I woke up so refreshed and exhilarated. I was able to do some laundry and feel like I accomplished something. It was wonderful.

Of course Monday night, was not the same. The night started out okay, but ended poorly: we were up from 0440 until 0800. My mom and I had planned on going to Tacoma so that I could spend some of the gift cards we received from Babies R Us. I had stipulated that we would only go if Riley slept some through the night, and since that didn't happen, the plans had to change. Instead, we went to Target to return a couple things (a sweater Jamaal didn't want and a bottle warmer I didn't want), and buy a few things (like baby diapers and paper towels.)

My mom took Riley while I was returning my items. I was wandering through the store and heard his cry. I could pick him out of a line up, something I wasn't quite sure I could do before today. ;) He was not a happy man. We had hoped that he would sleep through the trip, but he was in a "I'm starving" mode prior to leaving the house. We just decided that if we let him decide when we would leave, we would never get to go. He's just like his daddy already, and hates shopping. ;) He fell asleep in the car, but it didn't take long for him to wake up in Target.

I carried him around and eventually with the help of a pacifier, he fell asleep in my arms. He wasn't too rambunctious, and was just fussing instead of screaming/crying. And I got a lot of stares/comments about how cute and small he is. I guess I never realized how much attention babies (and therefore moms) get when in public. Speaking of pacifiers, Riley doesn't really care for the one I've been using. The shape is not the same as my nipples (really the shape is not like any nipple, not exactly sure who decided to make pacifiers at an angle...but anyway...) I was in search of one that is closer to the shape of a real woman's nipples. My mom and I found one, and somehow when we checked out, the pacifiers didn't make it into either of our bags (we also did not pay for them). Not exactly sure how it happened, but I was disappointed to say the least.

By the way, my haircut was quite drastic! I was tired of having hair in the way of nursing. This will be much easier to manage! I'm already wishing it was a bit shorter, but as it is I can barely fit it in a pony tail, which is a necessary thing for me. We'll see if I get it shorter next time.