Today we had our first experiment with giving our son a bottle of pumped breast milk. I pumped about three ounces, and he drank almost two before pushing the bottle away, so we’re considering it a success. As soon as I pumped, I left to go run errands on my bike. I was gone for about two hours, so my husband got to spend lots of quality time with our little one, and got to feed him for the first time. We’re going to give him one bottle every few days for a while, just to get him used to it. We bought a glass baby bottle (BPA-free) yesterday. It cost $11, which was pretty pricey, but we decided it’s worth it to not be using plastic. We’re trying to avoid plastic wherever we can, and the baby bottle seems like an important thing to be free of chemical gunk.
I spoke with my supervisor at the library today, and she mentioned that she’s seeking approval to create a 12 hour circulation desk position – two six hour shifts per week, which would be perfect for me, assuming our little guy is ok with a bottle of breast milk while I’m gone. The job wouldn’t start until mid-late August, so he’d be nearly four months old by then. He’ll still be needing to eat more than every six hours, and won’t be on any solids by then. So for a few months I would need to pump a bottle for him before going to work. Once he gets a little older, he could have some blended veggies as a snack while I’m gone, and just breastfeed before and after my shift.
Going back to the library for 12 hours/week would give us about $150/week in additional income. Of course some of that goes to taxes, but I could use the rest to fund my Roth IRA. I love working there, but 32 hours/week was just not something I wanted to juggle with my other job and my new job as a mother. 12 hours/week would be much better, so I’m hoping that the position gets approved.
Kelly says
That is awesome that you will be able to work a little outside your house. I wish I could find something like that, just a couple hours a week. I may babysit a friends daughter two days a week, so I am excited to bring in some income. And it is a good to pump and give your son a bottle every once in a while, so he accepts a bottle, just in case. My husband gives my daughter a bottle of pumped breast milk about once a week on the weekends so I can sleep in, and we also have one handy for when I go to the gym in case she gets hungry. We haven’t had to use that bottle yet, but it tends to be her fussy time, so we always want to be prepared in case I am running late or something. We don’t want to keep a fussy, hungry baby waiting!