Whoever said 'It's No Use Crying Over Spilt Milk' Obviously Did Not Have a Low Supply

Chris was such a fabulous husband this morning.
(I attribute 50% of his productiveness to Hannah sleeping through the night.) 
While I took a shower he made everyone breakfast AND packed my lunch and pump bag.  This allowed me time to pump (hello engorgement!) AND nurse Hannah, as well as shower AND blow dry my hair.  I picked out a cute shirt and paired it with a Mommy Necklace - I actually look pretty cute today.

Or at least I did.



As I was preparing to head out the door I double checked that Chris remembered a few key items I put in my bags each morning:
"Oatmeal?"
- Yup!
"Cell Phone?"
- And iPod!
"Extra bottle to pour all the milk into?"
- Yup!
"And a lid?"
-Yes!!
"Fabulous!  Thanks babe!"  and I headed out the door.

After an amazingly successful pumping session where I produced 4 oz (the most in 5 weeks!) I poured all the milk into 1 collection bottle so that we could freeze it over the weekend. (I don't work on Fridays).  I screwed on the lid and went to put it in the insulated bag when - you knew this was coming - milk splashed everywhere! 

On the car seat, on my (white) shirt, but mainly all over my leg.
I managed to keep ~1.5oz in the bottle, but most of it was lost.

How in the WORLD?!?!
But I put the lid on!

And then I realized that it was missing something very important:

The new BPA free Avent bottles have an adaptor ring as part of their anti-colic system.

"The two piece anti-colic system consists of the AVENT Teat and Adapter Ring. As your baby feeds, the unique skirt on the AVENT Teat flexes to allow air into the bottle instead of your baby's tummy. As with breastfeeding, your baby controls the milk flow." 

CRAP.


I realized that it wasn't with the bottle Chris had packed and, since the lid can't screw on completely without it, I was screwed.

It is instances like this that confirm that it is the smartest idea EVER to keep some milk storage bags in your pump bag just in case.  I've had to use them a handful of times - usually when I forget to pack a lid - and I've praised my intelligence and forethought every time.  Now that I'm done tooting my own horn and stroking my own ego, I want to remind the pumping mothers to sneak a few storage bags into your pump bag now so that they're there for you later.  I prefer the lansinoh brand and I encourage you to keep them in some sort of protective bag to prevent rips or snags from forming.  Lansinoh storage bags come in sleeves of 25 and the protective plastic sleeve is perfect, but if you only want to store 2 or 3 bags, consider keeping them loosely rolled up in a ziplock snack sized bag and store them in a rarely used pocket far from car keys.

Here are some amazon links for Lansinoh bags:

 

I'm mad that I lost over 2 ounces of milk - most of which I hand expressed - but I know that Chris was trying really hard to be super sweet and help me out this morning, so it's fine.  I'm just glad I was able to save some of it and that I have all weekend to fit in a few pumping sessions to make up the difference.  Had this happened on a Tuesday, I'd be in a much worse position.

And besides, just as soon as my leg dries, I'm sure I'll look totally cute again.