Pumping While Vacationing & Flying

Jason and I went to Sun Valley, Idaho for four nights to attend my best friend JJ’s wedding. Months prior to the trip I figured I would be done breastfeeding by the time we left, but as the date grew nearer I found myself dreading the end of breastfeeding so I decided to pump and store milk before the trip and during the trip to keep my milk supply up. For over a month prior to the trip, I pumped once a day in order to save up milk for my mom to feed Parker while we were away. 

I did lots of research on tips from other traveling moms about traveling with breastmilk without a baby. I brought a small cooler that I filled with ice packs and a separate bag for my pump, pumping bra, and pumping accessories. When we arrived at the airport and went through security, I was told the ice bags were not allowed through and we had to discard our super nice freezer packs 😣 which brought me to a breakdown of hormonal tears! As I should have known, gel ice packs are not allowed through security and I should have purchased real ice packs. However, after my meltdown everything was fine! I pumped in a rather clean “nursing room” which was a small bathroom with a sink and lock to the door so I could pump without being disturbed. I then asked one of the coffee stands to fill my cooler with ice and all was good! 

Throughout the trip and wedding, I pumped every 3-4 hours which was about 4-5 times per day. The hotel stored my cooler on their kitchen’s freezer so I or Jason was able to bring the milk down once a day to be added to the cooler. 

On our way home, the non-frozen milk had to go through a special inspection at security which only took a few minutes. I pumped one last time at the airport and we were on our way home!

I’m happy I didn’t let the trip and the prep work stop me from continuing to breastfeed. I’m still loving this bonding time with little Parker! 

Jason’s 1st Father’s Day!

Father’s Day was an adventurous one! Jason has been wanting to have a breakfast burrito from Dory’s Deli in Newport since we had them over Christmas, so we got out of the house early and made our way to the beach. We enjoyed breakfast burritos with our toes in the sand and got to put Parker’s feet in the ocean – he loved it! 

We made it home for Parker’s first nap and then went for a hike in Shady Canyon followed by some time at the pool. Jason loves playing with Parker in the baby pool at our community pool. 

After Parker’s second nap we drove down to Laguna for a walk along the boardwalk and then dinner at Carmelita’s per Jason’s request. 

It was a busy, fun-filled day celebrating our favorite guy! Jason has been such an amazing dad. He is so fun and silly with Parker and gets him to laugh more than anyone. It’s so special to not only see Jason’s love for Parker, but our baby’s love for his daddy. Parker lights up whenever he sees his daddy. Jason is happy to change diapers and take care of Parker on weekend mornings so mommy can get some extra rest! He loves hearing about our day and getting pics/videos while he is at work. We are so lucky to have such a loving and supportive husband and dad!!! ❤️

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A Typical Day: 9 Months

At nine months our life is down to a pretty convenient routine. Parker dropped his third nap around the eight month mark, which was a challenge to understand whether he needed three naps or was happy with two naps spread further apart. It took a few weeks of going back and forth between two-three naps but once we stuck with two, Parker accepted the new schedule. He now has a solid hour nap in the morning and anywhere between 1.5hr-2.5hr nap in the afternoon, this gives me lots of time to get work done in the morning and have a moment to relax during his afternoon nap. Now that he’s awake longer between naps we are able to get out for longer stretches and enjoy the day. 

Here’s what life looks like at nine months:

• 6-6:30am – Parker wakes up, Jason brings Parker to the milk machine in bed (Jason’s favorite nickname for me lately) and we play in bed for 20 minutes before Parker’s jumping to get out of bed. Parker plays and Mommy makes coffee and tries to get a little work done or tasks around the house (laundry, dishes) before Parker is whining to be picked up or played with. On Wednesdays we watch the trash guy…Parker gets so fascinated watching 😆. If Parker woke early and is a little fussy, we will do a morning walk before breakfast 
• 8:15am – breakfast (scrambled eggs, fruit, yogurt) followed by playtime
• 9:15-9:35am – nap #1. Mommy works 
• 10:15-10:30am – wake up from nap, nurse
• 11am – this is when we like to get out of the house. Typical outings lately are: swim lessons (Parker is now in the intermediate parent-and-me class), walk/hike, grocery store/Costco, play dates, run errands, go for a walk by the beach 
• 12-12:30pm – lunch (deli meat, wheat toast, fruit, veggies, cheese) followed by playtime or a walk if at home
• 1:45-2pm – nurse and nap #2. Mommy does work, tasks around the house, steams food for Parker, a workout video, but definitely makes sure to rest during this nap!
• 3:30-4pm – Parker wakes, nurses and plays 
• 5:15pm – dinner (deli meat, chicken, veggies, cheese) 
• 5:45pm – bath 
• 6:15pm – daddy gets home…another one of the best times of day for Parker
• 7pm – nurse and goes right the sleep
• Mommy & Daddy have dinner and relax!!

For meals, I no longer feed Parker purées and he eats everything in tiny pieces or I steam hard items like veggies and apples. This makes it a little easier (but messier!) so Parker can feed himself without me having to spoon feed everything. Parker is getting better drinking water from a sippy cup throughout the day. 

On the weekends we try not to let the schedule get in the way, but we shoot for two-three hours of nap time a day. Sometimes he will sleep in the stroller or car seat. We go on hikes, run errands and are usually able to go out to early dinners (4:30-5pm) and we bring Parker’s dinner with us to feed him in a high chair. Our usual restaurants are: Javier’s (shocker), Yard House, Red O, BJs, or Carmelita’s. He’s usually pretty good at dinner and we’re able to have a good time! 

On Thursdays we go to grandma and grandpas with Nicki and Lily, and every other Thursday Parker has an appointment to have his helmet adjusted. He has been in the helmet for 11 weeks now and we were told he could be done within the next couple of weeks (hopefully we won’t need a second helmet)!

We recently got a “big boy” convertible car seat because he was outgrowing the infant car seat and we needed to give it back to Nicki for Thomas’s arrival coming up! 

Parker has been teething for the past month and he currently has four teeth on top and four on bottom. Now we have a little teething break before the molars come in. 

Parker is cruising all over the house and loves his walker…he may be walking soon! 

There were three or four nights right at nine months where Parker would wake and cry for a minute or two in the middle of the night, something he hadn’t done in many months. I think this was the nine month sleep regression I’ve read about, but he wasn’t awake for longer than a minute or so and would go right back to sleep. It was no problem! 

Life is great and we can’t believe Parker is nine months old! 

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First Consonant Sounds

A week before Parker turned 9 months, he began saying “da da da”, “ba” and I’m convinced there was a “ma” in there 😊

At 10 months, Parker has expanded his consonant sounds to include “ma ma ma ma” (which I LOVE, and think he now says more than “da”) and a few other sounds like “na” and “ta”. We love hearing him learning to talk to us!