War Wounds

Today I decided that I was going to venture out to Safeway for the first time since having Zoey. We were in desperate need of groceries, but I needed to wait for Michael to get home. Unfortunately, I can't take Zoey to the store with me during the day because her car seat takes up the whole cart, and I obviously can't push two carts on my own. So, at around 4:45 I made sure to feed Zoey so that I'd be able to sneak away for at least an hour once Mike got home. As soon as he walked in the door, I double checked my shopping list and hurried out. I told him to call me right away if he and/or Zoey needed me to come back.

Well, I made it to Safeway and let me tell you, I felt so lost! It was like I had never been in a grocery store before! Not only is this a new Safeway for us, now that we've moved into the new house, but having been on bed rest for so long, it truly had been awhile since I'd grocery shopped alone. As I finally made it to the end of my list, I found myself in the produce section looking for oranges. The oranges weren't any good, but they did have some Tangelos (Michael's new favorite). Being the lost little lamb that I was, I decided to call Michael to see if $1.99 a pound was too much for his Tangelos. When he answered the phone, the first thing I heard was my precious Zoey screaming at the top of her lungs! Next, I heard Michael say, in a quiet yet panicked voice, "Please hurry up". I tried to ask him what was happening, but we could hardly hear each other! After I hung up, I put my shopping cart into high gear and made a beeline for the checkout! I may have cut off the guy I ended up in front of in line, but if I did, he must have seen the look on my face and was kind enough not to say anything, LOL. It seemed like the check-out was taking forever, but I finally made it through.

As soon as I walked in the door, Michael put a sleeping Zoey into my arms and I was finally able to breathe again. Apparently she had woken up about 5 minutes after I left for the store and began to scream shortly after that! Why Mike didn't call me, I can't tell you, but I was glad to see that he was able to get her calmed down. I told him that I would be surprised if she was hungry because she had JUST eaten (normally a feeding lasts at least 2 hours). In response, he stuck out his arm and showed me his "war wounds"! In an effort to soothe herself, Zoey had sucked on his arm, like it was a pacifier!

 How could someone so cute do something so ferocious?! ;)

When we met with the lactation specialist about a week after Zoey was born, I had mentioned to her that it seemed like sometimes Zoey was feeding just to soothe herself. I was fine meeting her demands, but found it fascinating that she'd sometimes eat when agitated, as a way to calm herself down. We'll, the lactation specialist was quick to correct me, informing me that "babies do not use their mother's as pacifiers!". Umm, I think my husband's arm begs to differ! Lol. But as I said, I am more than happy to feed Zoey whenever she wants to eat. That time spent with her is absolutely priceless and I cherish being the one who can meet that need for her.