A Series of Unfortunate Events

Since about the fourth or fifth day after Claire's arrival, I have been counting down the days 'til we could introduce Claire to the bottle so that mom could get some much needed sleep a few extra times during the week. At first we had decided that we would start after 2 weeks, but then decided that that was too early. That's when we decided that 3 weeks would be perfect -not too early and not too late. This past Sunday, I was going to pump a bottle so that Nate could take over the evening feeding. I can't tell you the excitement I felt as I started to count the possible hours of consecutive sleep that were about to be mine...possibly 5, maybe even 6 hours!!! I couldn't wait. I gave Nate careful instructions on what he should do when feeding time came. So I sterilized the bottle and most of the pump accessories. The only thing that needed sterilizing was the pump itself. I boiled some water and Nate put the pump in the pot and we went about activities. I was feeding Claire while we were waiting for the pump to finish the sterilization process when I noticed a "funny smell" -not so funny now, of course. I hollered to Nate to check the pot and make sure that the water hadn't boiled out. He came flying from the computer room and into the kitchen, only to confirm our worst fears: the pump was nothing more than a puddle of plastic. I was speechless; Nate was irate. The pot was dripping in melted plastic. If there's one thing Nate hates, it's ruining something that was perfectly sound and then having to spend more money on something that was once perfect. He's a thrifty guy. Needless to say, Claire and I have continued to spend the wee hours of the morning together sans breast pump. It's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute or Sunday night might have ended in tears for me!!!