Baby is a few weeks old. We were invited to a birthday party before I gave birth and we’re determined to go. Grandparents are babysitting. Pumped milk is in the fridge. Baby is full. Mommy found a dress that fits (yay!). I packed all my supplies and we’re off.

We arrive at the party. We’re having a great time. I had a few sips of wine. It’s been 3 hours since I pumped and I feel like I’m ready to go. We get into the car and I open up my pump bag. I have everything in there, EXCEPT the phalanges. I thought about hand expressing but there was no good place to do it. With much disappointment, my husband and I left the party and headed home. My disappointment lasted only until we walked in the door. Allie was up and she was cute as ever.

Note to self (and others)…always check all pump parts before leaving. One thing you could do is take a marker and write all the parts that should be in the bag on the inside flap of a bag or a piece of paper and do a mental check each time.