Come on Irene

Tomorrow Hurricane Irene is to make landfall in the Northeast and we have prepared accordingly. Five gallons of bottled water (left over from a party in May 2010), charged rechargeable batteries, movies downloaded to laptops and mp3 players, diapers, and plenty of baby food. So, what is there to fear? I think it is one of the ultimate fears of a pumping mama - a power outage when there is milk in the freezer. WHAT TO DO? Options:
1. Fill ice trays and ice packs and seal the freezer door tightly (check)
2. Use up the milk in 24-48 hours after outage (not ideal, but could be done)
3. Hope there is no power outage (check)

Once my freezer went on the fritz. After my panic attack I determined the milk hadn't thawed and I relocated it. But, now that Ari is 10 months old and gets formula as well I am less likely to panic. However, I will feel a loss. I worked hard to make that milk!

I have also charged my pump. It gets 6 hours on a charge, but I typically pump for 25 minutes at a time. However, I have stopped pumping when Ari and I are together so if I needed to I am set.

So - how are you preparing for the hurricane mamas? What will you do if your freezer loses power or your double pump can't be plugged in?