Mommy Juice

Before becoming a mommy I had this amazing idea that I would be able to breastfeed my daughter till she no longer needed my mommy juice. I told people that I would breastfeed if I could and if not, no worries. But I secretly thought I would only breastfeed because it's not that hard, right? Wrong. It was super hard, especially with a 5 week preemie, a disabled husband (he is better now) and a daughter who nursed every 2 hours till she turned 4 months old!  After Delilah turned 4 months she nursed every 2 1/2-3 hours depending on what time of day it was. Then at 4 1/2 months she squirmed away during a mid day nursing session. She continued to do so after 5 minutes on each side for the next few days. At that point I caved and handed her to my husband to feed her formula after she had about 10 minutes of breastmilk - this is the same child that would nurse 50 minutes or more only a week before.

Within a week my baby dropped nursing during the day and only nursed when she woke up, went to bed and in the middle of the night. It just so happened that I went back to work that week.. This past week she dropped her bedtime and morning nursing. She is still nursing in the middle of the night for about 20 minutes before getting a bottle. She has been waking later and later to eat, this morning at 4:45. Soon she will drop that middle of the night feed and I won't have any nursing time with her.

It is bittersweet because I won't have that special time together that only she and I can have while breastfeeding, but now she will have more time eating with other people which is good for her food education. It is bittersweet because I can't say I exclusively breastfeed her, but now I have a little more freedom to go out for longer periods of time without feeling like I am going to burst out of my shirt and I am not a slave to the pump. I don't feel as guilty when I am not the one feeding her.

The best part is that I get my own "mommy juice." I had a nice hot cup of caffeinated heaven this morning and a delicious, long awaited glass(es) of vino this weekend :) And I have more time to cook. Not that much time, as I am still a mommy and working full time. So this weekend I made the best Sloppy Joe out of leftovers from the fridge and pantry. It was so good, I am getting hungry right now!

Mama Lexy's Sloppy Josephine

1 lb any ground meat or meat substitute
1/2 jar leftover pasta sauce (I had leftover dandelion tomato sauce)
a few tablespoons of chili sauce, to taste ( I make my own/ it was leftover from my BBQ rib marinade)
1/2 a red onion, chopped small
1/4 cup brown sugar

burger buns
provolone cheese

After browning the meat in a pan (use oil or spray), add all the ingredients till combined and heated through.
Put a slice of provolone on each side of the bun. Top one side with the meat mixture and cover with the other bun half. The cheese will melt from the meats heat.

This is the first time I made sloppy joe's;  I don't know why it took so long.  It was actually not thought out, hence the leftovers. I originally planned for hamburgers on the grill when I made my weekly menu, but we are out of gas. Not a lot of ingredients and so tasty!