This Time Around

When I was pregnant with Sly, I was pretty concerned about doing things by the book. 

I didn't touch caffeinated drinks or alcohol the entire time, our of fear of harming my baby.  With this pregnancy, though, I find myself a bit more relaxed on "the rules".  I pretty much totally abstained from caffeine/alcohol in the first trimester.   That's when it matters most, since it's when the baby's major organs are developing.  But also, I usually just felt too sick most days to even want coffee or wine or anything.

Once I hit the second trimester, I was able to relax a bit, knowing that the baby was alive and healthy. I told myself, "you know what - if I want to drink a beer or a glass of wine every now and then...that's alright.  If I'm dying for a cup of coffee, then I'll drink one."  I mean, you have to figure that pregnant women had been drinking alcohol for centuries before anyone had an idea that it could be harmful.  And I'm sure most of their babies turned out just fine.  I know some doctors hold to a strict "no alcohol whatsoever" stance for pregnancy, but this seems to be mostly a precaution.  If they said "drinking is okay in moderation", you know some people would go just hear "it's okay" and go overboard.

The good thing (I suppose) is that since I hardly ever drink coffee or alcohol now, I have a pretty low tolerance for them both.  Which means I usually only manage to get through half a glass of something before I start to "feel it" and know it's time to stop.  Half a glass - I really do think that's alright. 

Now that I look obviously pregnant, though, I can't get away with ordering alcohol if we're out anywhere.  I mean, I could legally.  But I'm terrified that people would judge me and think I was a terrible mother or something for drinking a beer with dinner.

Anyways, what's the reason I'm writing about all this now, when I should be in bed?  Tonight I went out for coffee with some of the moms from the Catholic Moms group.  I forgot that I can't drink coffee in the evenings anymore.  I used to be able to down a big cup of coffee right before bed, and have no trouble falling asleep.  But twice in this pregnancy, I have had a small cup of coffee after dinner, and then couldn't fall asleep until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.  Soooo....I think I'm going to be awake for a while still.  Oops.