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[quote=Anonymous]Hi OP. I'm currently pregnant with my third and have been doing a lot of thinking about how I want to handle returning to drinking once baby is born. Pre-pregnancy, I probably qualified as a binge drinker - 4-5 beers at a happy hour or weekend out, 1-2 bottles of wine shared with my husband over dinner. I didn't drink every night, but didn't necessarily avoid it either, so on random Tuesdays DH and I might share a bottle of wine just because. I have a high tolerance, so I certainly wasn't falling down drunk, but I wasn't hopping right out of bed the next morning either.

After my second child was born, I found a definite creep of consumption to where I was starting earlier on weekends (i.e., 5pm while making dinner turns into 4pm on the porch turns into 3pm while the game is on, etc.), and having a couple glasses of wine frequently during the week. I cut back to no weeknight drinking before I became pregnant with this current pregnancy, but now want to affirmatively reduce overall drinking after 3rd baby is born.

A couple things that have helped me in the past are finding my "currency," to borrow from a parenting phrase I've seen on this board. For me, the amt of money we spend on wine and beer is substantial (DH is a big drinker too) and I want to curb that. I also want to be able to get back into a regular exercise routine, including on the weekends, which will mean making sure I get to bed early and get quality sleep. If I remind myself of those things, it can be easier for me to slow down and/or not start drinking in the first place.

Finally, I think mindfulness helps too. I'm not big into it generally, but being more aware of how each sip tastes and how it feels once you start to feel the effects, can help me slow down. If I drink too fast or in an excited/anxious state of mind, then suddenly I'll just be chasing some mythical standard of "relaxed" or "pleasantly buzzed" that either doesn't exist or that I left in the dust 1 or 2 drinks ago.

Hope any of this helps. GL to you.[/quote]

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