What's Exhaustion?!

I went to a girls night lastnight with a few other momma's and had a blast! I drank tequila (my favourite), a little vodka, and ate a lot of delicious food! It was so very needed, but it sure takes a lot of preparation to go out and have a few drinks.

Firstly, I had to research drinking alcohol while breast feeding. I ended up finding this awesome chart* that breaks down the timeline of alcohol in the bloodstream by the amount of drinks consumed and your weight. I didn't read that 1.5 ounces is considered one drink, so I think I gave myself a little more time than necessary, but that's never a bad thing.

Secondly, I had to make sure I had plenty of boobie milk in the freezer (over 40 ounces, more than enough). I also pumped a fresh bottle before leaving, but neglected to bring my pump to the party (thankfully Janene brought hers!!!). I also read that drinking can lower milk production, so I've been taking Fenukgreek religiously, especially when I know I'm going to be drinking.

Lastly, I had to find a babysitter for Baby T... oh wait, I live with my momma so really, all I had to do was smile pretty and give her the babe. I did have to bribe her a little, but she's pretty easy. A bottle of coke and she was happy.

Thankfully it was a casual party, so I could wear my comfortable leggings. Throw on some makeup, brush my hair, and now I'm all ready for the party! I guess that wasn't too much preparation, but the boobie stuff takes a lot of time.

In the end, I came home with a good buzz and silly memories running through my head. I thawed babe some milk, warmed up the bottle, and to bed we went! I remember alcohol induced sleep, it was heavy and wonderful... it's not the same when you're a mom with a 10 week old baby.

How did the rest of my night go, you ask? Well, I gave him a bottle and then had to wrestle him to sleep, that took me an hour. Then, he jolted me awake two hours later at 4:30am demanding more milk, so I went to the kitchen, warmed him a bottle, and slumped back to our room. He guzzled down the bottle, I rocked him back to sleep, and then drifted off to dreamland myself, only to be rudely awoken at 6:00am by his restlessness. I had my alarm set for 7:00am, but apparently he couldn't wait.

Now, there I was with only 3.5 hours of sleep, warming up another bottle and running around trying to get ourselves organized because we had to drive to Nanaimo to visit my best friend, who was visiting from Regina. I thought I'd be able to manage this day, but I really learned what exhaustion truly means by the very end. It was 7:00pm, I was just passing the Shawnigan turn-off on the Malahat and Tyrus decided to wake up and scream. I pulled over to see if he just wanted his soother, but he didn't. I considered feeding him, but it was starting to snow and I wasn't going to risk it, so he screamed for the next half an hour. I had no patiences left. I was done, totally and completely done.

Thankfully, we both survived and I still love him to pieces. I'm not sure if I'll do that ever again...




*Alcohol Consumption Chart