Mama needs a Glass

Reunited, with an old friend. 

Perfect Pick-Me-Up Gift from Fred & Monique <3

It's been about a month shy of a whole year that one of my besties and I have gotten together for a good heart to heart. That sounds terribly long and completely unnecessary right? A whole year? — Well, no need to convince me, because, I was totally feeling my own pain and my girl, Wine and I were to be reunited over a glass. 

For those of you that know me and, for those of you that are getting to know me. I enjoy wine. To me, wine is one of those girlfriends who always has your back, unless you leave her out for 5 days on the counter unintentionally...then she is full of vinegar! (Rarely has that ever happened).

Wine has expanded my pallet and taught me so much about my own tastebuds. It's like going on vacation each time my lips touch the side of a glass. Tasting the fruits of the land, the rays of sunshine, or the dampness of the mossy climate sends me over-the-moon. Of course I have my preferred vacation spots, but I'm always willing to explore different blends and vintages from all across the world. 

The day had come. I was allowed to enjoy my first full (small) glass of wine again. Unfortunately, I didn't really plan it all out too much. What I should have done was head to the store and purchase one of my old time favorites. Instead, I looked straight ahead at my current, sad looking collection of four bottles laying on their side in my buffet bureau and eenie, meenie, miney, mo'd it. 

All of these bottles were gifted to me, so it certainly would be a: "lets give this a try" adventure. Since, I didn't want to drink alone and Freddie doesn't love wine, I selected a riesling. The fruit forwardness and late harvested vintage would surely be non-offensive.

At this point, some of you may be thinking; well WAIT, you have a baby and you're breastfeeding. You can't have wine. Au contraire mon cheri; I have already thought this out. Readers, meet Avent, Avent, meet Readers.

A torture chamber, chemistry project or God send? Well, some may speculate all of the three, but as I'm getting used to this device, I'll go with half mad scientist chemistry project and half God send.

Drinking while breastfeeding is dangerous and NEVER recommended! There are ways to completely avoid the dangers for your breastfed baby all the while still being able to keep your sanity and enjoy an indulgent alcoholic beverage every now and again.

There are a couple things a breastfeeding woman can do if she wants to have her cabernet and drink it too, so to speak. 1.) Pre-pump a bottle full of breastmilk, 2.) Wait it out until there is no more alcohol in your bloodstream or 2.) Pump and dump.

The breast pump is a savior for working drinking Mothers. Haha, I'm toying…the pump is great for busy Mamas who need to or have to have time away from nursing their child due to work, errands, enjoying an adult beverage or what-have-you.

My Game Plan 

Out of my three options above, I selected number 1.) Pre-pump a bottle full of breastmilk. This way, I was able to sip my glass of wine and if my sweet Pepper-Girl woke up, I would have a bottle all ready for her.

Hook Me Up Capt'n

Luckily Freddie and I did our homework. We hooked me up to this CRAZY looking contraption by Avent. It is an electric breast pump complete with a bralette in which can allow me to go "hands free." Hello blogging and mommy-ing at the same time :-).

The pump has a control panel complete with two dials. The first dial is the speed and the second is the suction. This is what the instructions advised:

I was already forewarned by an amazing Mommy friend to not crank the settings up to the fullest potential, but rather to ease into it. I read these instructions and thought "are you freaking kidding me?" —I'll be like Augustus Gloop from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and be completely sucked into the the tube after diving in - potentially never returning. The fear set in and my heart rate sped up.

Not adhering to the directions, and already pretty sore as it was, I took it slow. Laughter filled my soul at how funny and ridiculous I looked. I felt like a chemistry project with beaker tubes hooked up to my chest. "Okay, focus"…I told myself.  This is all in the name of feeding my child, and oh yeah, that well deserved glass of wine I wanted to have afterward.

Suction on. Alright, this wasn't terrible on the first notch. I can increase it, no problem. One, two, skip a few, 99, 100! (Just kidding, I didn't go all the way up!) WHOA...okay…I was feeling a little too comfortable and skipped a few notches and PINCH! Okay... dial it back down a bit. My right hand reached for the speed and put that to the fullest, which surprisingly, wasn't the scary part. It's the suction we must ALL beware of. I suppose with time, my body will adjust.

To be honest, it didn't hurt. It was a strange sensation and when I went a bit too high, it scared me and pinched a bit. What a thrill, I really could be hands free! *Sigh*, a relief. I had a bottle ready to feed my baby girl when she woke up. Phew, I already felt a little less stressed and I can certainly see why so many women rely on this golden tool for a bit of freedom.

CHEERS! I enjoyed one small glass of riesling. The cool, crisp and fruity flavors danced on the tops of my tastebuds and swirled around my mouth from cheek to cheek. Each sip was refreshing and delightful.

The wine was a well developed, old-vine riesling with a decent vintage from the Columbia Valley. So ultimately this glass should have shook me in my slippers a little right? Well, I remember enjoying the company of my ol' friend Wine so much more than this before. Why is this?

I think it may have been that my mind was focused on feeling a bit of self indulgent guilt that I wasn't feeding my baby from myself but rather a bottle. I know thats NOT a bad thing or even close to something I should feel guilt for, but for some strange reason, it got into my own head. I simply must try again soon, thats all that means, right?

I'll raise a glass to that!