O Marvelous Caffeine!

Last week, my girlfriend asked me if I missed being pregnant, and my answer was irrevocably no. Let me amend that…NO! Besides the obvious weight gain, there is once again the theme of restriction. “You shouldn’t lift that…eat that…drink that.” The cool thing is that there was an allowance of moderation for each item. Understandably, I had to give up alcohol, even though many people said that the occasional glass of wine was okay (other than tasting a sip, I did not take advantage of this indulgence).
I also had to restrict my tuna and deli meat intake. What’s funny is that I don’t eat much tuna or many coldcuts in the winter, but in the summer, I love a great sandwich/sub and macaroni and tuna salad. My moderation is that I could have four ounces of tuna a week, so when I really wanted that tuna sandwich, I got one (Facebook friends will recall the tuna fish sandwich and ice cream sandwich post last summer).
The final restriction was that of caffeine. It was recommended that I could do no more than 8 ounces per day. In the beginning, I restricted myself to one dose of caffeine per week, but it seemed the closer I got to the deadline, the more caffeine I craved. Maybe it was because the further along I got, the more fatigued I felt. So I would drink either a small cup of coffee, iced tea, or soda. For the most I did well on the soda front, because I mostly craved fruit-flavored sodas (Strawberry Fanta was the main one).
Here’s what’s funny: immediately after I delivered, the first meal I ate was a tuna fish sandwich. I swear, it was THE BEST TUNA sandwich ever! But that could have been because I hadn’t eaten any solid food for the prior 17 hours, but I also hadn’t had any tuna in months.
The alcohol was my second indulgence. I was more cautious in the beginning since I attempted to breast feed in the beginning (that lasted all of three weeks). But I enjoyed a glass of red wine and we cracked open the bottle of Cuervo 1800 Anejo that we purchased in Mexico last year for an awesome margarita.
Finally, I enjoyed my caffeine again. Coffee, tea, and soda without restriction! And it was good. Today for instance, I had coffee and Coca Cola, and yesterday, I bought a gallon of iced tea from Popeyes and drank two glasses! And I love southern style iced tea. At the risk of getting the jitters, I may enjoy some tea before I go to bed. But then again, that margarita sounds like a good idea.