Q&A Part IV: Water is the New Coffee

How do you get going at the beginning of each day?  

If you've ever been pregnant or breastfed a baby, you know that just about every book out there will tell you that a small amount of caffeine each day will have no effect on your baby.

Apparently they have not met my baby.

Early in his little life, it took me a good week to realize that a series of horrendously pitiful naps had my morning cup of coffee to blame.  When you're sleep deprived it can take awhile for the obvious to reveal itself!  Since then, I have periodically tried to get my caffeine fix from a Diet Coke or cup of joe, hoping that his larger body and neurological maturity will allow him to handle just enough to give me a little jolt of energy.

No such luck.  With just one cup of a caffeinated beverage, my sweet, low-key little angel turns in to an irritable, fidgety, sleepless mess.  Which means no caffeine for mama.  It's just not worth it.

Ironic, no?  At the time in my life when I need caffeine more than ever, I am forced to abstain and endure the sleepless nights of new parenthood unarmed!  Decaffeinated coffee is a fine placebo when you just need something warm to sip in the morning, and a diet strawberry limeade is a nice way to spend Sonic happy hour, but when it is 5:30 a.m. and your baby is up for the day, all decaffeinated beverages are just big fat losers.

Slowly but surely, I realized that the days when I showered and dressed first thing in the morning were the days that I actually felt awake and energized.  Early on, that meant getting ready sometime before noon, but as the months have gone by the need for that early morning jolt has come earlier and earlier in the day.

Nine months later, I wake to the sound of my baby's cries or coos, bring him back to bed with me, nurse him, then put him in his Jumparoo and head straight for the shower.  My morning routine is nothing extensive...usually a quick shower, maybe a little make up, and a quick fix of the hair (thanks to the every-3-days washing that I mentioned yesterday).  But that water has magical powers, people!  It instantly opens my eyes, brightens my mood, and increases my motivation for a productive day.

If for some reason I bypass this process, I tend to get pretty worthless pretty fast!  Those pajamas and bed head might as well be shackles around my ankles, harnessing me to the couch while Matt Lauer lulls me into a stupor that will hold me over until I can catch a snooze during Riggins' first nap time.

What is hilarious to me is that when I was working full-time, I could hardly pull myself out of bed at 7:30 or 8!  I would often just skip a shower and pass with a refreshed hairstyle and new make up.  When I did get fully ready, it would take me an hour!  And then I got to sip caffeinated coffee as I drove to work!  And I thought I was so tired!!!

Now I'm showered, dressed and ready to go by 7:00 on most days, and usually feeling more awake than I ever did before having a baby.  It really makes no sense.  Who knew that a quick shot of hot water, a good squirt of citrusy energizing body wash, and a bit of mascara could do so much?

How do you get going in the morning?

And speaking of sleepy eyes, bed head and blanket face...