Who Says A Pregnant Girl Can't Party?

I have been pregnant twice. 20 months. Yes, 20 months. The rumor that pregnancy is only 9 months long is false. It is actually 10 months long – yes, 40 whole weeks.

I don’t consider myself a heavy drinker. But I do enjoy a cocktail or two (or three) at social gatherings, special occasions, and holidays. When pregnant, the idea of having an alcoholic cocktail is taken out of the equation. Therefore, I had to be creative and develop my own cocktails that were “pregnancy friendly”. Here are a few of the websites I visited to help me create my pregnancy friendly cocktails:

Drinks Mixer
Flora’s Drink Hideout
Bar None

Just a few words of note about these recipes:

• I allowed myself one caffeinated drink per day during my pregnancies. Therefore, if I knew I was going to have one of the caffeinated “cocktails” that evening I would avoid caffeine during the remainder of the day.
• I allowed myself to drink soda and “fake sugar” on occasion so I was ok with the idea of drinking regular and/or diet soda in these “cocktails” on special occasions. I just made sure not to overdo it.

Additionally, I often found myself at a restaurant or at a party where others were drinking alcohol. When it came time to order a drink, or to mix myself a drink, I also wanted to be fun and celebratory. I came up with a few stand-by rules to help me get in the festive mood when I didn’t have time to plan for extra ingredients ahead of time:

• Cranberry juice and soda with a cherry is a beautiful drink
• Anytime you add cherries, a lemon, or a lime to a drink, it instantly gets more festive
• Any juice with sprite (or a similar lemon/lime soda) can be considered a spritzer and adds a sparkle that is very fun
• Many blended drinks can be made without the alcohol; all you have to do is ask! I enjoyed many nonalcoholic margaritas during my pregnancy!
• Drinking cranberry juice from a wine glass really does feel like you are drinking red wine!
• Mix your juices together to come up with fun different concoctions - You can come up with unlimited flavors just by having a bunch of different juices on hand

A note about tonic water: There is conflicting information on whether a pregnant woman should drink tonic water. Tonic water has quinine in it so some say it is not safe to drink during pregnancy. Please make sure you research this topic and make an informed decision for yourself when making yourself non-alcoholic drinks. Here are some places to go to help you research this topic:

• What is Quinine
• Is Tonic Water Safe During Pregnancy