Coffee Addiction

I was never a coffee drinker. I hated the stuff.

But that all changed one day a little over 2 1/2 years ago. See that fateful February 2004, I found out I was pregnant with baby #3. Einey had just turned 2 and Meenie was just over 6 months old. Moe was a completely surprise which after the denial was past, would soon be a joyful and welcome addition to our close and hectic family.

Pregnancy disrupts even the most organized person's life. The biggest problem I had was extreme fatigue. All the time. To counteract that, I started drinking coffee. And not just regular coffee, but a Large Caramel Lattee. And sometimes I would stop twice a day. This very quickly became an addiction.

After Moe was born, I still stopped to get my daily coffee, even while nursing her. Not every day, but most days.

And that's where the problem starts.

Moe LOVES coffee. She will go out of her way to try to drink anyone's coffee. She will pull empty coffee containers out of the garbage, she will try to pilfer other moms coffee's at playdates. At swimming lessons, every time I would turn around, she would be up on the picnic table trying to drink someone's coffee. She isn't picky as long as it's coffee. We had a friend who had Dunkin Donuts Christmas Ornaments on her tree last year. What does Moe do? She pulled off every single one she could reach and tried to drink from it. Whenever we went to the park this summer and I got an ice coffee, she would lean out of her stroller as I was buckling her and try to drink from the straw of my coffee that was sitting in the van. If I try to balance her and a coffee, the coffee will inadvertently end up in her mouth.

I have a two year old addicted to coffee. I can't win!