scaredmama

I come from a family of alcoholics and I think I have been drinking too much. When pregnant or nursing (3 babies in 4 years) it was always so easy to quit and I didn't think too much of it. My youngest is now 3 and I find myself drinking again. I can sometimes drink a whole bottle of wine in a night. I will stop for a couple of weeks but will eventually will want to have a glass of wine again. I don't know if I'm an alcoholic or not but I feel that drinking is not a good thing for me.

PurpleKnight

Welcome to the Forum!!

You'll find loads of support here on SR, I got to the stage of realising alcohol was concerning me and causing problems in my life, it was then I needed to make a change!!

It's great to have you onboard!!

biminiblue

Welcome to the site!

If you feel it's a problem, that's all you need to decide to stop. No need to label yourself - that will just provide more excuses to not stop, right?

SO. Tomorrow - Day One for you! Yay.

That's all you need to do, just don't pick up a drink tomorrow.

Come here and read and post, we're glad you're here.

least

Welcome to the family. If alcohol is causing any problems in your life it's best to quit. I quit drinking four and a half years ago and it was the best thing I've ever done for myself.

I know you'll find lots of support here.

Verte

Hi scaredmama,

Welcome to the forum. SR was the first place I came when I thought something was wrong that I needed to figure out. Turns out it is a great place to be with really supportive experiences. And I stayed to learn and share even more. Late bath time for my girls...have to run!

Cleomie

Welcome, Scaredmama.
I think wine could also be called "mother's little helper". But don't buy that lie. It will catch up with you and bite you in the a**. I know. I have 2 almost grown kids and I still struggle. Try reading the book, "Drinking, a Love Story" by Caroline Knapp. Excellent book. Incredible writer. Good luck

Dee74

Welcome scaredmama
You had two identical threads so I merged them for you

You'll find a lot of encouragement, support and understanding here
D

scaredmama

I'm sorry, I'm new (obviously) Were you in this kind of situation too?

Cleomie

If that question "were you in that situation?" is directed at me, yes! I'm still in a similar situation. And I come from a long line of alcoholics also. At least you are AWARE of it now, and that is the first step.
Read that book!

Dee74

I'm not a mom...despite the name, I'm an Aussie male

I can certainly identify with drinking too much than is good for me tho.
I ended up an all day everyday drinker.

I'm glad you're looking at your problem now..you're wiser than I was

I think support's very important...we have a moms thread you might be interested in
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...t-10-a-20.html

and our Class of July support thread:
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html

D

least

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-part-2-a.html

Hevyn

Welcome scaredmama.

Talking things over here will really help you. I felt so much better just being able to talk freely about my fears. Glad you joined us and reached out.

Anna

I'm glad you posted.

If alcohol is causing problems and concerns in your life, then your plan to stop drinking is a very good one. Alcoholism is a progressive disease and it will continue to worsen unless you stop. There is lots of support here.

scaredmama

Thanks for all the positive messages. I've made the decision that I need to just stop drinking for good. I've set 8/10/14 as my official quit date since that is when I return from our first vacation in over four years (I know there will be drinking and I don't want to fail so early).

Ready2beSober

Hi scaredmomma and welcome! I have 3 kids too I was the same way, I had no problem at all quitting during my pregnancies and while nursing but right when I was done I'd pick up right where I left off. Ive always been a heavy drinker even as a teenager but for some reason, with each pregnancy I figured I would be "better" at drinking. I was so wrong! I had all 3 of my kids by the time I was 25, (I'm 30 now) but the last couple years is when it got much worse. The stress of being a mom is no joke, its hard!! Clomie is right about "mothers little helper" or at least that's how it feels until it does the complete opposite. I am only on day 4 of quitting after tons of failed attempts but hopefully this is the one that sticks. Good luck and keep posting!!

scaredmama

Thanks for the reply Ready2besober, I was older when I had my kids - 30, 32 and 34, now that I'm neither pregnant nor nursing it gets harder not to have that glass (glasses) of wine. You're so right about the stress of being a mom, it is really hard! I hope I can find the way to total sobriety Great job on your fourth day!!

Dee74

I'm going to be the irritant here and suggest you make your sober date now.

Trust me there will always be a party or a vacation or a function...there's no good time to quit.

You may as well start as you mean to go on - don't put it off.

You may find you enjoy your vacation even more sober?

D

soberjuly

I was thinking the same thing. Why not make the date tomorrow. I've been sober 12 days and I had to do it for my kids. I also have 3. And for myself and my husband and the entire planet Earth because I could be so nasty/sarcastic/snide when drunk. My liver was also begging me to quit. My body was saying 'hey, we are tired of being a size 12, get us back to normal!".

The time to restart your life is now, August 10th just sounds so far. Heck, August 10th I am going on vacation to Cancun, Club Med, where the booze runs free. I just got back from Disneyland and thought, for sure, I would drink because I always used to drink at Disneyland. People were drinking at the hotel pool every evening. The servers would walk around the pool and take drink orders. I also had a situation where our flight left late on the way home and the pilot said all alcohol would be free. I think even my husband would have understood if I had a drink but I didn't.

Knowing I made it through one short holiday booze-free gives me hope I can do it again. You know, if you go on vacation and slip then at least you've given your body a break beforehand. The idea of drinking for 2 weeks before a vacation where you will probably drink more in preparation for quitting, well, it's just really hard on your body and will make withdrawal that much harder.

Today I took my youngest shopping and she got some Barbie clothes (for her Barbie dolls), a Frozen poster, some Frozen t-shirts, a pink lamp and a toy storage shelf. She was so happy and towards the end of the day she just started hugging me, literally clinging to me. I said 'why are you hugging me so much'. She said 'I just love you so much' and I realized how much I've ignored her during my drinking days. How little time I spent with her because I spent so much time consumed by my drinking. I am having to backtrack and organize toys and clothes now because I didn't for so long.

All that time lost is just lost, you never get it back.

Anyhow, welcome, you are here and that counts for a lot!

ESD907

you sound like me a few years back. I ended up starting that 2nd bottle, then I started buying the large bottle and polishing that off. within a matter of a year, I was hiding those bottles, or taking them out empty in my huge handbag to toss out in municipal trash cans in town. I'm not saying you'd be like me, but if you think you are having a problem, its good you have recognized it...I did too, but thought I'd handle it, or because I'd go weeks in between, I thought it wasn't a real problem, even though I knew it was. I actually knew I was going to be a prob drinker quite early on, High School.. I just really liked it..even though Ihad years of not getting drunk etc. I didnt become a true alcoholic until my mid 40's.

soberjuly

Yep. I did the same thing. Took bottles in my handbag to dispose of elsewhere knowing my husband would notice the empties in the recycling.

It's a lot of mental strain. Making sure you have enough, when and where to buy. How to dispose. I hid bottles in clothes drawers, in the bathroom.

I remember that movie "Pay It Forward" and the mom is an alcoholic and her son goes around and tries to find all her bottles and he throws them out. And he's like a little kid.

Kids are smart and I didn't want to have this problem when my son was 13 and started asking me if he could get me a glass of wine in the evening. Which started to happen.

If you decide to quit 8/10, I suggest lots of fruit and vegetable juice. I juiced for a week. I still do but I am not strictly juicing. Lemons and beets are very good for detoxing the liver.

If you can go 2 weeks off, you aren't as bad as I was so it might be easier for you.

Like Dee said, there will always be an occasion. Perhaps, if you made it something like your birthday, but vacations and holidays and other people's birthdays and graduations...it doesn't end.