Sisters Marie: Maternity Monday: How to Make Preggatini's

"By my second trimester, I started dreaming about my delivery. In the dream, I popped the baby out effortlessly and, immediately, the nurse handed me a big ol' margarita on the rocks, no salt. Turns out, that dream never came true. But I do remember my first post-pregnancy martini with my girlfriends at our local bar. It's the best drink I ever had." - Brett Paesel, Author
Mom's to be: I think it's safe to say we all experience this feeling at some point. As I turned another corner and my baby bump grew from an avocado to a pomegranate in our 17 week mark, I must admit: The craving for a cocktail has grown. In the first trimester, I didn't think about it much because I was too busy adjusting to how tired I was (and that nasty metal taste in my mouth -- any other Preggo ladies have that problem?).
So, the fact that my favorite red wine was missing from our dinner table wasn't so obvious during that phase. But as time goes on, and Mexican meals/nights out with friends continue to be planned, I do feel a little envious I can't partake.

I think the jealously increased a bit these past few days with the surprise return of Spring -- We spent the whole weekend outdoors and even dined al fresco a few times and I couldn't help but thinking how perfect a mimosa in the sun would have been. That said, I haven't missed the negative aspects of drinking at all...I feel fantastic every Saturday and Sunday morning and look forward to starting the day early, instead of feeling sluggish from a drink or two the night before (yes, that's pretty much all it takes these days. I'm a cheap date!). There are no "empty calories" to regret (though, those kind of come in the form of ice cream these days) and our restaurant bills are certainly much lower.
But with all that said, I don't see why there's any reason Mom's to be should have to feel completely left out in during moments of celebration...you just have to find a way to modify, much like most things during the 9 months. My husband was so sweet and bought me a "Preggatini" recipe book for Christmas. forecasting that I may start to miss our wine and pasta nights, he figured this would be a good way for us to have some fun with mocktails. He figured right!
Because it was in the 60's this weekend, I decided to make two of the Spring-Summer-ish recipes to keep the good vibes going. Hope these temps are here to stay!
1) Coconut Key Lime Momtini
4 ounces limeade (lime juice and simple syrup) 2 ounces coconut milk 2-3 drops vanilla extract 1 teaspoon coconut flakes

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain into a martini glass and sprinkle with coconut flakes on surface of drink.

2) The Mama Sunrise
Orange or Mango Juice (I used mango) 2 dashes Grenadine 1 lime
SO EASY!

Take a highball glass and fill it with cracked ice. Add the juice to the top of glass and then carefully pour the grenadine onto the surface of the drink. The grenadine will slowly sink to the bottom for the beautiful sunrise effect.