How has your beer drinking changed with a newborn?

Same boat here. My Son was born three weeks ago and although I find myself making more careful decisions about when to drink or what quality to drink, my knowledge and hunting ability has stayed the same. Actually with a newborn I find my cellar swelling with beer as I am unable to partake as often as usual.

 

First of all, congrats! Kid are amazing.

Just wait until they get old enough to start tearing your house apart; you'll see an overall increase in consumption

 

It makes you feel more guilty the older they get. I pray to God my son or daughters don't start drinking. It's ... addictive. I love my "hobby" but I'm also well aware of the consequences. To answer the question: it hasn't changed anything, thus my original response

 

I don't drink with newborns lol

 

Oh hell yeah its changed. Used to go out all the time. Then had kid #1, started slowing down. Wife had a bit of depression post birth so I really had to step it up. two years later we debated having kid #2. figured lets try. To be honest I think both of us would have been ok with one kid, but felt a little guilty that they'd be an only child. It took 1 1/2 yeas for kid #1. Bam, like that pregnant with twins non-the-less. Damn gods punishing us. Love my kids but don't wish twins on anyone. It is a lot of work. All that being said with all the demands of kids in school, work and making the marriage work, if I get one beer every other night I'm happy. We try to alternate going out with friends, but it seems like we don't spend as much time going out together like we used to. I am actually cognizant that we need to focus on time together so we don't grow apart.

 

It's only been 10 days.... It becomes a lot more involved and time consuming after that. Besides the initial sleep deprivation, honestly, newborns are easier. Eventually they just want to play with you, constantly (it IS a good thing). But yeah it very involved. Constant attention until they really play on their own years down the road.

I didn't drink at all for a bit when our son was born, just didn't want to. Was busy enough with work, life, baby, etc.

As they get older you're going to be a lot more conscience of when you can drink, how much to drink etc. you don't want to be a little too deep into enjoying some good beers and then something wrong happen. Someone need to go to the ER or a kid wake up throwing up sick, or just when they wake up in general. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I could not take proper care of him because I had one too many beers.

Our next one is on he way at the end of July, so mostly likely the same plan this time. And I'll be further cutting own my beer budget. College fund is more important than getting the super hot, super limited, barrel aged, 12 bottles in existence beer.

It won't be as easy with two but my wife will occasionally go to our parents house for the weekend without me. Those weekends are for me to do projects around the house like demo a bathroom and leave a to list in the middle of the room without fear of it being tipped over and someone finding a saw and a power drill on the floor. Now THOSE weekends it's just me. Lots of good beer, good food, and I worked my ass off from light til dark.

 

Congrats, it's a journey that's for sure.

Had my little guy in November and for me the amount hasn't changed but the where, when and how have.

 

Congratulations! Life should still include beer even with a newborn. I don't go out as much, brew at home, and still drink great beer while being an active, responsible parent.

 

You make it sound like you gave birth. Don't take credit for what the mother went through.

Every circumstance is different, but in my case, beer consumption went way up. I'm one of those people who needs a leisure activity to obsess over or I go crazy. Once I was a father, I found that I lost the ability to have some alone time. Beer was the only interest I had that I could partake in while I was doing other things. The simple ability to drink a beer while having dinner guaranteed that all of my other interests would vanish and my interest in beer would grow.

 

...then they start drinking your beer....

 

My only newborn is the new born beer belly. I imagine if the day comes though Ill probably be to tired to drink at this pace.

 

I actually got into the whole beer trading side of things when my son was born. The "night shift" was my shift...I was awake during the wee hours of the day (10pm-4am) so that my wife could get some much needed and much deserved rest. Aside from watching netflix, one of the other things I would do is maraud the forums and cut deals with the guys on the East Coast before they went to work!

It's a hobby that I can partake in while I'm home with the family which is how I prefer it (unlike my other hobbies: fishing, golfing, cars). I never get loaded, so it's never a problem.

 

It's part of life and it's a wonderful thing. Congrats man. My wife and I used to go out 3-4 nights a week. If there was a beer dinner, release party, hell...just a normal night we would be out at the craft bars. We were at one place so much and got to know the owners and bartenders so well we got to the point we would help close the bar, stack chairs, and sweep and clean after they closed. LOL.

Everyone is different. For me/us we just enjoy our son. He is number one in both our lives. Everything else is second. I normally cook dinner. I enjoy it. I'll drink a beer while I'm cooking. I'll drink one after he goes to bed. We now get a baby sitter about once a month. Sometimes twice a month if there is something going on. We will do a nice dinner out and hit the craft places. But hell, while we're out I'm thinking how drab it is drinking out and how I'd rather be home. So we normally just go on home.

We also get creative with our time. Every couple months we will both take off on a Friday and eat lunch at really nice place like it is a date. Then we will go to a good craft bar and have a couple beers at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon. Then we will pick him up from daycare a couple hours later after we sobered up and have a normal, family evening.

Like I said everyone is different. Just find something that works and roll with it. Do you change? Do some of your friends douche out completely and don't even try to make a friendship work? Does your life change? Yeah. But you realize quick that your offspring is way more important than trying to sneak beers in every chance you get. Just smile and enjoy the ride.

Edit: I'm with @64vdub . I didn't start trading until my son was born. It gave me the opportunity to drink more at home and be more choosy instead of throwing down $50-$60 3-4 nights a week on what's available here. I feel my beer experience is actually better now after he is born.

Take today for example. I got surprised by a close trader friend today. So I didn't even leave my house and I have a 2015 Dark Lord, Pipeworks Sure Bet, Cigar City Marshal Z., Pipeworks S'more Money s'more problems, and Pipeworks Killer Queen. I wouldn't find anything close to that caliber of beer in Knoxville, Tennessee if I went out on the town drinking. LOL.

 

You'll figure it out. I have a small army of youngin's at home. I love them all in a way I never thought possible but they certainly change your life. You'll find compromise and compassion are key with your wife. She will need her time as much (or more) than you will. You'll find your groove. Just make sure you recognize her needs and you'll be good.

 

Congrats on the new born. My new born from 21+ years ago texted me if I knew Shiner Bock. Apparently thats what her friends were drinking today. She is one year from graduating with an engineering degree so I can't complain too much and actually i'm very proud of her. The only thing I can tell you is kids learn from their parents actions more than anything you will ever say to them...

 

Working with nap schedules has made my wife and I really focus on hitting local, laid back breweries. Getting flights while we are there works well because we get to try different beers quickly and then we can get our favorite in a growler to go when our 6 month old is ready to jet. We have focused more on the local beer scene even more than we did before. Fewer trips to Greensboro Bend

 

When my twins were born, my beer drinking dropped precipitously. Lack of free time and the sense that I needed to be sober and on-duty at all times attributed to this. Gradually, my drinking picked back up and I was myself again by the time they were 15-18 months old.

 

When the baby came i had to drink much much less even though I felt like drinking much much more

 

Just remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint.