Honesty time- red wine

marshmallowmadness

I've literally drank alcohol all of 3 times in my life and only got buzzed one of those times. It's just not for me anyway.

R3DSK1N80s

I haven't but craved it and told DH just give my bottles away on Thanksgiving. I brought several before I found out I was pregnant. I usually have a glass at dinner. :-(

lclutter14

I had a glass of champagne with my parents when we told them the news and plan to do so again on Thanksgiving when we tell my hubs parents. I have been craving beer like crazy but have stayed strong haha. I read here on thebump that having a glass is fine, just in moderation. (Also my first pregnancy)

GirPipley

Hmm.... SO and I are regular drinkers, it's not uncommon for us to finish a bottle of wine between to two of us every night. 5:30pm at our house usually has me with a glass of wine and him with a craft beer in his hand.

After we found out I was pregnant, I changed nothing the first week. The second week I slowed down to about 1 glass a night, and now I'm drinking maybe a glass every 3-4 days. I do not feel bad, I do not feel anxious. I drink a cup of coffee every morning, I've had sushi and a hot dog, and I will take all the tylenol if I get a headache. 

I do not know why pregnancy has to be this "stop everything" time for us. All things in moderation.

I told my OB about the drinking (told her, not asked her), and she basically said that she has to tell me it's recommended not to drink, but that she also encourages me to do research how the French view this topic.

mlindzz

Before getting pregnant, I gave up my very deeply loved glass of wine before bed each night. There is lots of unanswered questions about Fetal Alcohol effects, so I didn't want to risk it.

Research hasn't yet identified a safe amount at any point in time during pregnancy. I believe much knowledge about FASD didn't actually surface until the 1970's, and afterwards there was much debate about how much was too much (remember that a generation ago they were informing most of our parents a glass or two was fine), but more recently they're saying 0% alcohol is the only safe amount. I also remember having read a few articles that were quite devastating about how some countries have debated and refused to put the alcohol Waning Labels on alcohol bottles, also when they do agree to AWL they all point to no amount of alcohol being safe. If I remember correctly, in Canada (I'm Canadian), one of the companies threatened to pull their contributions towards addiction treatment centres if they were going to be forced to label their bottles. Yikes!

If I was to have anything to drink, I know the anxiety about all the possible consequences would would devastate me (impaired motor skills, developmental delay, learning disabilities, cognitive deficits, etc.). Perhaps the stress would even be worse for me then the glass of wine, but it just wouldn't be worth it.

waechter1

I've had a small glass of wine- it helped with a really bad headache. So no judgement here- what I can tell you is I've read an article on pregnant mice that were given ethanol (alcohol) everyday through their pregnancy and all mice had average (and some above average ) birth weights and number of pups born. It's early research but I found it interesting.

mlindzz

That is interesting! And surprising! Those are good findings, although I wonder if they have a way of measuring other effects of alcohol aside from the birth weight in mice? Most effects of FASD with people are 'invisible' and can't be detected until later in life (sometimes babies are found to struggle with sensory processing, and later children struggling with social skills, school work, language development, their memory, attention, regulating their behaviour, etc). Many people aren't diagnosed until middle or high school.

waechter1

I do know they are doing congestive testing on the offspring - I don't know the results yet.

pghctwife

Ive had a couple sips of beer (literal tastes of DHs). I regret them. Not because I think I did irreparable harm… because DAMN they tasted good and I wanted more! haha. 

I don't drink in the 1st tri but am comfortable with a glass here and there of wine or a beer after that. TBH, it didn't last long anyhow because the heartburn made it so not worth it. I had a glass at christmas with my 1st, my dad has a really really nice wine cellar and he served the good stuff. It wasn't worth it. I was up feeling like vom all night. 

With my second we went to a wine dinner for NYE, and I picked my favs we were served and drank a small bit of those. Mmmm. Im in a beer kick this year though, and can't wait to hit that 2nd tri and enjoy one!

beemaya83

No wine over here but I have been eating like crap! Mostly fast foods. Seriously, anything home made does not seem appealing to me. I feel guilty for feeding the baby such crap food. I need to make a change...31 more weeks to go!

blu-eyedwife

junch817 said:

 But what confuses me is, I guess, is the amount of people on the board that seem to be so afraid of taking Tylenol for the occasional headache. I get headaches a LOT. Bad ones. If I don't take Tylenol, they don't go away. But I seem to keep coming across posts of people suffering through these terrible headaches, some not even wanting to take a little caffeine to try and help, and I feel like a terrible person. Are these no Tylenol people also no sips of alcohol people? Or why are occasional sips of alcohol ok, but taking medicine when you are in pain not okay? I really don't mean to hijack your post. I do apologize. I guess I was surprised at how many people seemed to agree with my thought that a few sips of alcohol are ok, when I can barely find reassurance that another mom occasionally has to take Tylenol.

I'll speak to this for myself.

Like I said, I don't drink during pregnancy,  and I also don't take Tylenol.  Personally, I'm concerned about the recent studies regarding Tylenol and pediatric asthma.  Pediatric asthma is my mom's field.  (She's a nurse, her PhD was on compliance in different populations and her current research involves working with different communities in identifying risk factors, compliance, maintenance, etc. with children.)  There's already a genetic component to asthma, which DH and I both are passing down to our children, but pediatric asthma is becoming more prevalent due to our increased immune systems (which apparently has an inverse effect with the body's reactions to allergens) as well as environmental factors.  Since I feel I'm already setting my kids up for problems through genetics, I'm personally trying to minimize any additional risk factors.  But again, like drinking, that's a personal thing for me.  I wouldn't suggest you suffer through  consistently bad headaches just to avoid the potential for asthma in your kids. 

tinavonsparkle

I'm on holiday at a friends wedding in Dubai at the moment. I'm almost 10weeks and I treated myself to a small champagne and a teeny Buck's Fizz however I nursed them throughout the entire day and drank loads of water & mocktails inbetween sips - it was delicious! Lots of the elderly female family members (one of which has 10 children and was a midwife for 36 years) was actively encouraging me and assured me to relax about the whole pregnancy. No regrets and looking forward to my next glass of champagne on a Christmas Day! x

pghctwife

@junch817 for me, I think my stand on alcohol fits well with the rest. I drink coffee, and in fact, while I cut back to 1 cup a day (more like 1.5) Ive gone back up to a full 2. Which to be frank is probably right around the recommended limit, if not over. I was not functioning on less, and I was not a great mom to my outside kids. 

I have some things I avoid (sushi, SOB) and some things I don't (or enjoy in moderation) like alcohol. I think it is important for every individual woman to consider what the actual and specific risks are of each "do not eat.." and weigh her own comfort level. For me, I know the reason to avoid sushi is a risk of food poising and that can be devastating to the baby. The risk of alcohol is FAS, and I am confident that the amounts I would consume are well under whatever the line is for that. Ergo, I avoid sushi (again, SOB) but don't cut alcohol completely. 

suzysurparis

sensitivesally Sorry for the delay, I was busy with home improvement this weekend, but the official "advice" in France is no alcohol at all. Basically the doctors here don't know what amount is safe, so they say none. Sometimes France has a real stick up it's ass. I think this is total bullshit and I will drink a glass here and there if I want to. I know my body, I metabolize alcohol very quickly and easily. Plus my grandmother, who just turned 90, definitely drank and smoked through all her pregnancies and there were no problems. DH does not agree with my viewpoint and throws a hissy fit if I try to drink with him. I've noticed it's worse if we're with his friends and family and less if we're with my friends. I think he's afraid of their judgement, even though a few of them have mentioned drinking a glass or two while pregnant. But my MIL though not judgmental, doesn't drink at all and I think DH gets uncomfortable about that with her. I'll fight the issue more as 2nd tri comes and I have energy again and am not so disgusted by red wine (I used to love it, now only sweet whites and champagne will do).

Synnovus

The guideline in Norway is no alcohol while pregnant so I'm sticking to that. I'm also a big fan of sodas and fizzy drinks so it's not that hard, but that's just me

Schnurette

I don't drink alcohol so it's not really an issue for me but I have heard numerous times (although never from an actual medical professional) that some alcohol while pregnant is fine.

My doc says no alcohol, and like I said, I'm not really into it anyway, so there i no alcohol for me.

littlegrapey

So far I haven't had a sip of anything since finding out, but I do plan on having a sip or two of DH's during the holidays.

dancegurl1118

Had a glass and a half of red for my birthday last night while out to dinner. Really not concerned, because I will probably not be having another for a long time. The risk of FAS is far lower with small amounts of alcohol than the risk of listeria from sushi and what not (even if I trust an establishment there are always things that can go wrong)...and listeria is fatal most of the time to fetuses.

mindaa

suzysurparis said:

DH does not agree with my viewpoint and throws a hissy fit if I try to drink with him.

I almost got into a fight with DH about this recently. His HS reunion is coming up and I really don't know how I'm going to get through it without alcohol! (not a huge drinker, just a socially awkward introvert)

I mentioned that I'll be in the 2nd Tri, so a few sips throughout the night should be OK... he wasn't having any of that  Grrrr.