- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
October 2011 Moms
drinking and breastfeeding
I have heard so many different opinions about this topic and thought id bring it to the board to see what you all are doing/heard....
Is it true that as long as you dont feel any effects of the alcohol your milk is ok? or if you do have a drink and start feeling buzzed you can feed your child only after the feeling has gone away because its gone out of your milk or do you still need to pump and dump? The LC I talked to said that the alcohol comes in and out of your milk it doesnt stay in it...but other people have said no you must pump and dump....im not planing on getting to wild, but my birthday is in two weeks and I need to get a plan together if im going to have a few drinks....TIA....
This discussion has been closed.
Re: drinking and breastfeeding
If I only have one drink I nurse as usual. I did go out last week and have three strong fall beers (Dogfishhead - my favorite!) between 7 pm - 9 pm so I gave her expressed milk for all of her night feedings, pumped to keep up supply/relieve engorgement and then resumed BFing at her 6 am feeding.
We are going to a wedding this weekend and I plan on doing the same thing.
I think I stay on the cautious side. I just had my first drink in months last night (never looked forward to a beer more!). I waited until DD had fed and was down for the night (8ish) when I knew I could get around 6 hours of sleep out of her and only had one drink. When she woke up at 2 am I just fed her as normal.
I would go with PP though and trust your LC.
This. Alcohol enters and leaves your BM like it does your blood stream.
FWIW, all the research I have done says the safest time to have a drink (but only one) is while you are BFing. It takes at least a half hour for the alcohol to get into your milk, and it is gone within 2-3 hours. If you plan to have several drinks, it is probably best not to nurse LO for 5 or 6 hours. And if you feel drunk or buzzed, don't nurse.
As a rule of thumb, "pump and dump" is really outdated. You only need to do that if you're actually feeling the effects of alcohol in your system and need to express milk right then and there.
Ask yourself if you think you would pass a blood alcohol test - if the answer is no, then you can wait a few hours until you feel sober again to nurse, or like I said, if you're engorged and must relieve yourself immediately, then you should not feed the baby with that milk. But once you feel sober, the milk is fine.
BFP 1/18/11, EDD 10/1/11. Born at 37w5d on 9/15/11.
***BFP Chart***
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.
There are breastfeeding/alcohol calculators online that go off your weight and # of drinks consumed.
You might be surprised at how long it takes for it to leave your system completely if you have more than 1 drink.
I had 2 on Saturday night and the calculator said 4 hrs 53 minutes based on my weight. Of course, it's just an estimate and only a small amount of alcohol even gets into your breastmilk when it IS in your system.... but I'm too paranoid so I waited and gave him expressed milk in the meantime. It basically ruins the enjoyment of a glass of wine for me. Plus DS is erratic in his eating behaviour so I can't just nurse and assume I'm safe for 3 hrs, often he wants to eat again in an hour and a half.
I haven't used it yet, but I got a box of these.
https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3056092
If you haven't used it yet I would see if you can bring it back. The lactation counselors at my breastfeeding class, the hospital class, and the hospital lactation boutique all said they're garbage.
Honestly - the amount of alcohol that enters your milk to begin with is very small - less than in your bloodstream. That's why most people will give you the "safe to drive, safe to breastfeed" spiel. And pp is right - it does take a bit for alcohol to enter your bloodstream anyway (known as the rising defense in DUI cases) which means alcohol doesn't hit its maximum efficacy for 45 minutes and half-lifes itself down from there. I tend to drink while I breastfeed for this reason also. But in general, I wouldn't worry about breastfeeding as long as I wasn't feeling it.
Oh how I love a good beer or nice glass of wine! Victory Brewing is up the road from us & I was the dd for everyone for 9 months, so I'm glad I can partake again! If I drink, I'll have one, maybe two right after pumping (my lo doesn't latch, so I pump all the time). If I have more than that, I go ahead & dump since I express more than he eats & I'm just to nervous about it.
Do what feels right by you & what you're comfortable with!
vtcriddel - we must live close! I am not too far from Victory either.
And, I love a good glass if wine. Helps me relax a little when I'm feeling overwhelmed. I just drink 1 glass and right after I've nursed the LO.