drinking and breast feeding- thoughts/experience

brooklyngirl18 · October 2014

@wildflower75 's thread about drinking reminded me that i wanted to start a thread about breast feeding and drinking. i know there's lots of conflicting information/opinions out there but i was wondering what you ladies were planning on doing. not drink at all? pump and dump? test the milk? i would also love to hear any s+tm experience.

absolutelymaybe · October 2014

I'm glad you asked this question. It's one I've been thinking about but wasn't sure who to ask or how to ask it (without seeming like a total lush).

brooklyngirl18 · October 2014

absolutelymaybe said:

I'm glad you asked this question. It's one I've been thinking about but wasn't sure who to ask or how to ask it (without seeming like a total lush).

LOL! i should've prefaced this by saying i mean occasional drinking- i'm not talking about pounding shots then feeding my baby.

erinwithtwins · October 2014

My untested FTM plan is to Test the milk and pump and dump if necessary. Of course this is based on hopefully not having milk production issues

Dimples0101 · October 2014

Our pedi said that I can have a glass of wine a night and still be fine nursing. If I want to indulge more than that, I will just test my milk. I'm not a fan of pumping and dumping only because I work so hard for that milk. I'm not just going to throw it away (unless I have to). With DD, I would only tie one on if I had a supply built up, just in case. I then wouldn't nurse or pump until my milk tested okay. I didn't drink much for the first few months after DD was born because I still had blood pressure issues and just didn't feel great. I assume I won't drink much in the beginning this time around either, but I am so looking forward to being able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner again.

mexinugget · October 2014

I really didn't drink much after ds was born. Honestly i prob didn't have my first drink until he was about three months old. It's not that i didn't want to, but he was breastfeeding so frequently around the clock it just wasn't convenient or worth it to drink. I could have pumped and used that, but i pumped and stored in my freezer. I was a pretty paranoid first time mom. This time around i'm a lot more laid back and will prob have a drink every now and then without concern. By drink i mean one glass of wine or one beer. If i plan on having more than that i will feed pumped milk. I believe you're supposed to wait one hour for every drink you have for it to metabolize and not be in your milk. Double check that as i'm not positive, but i did have a friend who's pediatrician said if she was having one glass of wine or beer with dinner she was fine to breastfeed after that.

jac409 · October 2014

A glass of wine or a beer at night is fine. I always tried to wait until after I had nursed to have one so there would be time for it to get out of my system before I had to nurse again. I only pumped and dumped a couple of times when I was out for a special occasion or something where I wanted to have a bit more to drink...a wine festival, for example. When I knew something like that was coming up I would try to pump extra the week before to make up for whatever I dumped.

howin23 · October 2014

My hubby recently said (half jokingly) that my push present will be a few boxes of test strips so that I can enjoy my wine without worrying. That's my plan.

wildflower75 · October 2014

For me it was all about being on a schedule and timing my drinking accordingly (like what @AmyG said) or just opting not to drink. I didn't pump and dump until DD was 5 or 6 months and we were in Atlantic City for the weekend. It also makes a difference how often you are feeding / pumping... DD started sleeping through the night before she was 2 months and so I knew once she was asleep I had some time to rearrange pumping times. That being said, I waited at least a month or so before having my first drink because I wanted to be sure that we were on a consistent feeding schedule (this does not work for all babies).

mrsodonnell12 · October 2014

I'm not a drinker. I have a drink or two a year......

General rule is If you are ok to drive you are ok to nurse. Don't pump and dump!

mb314 · October 2014

I had a glass of wine with dinner most nights when breast feeding. I didn't get drunk. Timing can be hard because particularly smaller babies can breastfeed all the time. But I drank slowly. When DS1 was older DNS slept longer and had a more predictable schedule I would maybe have 2 glasses some nights. I rarely pumped and dumped. On New Years I did and maybe one other special occasion. It was a pain and I generally just moderated so I didn't need to pump And dump.

brooklyngirl18 · October 2014

ClrkKntismyAE said:

Safe to drive safe to nurse.

What I usually did when I wanted a drink is either wait for DD to fall asleep (once she was sleeping more at night) or drink when she started a nursing session. That way it was too early for the alcohol to hit my breast milk and I had the longest time possible before she wanted to nurse again.

Here is what LLLI and KellyMom have to say on the subject.

This is really interesting. We had someone from LLL come to my office to talk about breastfeeding and when someone asked about drinking, the leader totally discouraged it and said the occasional half glass of wine on a special occasion was ok but otherwise refrain entirely. thanks for sharing

JFH2010 · October 2014

I stuck with the adage, ok to drive, ok to nurse. I also enjoyed happy hour where I would nurse & drink at the same time - it's the best in terms of minimizing the alcohol in your milk, and it also makes for a nice relaxing evening nursing session

When he was older sometimes I'd pump & dilute, as Amy suggested.

I can't remember the last time I tied one on but I'm pretty sure it was before kids, lol. The 5am toddler wake-up with a hangover doesn't sound even remotely worth it.

Dimples0101 · October 2014

JFH2010 said:

I stuck with the adage, ok to drive, ok to nurse. I also enjoyed happy hour where I would nurse & drink at the same time - it's the best in terms of minimizing the alcohol in your milk, and it also makes for a nice relaxing evening nursing session When he was older sometimes I'd pump & dilute, as Amy suggested. I can't remember the last time I tied one on but I'm pretty sure it was before kids, lol. The 5am toddler wake-up with a hangover doesn't sound even remotely worth it.

That's what overnight sitters are for @JFH2010.

DH and I realized last December that the only times we had gotten an overnight sitter was for a wedding, birthday party, Holiday party, etc...always an event with drinks. We had an overnight sitter when I was pregnant this time around and it was heaven to just sleep! LOL!

so72409 · October 2014

I found that I really had no desire to drink after the girls were born anyway. In fact, I probably "craved" it less than when I was pregnant. I had an occasional beer/glass of wine here or there, but like others have mentioned, it was usually right after I fed/pumped, so by the time it was feed time again it was out of my system. My LC told me, 'if you're okay to drive, it's okay to feed to baby.'

I also probably didn't have my first PP drink until the girls were 2 1/2-3 months old; not because I was making a conscience effort not to, just because life revolved around feeding them and it didm' t even appeal to me. Everyone is different, though!!

abbyful · October 2014

Safe to drive, safe to nurse

The alcohol content in breastmilk is the same as your blood alcohol content. If you are legally drunk (.08% in most states), your breastmilk still has less alcohol than fruit juices (<.10%).

CPM13 · October 2014

I'm not a huge volume drinker so I did mostly what @amyg* said. I probably had a glass of wine most nights, while breastfeeding around dinner time. I was also told the "If you don't feel drunk it's ok to BF them" and I also found the test strips were really inaccurate.

I felt like when we were in the thick of overnight feedings I was too tired for more than a glass anyway, and by the time I was leaving DD for longer periods of time (a wedding, for example) I was able to pump at the beginning of the night and then didn't usually need to pump again until I was sober. It was just one night every month or two (after DD was about 4 months) so it had zero affect on my supply.

mrsvoy · October 2014

I'm in the "don't pump and dump" camp! It's pretty silly to do so unless you're super engorged. My husband is a pedi and has always told me that if I'm ok to drive I'm ok to nurse.

Livingthemommylife · October 2014

I know I waited a few months until the baby slept for a good few hours straight before drinking a small glass of wine. Then I would drink right after I nursed and baby fell asleep so that most or all was out of my system before nursing again. I probably won't be back to my once a night glass of wine until baby is much older, maybe 1.5 or 2 yrs old. I breastfed my last one till he was 2.5 and I didn't drink much while he was still a little babe.

SweetMelissa5 · October 2014

As far as pumping and dumping, you don't need to do it to get rid of the alcohol in your breastmilk (it will dissipate at the same rate as it leaves your blood), but you might need to do it to maintain your supply if it's at a time you normally nurse. As for how long to wait to nurse the baby after drinking, I found this link after I had my first, and I've used it as a guideline with each of my kids.

https://www.realtechmom.com/alcohol-and-breastfeeding/

staugustinewedding · October 2014

lissydee said:
and I am TOTALLY having wine or champagne right after birth. Like when I am done with recovery and back at home (I get to leave after a few hours).

THIS!!!

Ineedmorecoffee · October 2014

Pumping and dumping does not work to get rid of alcohol in the milk. Alcohol metabolizes through breast milk as it does in blood. The only thing is if you are away from baby during a feeding, you may need to pump and dump to relive yourself from being engorged.

I have drank a beer or two as soon as I was done feeding my son and it has been fine. I agree with PP, sober enough to drive, sober enough to BF.

Melissa2216 · October 2014

The only time I really drank when I was BFing DS was when I went to a friend's wedding. I pumped in the car on the way to the reception while DH drove. We brought an ice pack with us. By the time I got home, I was pretty sober but to play it safe, we bottle-fed him with pumped milk for his next feeding. I can't remember, but I guess I either skipped that feeding altogether (no pumping) or pumped a little bit later.

snarkylibrarian · October 2014

Love you ladies! I have been telling my husband that I want him to smuggle in a beer and a rare steak for my push present. He thinks I am joking, but I am dead serious.

highbornhunter · October 2014

FTM mom here - but I'm glad to hear you guys saying the same thing the instructor at my breastfeeding class said. I was quite surprised because other moms I knew either completely abstained from drinking while they were breastfeeding, or pumped and dumped.

Hooray I can have beer!

MrsDL · October 2014

Ineedmorecoffee said:

Pumping and dumping does not work to get rid of alcohol in the milk. Alcohol metabolizes through breast milk as it does in blood. The only thing is if you are away from baby during a feeding, you may need to pump and dump to relive yourself from being engorged. I have drank a beer or two as soon as I was done feeding my son and it has been fine. I agree with PP, sober enough to drive, sober enough to BF.

This. It seems to be a common misconception that alcohol will stay in breast milk so you have to pump and dump to get rid of it. Like pp have said, it enters and exits breast milk like blood stream (you don't pump and dump your blood when you drink). The only reason for it is if you have some sort of occasion where you drink a whole lot and you are engorged.

With DS, I drank right after nursing (once he wasn't cluster nursing anymore). I did have the test strips just because it made me feel better to use them (everyone metabolizes alcohol a little differently). If you become engorged quickly or are attending an occasion where you might have more than a glass or two of something, you can pump and dump just enough so that you are comfortable, but not a full pumping. My supply was pretty high the first few weeks once established and I became engorged quick, a few times I expressed just a little bit to feel more comfortable.

venussapphire · October 2014

I'm a STM and I breastfed DD for 19 months so here is what I think: I go by if your safe to drive you are safe to breastfeed. I would just time my glass of wine or drink (1oz of booze in it) for right after I had breastfed. I would normally only have one drink sometimes two, but they would be spread out.

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