EBF But Would Like To Let Loose At Our Xmas Party

[trimestersdoula]

So here is my dilemma. I would like to have a bit of not-totally-sober fun at our company Christmas party BUT DS refuses to take a bottle. No way, no how can we get him to take it. So, here is my question (please don't judge) but what would be safer for him since he will be nursing as usual. Can I have a drink or a few? What is the limit? What about marijuana and no drinking? Is one safer for him than the other? What are the pros and cons of each. Or am I just being super selfish and I should such it up and just abstain? I really do need some sort of release and letting loose one night worked really well after my DD (not EBF) was born. We own our own business. I am looking after a 2 year old and a 10 week old plus working at our business full time, not to mention looking after our household by myself (DH works a LOT). I feel like I really need a break. I have not had a single drink since August '09 since I ended up with gall bladder issues, had it removed the oldschool way and then found out I was pregnant a week after having surgery, so I don't think it will take much to get me to the point of feeling good lol.
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[TiredX2]

I really don't havecurrent information on the MJ issue--- you should definately ask in the MJ Mommas Tribe if you are interested.

As for alcohol, though, there are really not a lot of concerns with drinking and nursing. The amount of alcohol in your milk will be the same as in yoru blood. So, if you are legally drunk (.08) that means that you will have still have less than .1% alcohol in your blood. I think I read the other day that drunk momma milk is just about equvalent alcohol level as apple juice that has been left in the fridge for a week If you have imbibed enough that your child should NOT be drinking your milk, you should definately not be taking care of a baby and you should probably be hospitalized.

Now, you have to decide how comfortable you are personally with this information. For me, I didn't drink when my kids were young, but drinking is not important to me, kwim.

[CherryBombMama]

the most i have had is two beers. they were the best coronas that i have had in years lol

i used to have such a high tolerance for alcohol, but i found after having two closely spaced pregancies and non stop nursing, that my tolerance dipped to practically nothing. so those two coronas got me pretty seriously buzzed.

maybe you wont have to drink as much as you think?

[dislocator3972]

After DD I had 1/2 a beer and felt pleasantly warmed. lol, I'm almost embarrassed to type that.

I spoke about this with my IBCLC and LLL and the consensus was that if you're sober enough to drive, you're sober enough to breastfeed. If you're unsure, then don't BF.

A baby in CO was brought to the hospital with a blood alcohol content of something-crazy-too-high-to-even-drive. .1something. The article relayed all these interviews with nurses, doctors, etc who said that getting enough alcohol into the baby through breastmilk for the baby's blood alcohol content to be elevated was nearly impossible. Remember all those old wives tales about a thimbleful of whiskey? I think they're all recommending more alcohol than is actually passed through breastmilk, but that's just my opinion.


Could you pump and have someone spoonfeed him or feed him with a shot glass? (the irony of that is too good to pass up -HAH! )

My advice: pump some milk to have on hand just in case. If you're really concerned when it comes down to it, use and eyedropper, shot glass, cup, or spoon. But more than likely, BFing will be fine.

[waiting2bemommy]

Well.....I polished off a decent amount of tanqueray the other night and nursed dd about 3 hrs later and there were no problems. I drank through both pregnancies (just wine coolers/beer though) and throughout the last 3 years of nursing and have never had any issues. I also have noticed that my previously high tolerance for alcohol has diminished. These days I'm buzzing after 3 beers or a couple shots. have fun!

[smeep]

I agree with a PP about "too drunk to drive = too drunk to nurse." Though, IMO, it's because the main problem is you actually caring for a baby while significantly intoxicated moreso than the nursing itself. Have you tried giving your LO some expressed milk via cup or finger feeding? Check out kellymom.com for info on that, as well as on the alcohol issue.

As for MJ, while I agree with the suggestion to ask the mamas in the MJ mamas tribe, I have to say..in my very own personal opinion, I think it's fine. BUT, that's just me. There's really no significant research on it because, for obvious legal reasons, it's considered unethical to do a study on it. Do beware, however, that your LO will test positive for it for a while (I think kellymom lists about how long LO will test positive)...so that is more a matter of trusting those around you. If you have any concern about someone turning you in, or any other reason for a random drug screen, then keep that in mind. If you tested positive, that's one thing, but if baby tests positive, that's a whole other thing. Personally, I think it's BS. I think alcohol is a worse drug than marijuana, but I abstain from MJ because I cannot risk testing positive for some reason (there's a slight chance I may end up in a custody battle when this baby is born), as stupid as I think it may be.

[smeep]

FWIW, I had a glass of wine at my birthday dinner when DS was 5 weeks old WHILE I nursed him at the table at the restaurant....haha. Of course a single glass is considered fine pretty much hands down across the board. When he was a little over a year old I also had several drinks whilst with a friend of mine (this was my first time drinking since said glass of wine over a year prior) and I definitely got mildly drunk. I was going to try and hold off on DS nursing but he just wasn't having it (he nursed "like a baby" for a long long time)...so I nursed him. I honestly didn't feel that it was THAT big of a concern because of his age, but I did make sure to pull him off as soon as he would let me instead of his usual constant snacking...and I did a lot more walking around with him to hold off nursing. Just to be on the safer side.

[hildare]

my personal story:
i've had 3-4 drinks spaced widely at the most. usually because i don't get to not drive, so i stop drinking early and then have water/coffee.
sometimes, though, i have had the drinks close enough together to get a buzz. i always nurse dd when i'm out somewhere. i have NEVER noticed that it affected her in the least through my milk. for me, it's a non issue. i don't think it is harmful, i don't think it makes the baby drunk. i haven't seen any solid evidence to prove otherwise, either.
as for the mj, i sure would LOVE to partake. i know lots of other mamas who do. it doesn't seem to harm the babe, but my dh (bless him) thinks that's a really bad idea and made me promise not to. if it's just on a single occasion, though, if it were me and i hadn't promised not to, i sure would.
i can't ever seem to bring myself to drink more than a little, either.. i don't really know why. i just need to have control to watch the baby, kwim?

[trimestersdoula]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I appreciate it. I almost feel safer having a drink AND a bit of MJ, rather than having a few drinks.
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[TheGirls]

I drank when DD was like 2wks old. I had a margarita. I was going to allow myself two, but was buzzed halfway through the first one so I just drank that one slowly over the course of like 2 hours. It was awesome. She nursed on and off over that couple of hours. It wasn't a big deal. Even my hospital nurse/LC said it was fine. She said the biggest concern with alcohol + breastfeeding was dehydration, so be sure to drink lots of non-alcoholic stuff too, to stay hydrated.

I really don't think that BF while intoxicated is a concern, provided you can still safely hold the child. Even a fair amount of alcohol for mama will not translate into very much for baby. And IME it takes VERY little alcohol to get a new EBF mama feeling good, lol.

I've never looked into MJ, so no info/opinions there, sorry. I'm sure someone will be along with something more valuable.