2ww and alcohol

[JMJ]

I'm not opposed to a little bit of alcohol before conception, but once my baby's feeding on me, I think that the first trimester at least, I'd rather be alcohol-free.  I know that for the first 7-10 days before implantation, the baby is not connected to me at all, so my BAC wouldn't affect him/her at all.  I've kinda been assuming that post-implantation, alcohol's not a good idea if there's a chance I'm pregnant.  Does anybody know anything more about when BAC would actually start affecting the embryo?

[StephandOwen]

Curious about this too. There's a chance I'll be pregnant for our wedding/honeymoon coming up, but I won't know until the end of our honeymoon. I would like to drink (not get totally hammered every night, but a fruity drink on the beach here and there would be nice). My doctor told me that any drinking before you find out your pregnant is not a problem (assuming you don't find out you're pregnant at, like, 20 weeks or something like that!). But I have no research to back that one up....

[JMJ]

I found a couple links that say it's a problem:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8672179

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh21-4/287.pdf

The first one, the mice were hammered.  The second one, it sounds like they're mostly talking about 3-6 weeks past ovulation and beyond, though it's not really clear if it's 3-6 weeks past ovulation or 3-6 weeks gestation (1-4 weeks past ovulation).

I've been in breastfeeding amennorhea for almost 21 months, and we were TTC as soon as we could, but I've been "fertile" according to my chart for 3 months straight, and we didn't really know when I would actually ovulate.  Well, my chart looks like I did, and Christmas is 8 DPO.  This is after I asked our dinner guests on Christmas to bring a bottle of wine, and after I argued to my sister that I do drink wine too (we're seeing her a few days after Christmas), so if I don't have at least a little bit, I may have some explaining to do, but I'd really rather face the awkwardness than hurt my baby (if I have one).

[aleatha5]

I've always wondered about this too, I think that if you are getting wasted before your baby has implanted it would just not implant if it was too much alcohol for the baby (a missed miscarriage).  But, if the alcohol is in your body, it is in your every cell, it doesn't just stay in your blood or anything like that.  Also, doctors typically say to abstain from drinking after you ovulate (and not after you find out you are pregnant).  That being said, I know some people who were partyers who didn't stop drinking until they found out they were pregnant (and for one lady that was 16 weeks!) and all of their babies were fine.  That being said, I give up alcohol when there is any chance I could get pregnant in a month because for me it is not worth the risk and the nine months of worry that I would cause myself.  You'll be able to drink after the baby is safely here and nursed through the most critical months and it will be even better because it will be worry free!

[musicoholic]

I drank a bottle plus a piccolo of sparkling wine by myself (which worked out to about 5 or 6 glasses in just over 2 hours) to celebrate finally finishing my degree in April 2004.  A week later I found out I was pregnant.  

My son turns 6 today.   He is in perfect health (apart from the eczema which he gets from DH's side) - and was identified as gifted when he was 3.

That said....  I still feel HORRIBLY guilty every time I think about that wine, and what could have been the opposite outcome.  I don't drink very much at all, or even very often (even when I'm having a "big night" - that might be 2 glasses of red!!) - but now I do abstain from alcohol during the 2ww.

Still waiting to abstain for 9 months....

[femmeknitzi]

I also have a friend that had a rare episode of binge drinking at a sci-fi con the weekend before she discovered she was pregnant and she had a healthy baby. But she wasn't TTC so it was a total surprise. I think your body can compensate for something like that. Its probably the steady 2-3 drink-a-day folks that might have a problem. Since I'm TTC, I've decided to avoid all meds, toxins and booze during the 2ww. It's kind of a bummer though. I was prepared to give up my beautiful malty craft beers for 9 months but I didn't even think about having to give them up 2 weeks out of each month while we're trying. LOL :)

[Vegan Princess]

DH and I went away for the weekend when I was 7-8 dpo before I found out I was preg w/DD. We had a few bottles of wine! She is fine and quite bright. From someone who tried for 6 months before conceiving her and has now been trying for 6 months, I definitely do no give up wine in the 2 week wait. I feel it is totally fine the first week. And I also feel that as long as I am getting negative tests (and I test early and often) that I doubt I am harming someone who may have been attached to me for a day. If it is close to AF and I'm not sure, I do abstain. I once heard "drink till it's pink" - and that is my motto. Besides, drinking now means a glass of wine - maybe another 1/2 glass if I'm feeling crazy. So it's not like I'm downing an entire bottle of wine like I did before I had a kid. LOL!

Cindy

[MountainMamaGC]

After TTC for over a year now I no longer care. It already affects my life enough and I really dont think reasonable consumption in the 2WW will do anything. So I am of the "Drink unless the HPT is pink" group.

[Stevi]

I will not do anything, even remotely iffy for a developing fetus during the TWW, and do very little during the first part of my cycles. I don't ever want to be in the "what if" category.

[LovingBaby]

I wouldn't listen to the stories where the mommas drank because they didn't know they were pregnant, and their children turned out fine stories.  lol  If you are at all unsure research fetal alcohol syndrome and decide for yourself if the risk is worth it.  They really don't know how much alcohol is safe, or when it would be safe.  And considering so much happens during the first few months I personally would think that to be the worst time to indulge.  

That being said, I may have some (one glass of) wine during the 2ww.  When we first started ttc I wouldn't have any during the 2ww. . .  And I try to plan my girl's nights/party nights during the waiting to O period, and if its near the end of the 2ww I will POAS!  lol

[JMJ]

I'm leaning towards not having any and just trying to not make a big deal about it so nobody will really pay attention to if I'm drinking.  I got pregnant in one cycle last time we tried, and it's definitely looking like I did actually ovulate.  My temp has been rising steadily, and at 5 DPO, I'm .6F above the highest of my pre-shift 6, and we BD on peak day and some other days before and after, so it's reasonably likely that I might be pregnant.  The temperature rise is looking promising.  Here's hoping my LP is long enough since it's my first PP ovulation.

I agree that just because somebody else drank, and their baby turned out fine doesn't mean it's a good idea, and maybe if I thought the probability that I was pregnant was lower, I wouldn't worry so much, but given that I think the probability is pretty high, I'm going to play it safe.  I don't want to wonder if I had a missed miscarriage.