A break from breastfeeding?

[sabrinacb]

My fiance and I have finally set the date for our wedding and we're really excited, there is just one problem. Our 9 month old babe is allergic to milk and rice (and other allergies that we have yet to figure out) and is still waking 5-6 times a night to nurse. I would like to be able to drink champagne and eat wedding cake at the wedding but I just can't see how I'll be able to because if I eat dairy she'll react to it in my milk.

My plan was to teach her to drink from a sippy cup (she has always refused the bottle) and then pump milk ahead of time for her to drink. This way I could take a few days off of bf after the wedding while the dairy gets out of my bm. She is now refusing the sippy cup and is still barely eating any solids. She also requires nursing in order to fall asleep.

Is there any hope? My wedding is only 2.5 months away. Should I just give up on the idea or can anyone give me some tips?

[P.J.]

As for the cake: get a vegan one, problem solved. Don't know where you are, but most major cities will have a good vegan catering service. Even if not, maybe your caterer will be willing to experiment. I simply use soy milk instead of cow's milk and there you go.

As for the champagne, well....my opinion is probably not a popular one, but I have had a drink or two on several occasions and then BFed my baby.  I really do not think it does any harm on the odd occasion, if you limit yourself to one or two. Even KellyMom and other BFing sites say you can have one glass no problem. If you nurse right before your first glass, and eat right after your second and space them out a bit, you should be fine. I know some other people are more conservative and would never have one drink and certainly not two, but I think two drinks on the odd occasion is really not a big whoop.

If you want to get drunk, however, I would recommend what you're trying already: get her used to either a bottle or sippy cup...or even a regular cup, many babies can drink easily out of a cup if it's held right for them. Have you tried someone else giving it to her? Lots of babies will not take a bottle from mama but from papa instead. Then pump in the days leading up to the wedding and make sure you have enough for the night, and just give her that.

As for nursing to sleep: has your fiance ever tried getting her to sleep? Maybe now is a good time to practice that. It's useful anyway if someone else besides you can get her down. Believe me I know how hard that can be ~DS is 13 months and actually tonight I have an event and I am going to try and be home before his bedtime because DH has a MUCH harder time getting him down without nursing! But there have been those times where he did it, sometime with a fuss and some crying (in DH's arms, NOT CIO!), sometimes more easily. Another idea would be to wait til your baby's asleep to start drinking.

Also, it's useful to know that alcohol will not be in your milk, I think it's 8 hours after you've had a drink. It leaves your milk like it leaves your blood, so the only reason to pump & dump is if your breasts are engorged within those 8 hours. Otherwise, if you can hold out til morning, your milk will be clean.

Have fun and congrats!

[sabrinacb]

Thanks for your help. Its nice to know that I'm not the only one that thinks that having a drink while breastfeeding isn't the end of the world!

[mamazee]

Drinking is fine when BF, particularly with a 9-month-old instead of a newborn. Don't worry about that at all. I'd avoid stuff with dairy though if she has a reaction to it. If you call different bakeries, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a dairy free cake. I know kids with dairy allergies who get dairy free (not necessarily vegan but they're available too) cakes for birthdays without much trouble, and they taste great.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by sabrinacb 

Thanks for your help. Its nice to know that I'm not the only one that thinks that having a drink while breastfeeding isn't the end of the world!

So very little alcohol enters your milk (less than in your blood, so less than 0.1%!) that the issue really is not alcohol getting to the baby, but mama being too drunk to parent. If mom feels ok to parent then she's ok to nurse!

[mamadiamond]

you can also buy test strips at most drug stores that you put a drop of bm on and it tells you if it is safe levels of alcohol in it to nurse baby.

my dd also refused bottle and sippy, but will drink from a regular cup if i hold it. she is 11 months and i taught her to use a cup about 6 weeks ago. doesn't help at bedtime, but allows me to drink at parties (if i'll want more than a glass or two).

and vegan cakes are awesome. i had to cut out dairy, for my dd's allergies, and in baked goods i don't notice that it's not there. if you're ordering the cake, any decent bakery should be able to do a vegan version, or even a vegan tier so guests don't all have to eat the vegan one. and if you're making it or a friend is making it, there are some fantastic vegan recipes online...spicy chocolate vegan cheesecake is my favorite, and i used to be a dairy fiend.

[mamazee]

I have to say I'm skeptical of these test strips. My understanding is that they are made by formula companies, and err on the side of "you should give formula instead of breastfeeding." The fact is that even drunk people have only a very small blood alcohol level (the legal definition of "drunk" is 0.1%), and the level of alcohol in breast milk is the same as the level of alcohol in the blood, and on top of that it is metablolized as quickly as in the blood, so that level doesn't last long either.

[sabrinacb]

I'd be curious to try the test strip just to see how they work. The problem with my drinking is that my babe has very unpredictable night wakings. I could nurse her to sleep and then have a drink but she may wake up 30mins later and require me to nurse her back asleep again. I'm going to try to get my husband to try to rock her to sleep, at least then if she wakes up and I'm unale to nurse she has another way of falling asleep.

[Megan73]

Congratulations!
I personally think it would be fine to have a glass of champagne - or even several - then nurse a 9 month old. As PPs have said, the level of alcohol in your milk is the same as in your blood. You could be too drunk to drive legally and have a BAC the same as near beer. You're unlikely to drink THAT much champagne I suspect.
A vegan cake will really not be hard to find.
My concern with "taking a few days off" from breastfeeding is it could really tank your supply.
Also, given that you have 2.5 months before the wedding, could grandma or another trusted caregiver have some practice runs for getting your babe to sleep? My older son always nursed to sleep at that age but DH and grandma could bounce or rock to sleep with no problem with a little practice.
It would be nice for you and your new husband to be able to enjoy a single night alone given that it's your wedding night and your LO will be almost a year old.