I drink and breastfeed - Page 2

[lilbsmama]

Yay! I'm not alone!

[phathui5]

TiredX2, I'm going to be quoting you often.

[Jennyanydots]

Awesome thread! I thought I was the only one!
I'm pg now and in the throes of morning sickness, so even the thought of alcohol turns my stomach, but after this passes I'll still enjoy the occasional beer or glass of wine... And I totally agree that moderate drinking is fine while bf

[spughy]

Originally Posted by Jennyanydots 

Awesome thread! I thought I was the only one!
I'm pg now and in the throes of morning sickness, so even the thought of alcohol turns my stomach, but after this passes I'll still enjoy the occasional beer or glass of wine... And I totally agree that moderate drinking is fine while bf

While I was having major nausea in my first tri (I'm nearly 16 weeks now, nausea gone thank goodness!) sometimes the ONLY thing I wanted was beer.  Something about the light dose of carbs and the bitterness really helped settle my tummy, especially while I was cooking dinner - a task that otherwise made me want to hurl.  So I would have a half bottle of beer and leave the rest for my DH.  It wasn't enough to even feel it, alcohol-wise, but it sure felt good going down.  I really doubt that half a bottle of beer once or twice a week would do my baby any harm, and if it let me eat a more nutritious dinner, then it probably even did some good.

And after my DD was born, many years ago, I had bad PPD - but one thing that saved my sanity was post-baby-group "luncheons" at a friends house.  We would sit in her living room, dump all our babies in the middle of the floor, and drink wine and giggle at their antics.  It was SUCH a great release.  We were all breastfeeding, too.  Thank goodness for a great municipal transit system!

[miilemons]

Originally Posted by TiredX2 

I generally didn't drink alcohol while nursing because alcohol is just not a big part of my life (I did drink at BIL's rehearsal dinner because that was a train wreck of a marriage!).  That said, I really encourage people to try and put the "risks" of alcohol to a baby in perspective.

An average beer has about 5% alcohol.

When you nurse, your milk has approximately the same alcohol concentration as your blood.  If you were drunk, that would mean about .08% alcohol.  If you're drinking lightly, then, let's call that .05%.

You know what has .5% alcohol content?  NON-alcoholic beer.  So, your milk after drinking has about 1/10th the alcohol has a non-alcoholic beer.

If you were legally drunk, a single beer would still have 63 TIMES the alcohol content as 12 ounces of your drunken milk.  Since most children don't drink 12 ounces at once, a single beer would have approximately 200 TIMES the alcohol as a 3-4 ounce serving of breastmilk.

There are 6 teaspoons in an ounce.  There are 12 ounces in a standard beer.  So, 72 teaspoons in a standard beer bottle.  So, nursing your child *while drunk* is equivalent to giving them around 1/3 teaspoon of standard beer. 

And that is while drunk.

Alchol is metabolized from breastmilk at approximately the same rate as from the blood.  For many people, you can have a drink and your blood will be virtually alcohol free an hour later.  If you have a drink, it is virtually guaranteed that your breastmilk will be alcohol free two hours later.

It always amazes me how people will accept the known risks of formula without a second thought but would look down on someone for having a couple of drinks and nursing four hours later. 

thank you so much for this

[MrsGregory]

I never posted when I originally saw this thread, but I just want to say that because of this thread, I am now enjoying large, large glasses of wine at night.  This may have saved my marriage.  (That last bit is a slight exaggeration.)

[thegoodearth]

I just want to say I think this thread is great. Thank you for starting it. I'm doing things so much differently this second time around. Cheers

[eirual]

I was at a wedding and nursing just before dinner came and the champagne dude passed right over me. I was sitting next to a kid, so initially I wondered if he got our glasses confused, but then I realized he skipped me because I was nursing. The next server who came around went to do the same an I piped up that I would, in fact, like some wine.

I didn't realize this was actually something people would consider wrong. Competent parenting would be more of a concern than tainted breastmilk.

[BabySmurf]

Originally Posted by eirual 

I was at a wedding and nursing just before dinner came and the champagne dude passed right over me. I was sitting next to a kid, so initially I wondered if he got our glasses confused, but then I realized he skipped me because I was nursing. The next server who came around went to do the same an I piped up that I would, in fact, like some wine.

I didn't realize this was actually something people would consider wrong. Competent parenting would be more of a concern than tainted breastmilk.

I would give that a pass though; most people aren't going to be familiar with the logistics of things unless they themselves are nursing, or have been nursing recently

[Krystallina]

I used to drink a lot before I got pregnant. For many months during my pregnancy and first months of breastfeeding, I didn't drink at all. Now I occasionaly have one-two beers or one-two glasses of wine. It feels great to share it with my man. It reminds us of how we met. It feels good to know other women do this too!
 

[Laura87]

my two cents-

great post

i dont drink BUT i had my tubes tyed when my DS was 3 months. i was put to sleep but when i woke and saw my daughter and how much she wanted my milk i BFed in the recovery room. the nurses were like " NO BF for 12 hours!" I was like no way my baby will not understand. i trusted my gut. nothing interesting happened. the nurses called me at home the next day and said " was the baby ok?" Yeah, no change what so ever, didn't even nap longer :) that was 4 months ago

so much misinformation!

[ilovetchotchkes]

I too have a glass of wine a week. Not more than that because I'm a lightweight (for my weight. I weigh darn near 230 lbs and I can't handle my liquor its hysterical). :) 

I fly by the philosophy  "if you are legally Ok to drive, you are OK to nurse. " this has been my doctor's and midwive's  philosophy as well. :) 

[moving toward]

I had a beer every night while nursing dd - I was going to wait a few months before doing same with ds now 11 days old. Maybe I won't wait now !

[Katherine73]

My saving grace the first couple weeks of DS's life was my nightly soak in the bathtub with a cold Mike's Hard Lemonade. 

[jess_paez]

right on mama!

[MsCCM]

Best thread ever.

I remember when DD was a baby... On Friday nights after I got her to sleep, DH and I would grab our pizza or nachos and set up for a good movie on the sofa, beers in hand. I was mortified the night she woke up crying when I was 1/2-way through my beer but nursed her anyways. I called my doctor the next day and she laughed and told me I shouldn't have worried even if I'd just finished the whole thing.

I wish every woman knew this... it seems like the hardest-dying myth ever. I know a woman who actually pumped and dumped, as she called it, to get "rid of the alcoholic milk." 

[susanghappymom]

I'm not disagreeing that it's okay to drink in moderation while nursing, but wanted to share my experience, and why I quit drinking (for the most part) during nursing.

I planned to nurse until my daughter self-weaned (which she did at a quite advanced age).  I'd drink in moderation, but one evening as I was cracking open a beer after confirming we'd go out on the porch and nurse in our rocking chair, my 1 year old, who was just learning to speak, said Nooooooooo! with an anguished voice.  I said What???  She said "Yuckyyyyy!" After a few exchanges, it became clear that not only could she taste the alcohol in my breastmilk, but that she found it distasteful.  I set that beer aside in deference to her.  I always wanted nursing to be a comforting experience for her, of course! and it clearly was not after even one beer!  I consider it one small and temporary sacrifice of parenting.  Again, am certainly not telling others what to do.

[spughy]

That's interesting.  I nursed my DD until she was 3 - and fully conversational.  A couple of times I asked her if my milk ever changed flavour and she said "no".  She certainly never showed any objection to my milk after I'd had a drink.  Maybe it's different for different people... more or less stuff "comes through"?  NOW she says I should have eaten more spicy stuff while I was pregnant and breastfeeding so she could like it more now, LOL.

[ali171]

I have a drink most nights and I still nurse. ( I didn't drink when I was co-sleeping though). Since I learned that blood alcohol level= milk alcohol level I was not concerned about it. Also, my naturopath and the LLL encouraged me to drink dark beer to increase my milk supply because hops can have that effect. I drink in public and nurse and no one has ever called me on it. My husbands side of the family is full of doctors and they are often the ones offering me the drinks at family events. I think this issue is maybe becoming more normalized. I have had a few people ask me about it and I have educated them. No one seems to judge me negatively... so far. So sad that some of you stopped breastfeeding because of this. Please don't feel guilty about it though, I am sure you are awesome moms who made up for the shortened breast feeding in other ways, like extra love.

[ali171]

Originally Posted by susanghappymom 

I'm not disagreeing that it's okay to drink in moderation while nursing, but wanted to share my experience, and why I quit drinking (for the most part) during nursing.

I planned to nurse until my daughter self-weaned (which she did at a quite advanced age).  I'd drink in moderation, but one evening as I was cracking open a beer after confirming we'd go out on the porch and nurse in our rocking chair, my 1 year old, who was just learning to speak, said Nooooooooo! with an anguished voice.  I said What???  She said "Yuckyyyyy!" After a few exchanges, it became clear that not only could she taste the alcohol in my breastmilk, but that she found it distasteful.  I set that beer aside in deference to her.  I always wanted nursing to be a comforting experience for her, of course! and it clearly was not after even one beer!  I consider it one small and temporary sacrifice of parenting.  Again, am certainly not telling others what to do.

Do you remember what kind of beer you were drinking? ie. brand, flavour etc? I have not noticed any reactions from my son but perhaps there is a type of beer to be avoided.