Xmas, alcohol and expressing

[vmcd28]

Ok, so my ds2 is 18 days old, and I'm currently bfeeding him. What I'm wondering about is how to express enough milk to last Xmas Day...?
So I have 17 days to get a supply of expressed milk - can anyone let me know how to achieve this? When is the best time to express? How often should I express without worrying about supply increasing too much? Once a day?

Another question - I have been told by tge midwife and have also read online that alcohol is not "stored" in breast milk, ie the levels in breast milk follow the same rules as if we were driving - in other words a small glass of wine is fine, and would be out of the milk an hour or so after drinking.
But what I'm confused about is they say you can have some wine a couple of times a week, but WHY can't we have a small glass, wait two hours, feed baby, have another small glass, wait two hours, feed baby, then have another small glass? That way there would be no alcohol getting to the baby, but I could have wine on Xmas Day without expressing? I'm maybe missing something obvious.

[tiktok]

Eeek - no need to bother! Expressing enough for a day is a massive task, esp with a new baby, and then you will need to express on the day itself in order to remain remotely comfortable, and to ensure continued supply.

Your midwife is right, and you are, too. Of course you can have a glass of wine every 1.5 to 2 hours, and there will be no alcohol in your milk, because it is processed at the same rate 'out' of your milk as it is 'out' of your blood. Some mothers don't worry about 'timing' anyway - the amount of alcohol actually in the milk is tiny.

Where have you read 'couple of times a week' only? Not correct - are you confusing the advice for pregnancy with the advice for bf?

Honestly, IMO you'd be mad to express for Xmas day. Just bf as normal and enjoy a sociable amount of alcohol :)

[MoonUnitAlpha]

I'm one of those mother's that's never worried about timing! I'm quite happy to have a couple of drinks at Sunday lunch for example and just feed the baby whenever he wants it - will do the same at Christmas.

If I'm going on a night out, I feed before bedtime, the baby has abottle at 11pm, and then I feed him again about 5am. This is mainly because I don't want to sleep in the same bed as the baby after drinking though, so I'd rather sleep in the spare room and then get up and feed hyim at 5.

[Woodlands]

i have been taking the approach that such a tiny amount gets into the milk i'm not going to worry too much - i just drink at a sensible level. i reckon that if you stick to the 14 units a week women shouldn't go over anyway you'll be fine.

tiktok, i think the standard nhs advice says no more than one or two units once or twice a week: www.nhs.uk/Planners/breastfeeding/Pages/breastfeeding-diet.aspx. but on your advice, and that of our local infant feeding coordinator, i am ignoring that! my baby seems to be thriving.

[tiktok]

Yep - thanks for the link Woodlands. I think they have got that wrong. What they say is not evidence-based.

[tiktok]

That NHS advice would only make sense if there was a build-up of alcohol in the milk, and there isn't.

[Zimm]

I've also thought the NHS advice was bizarre for the reasons stated by others. Glad tiktok agrees! Perhaps it is because the NHS don't trust to make decisions for ourselves and so have issued their usual over the top, blanket guidance. Prob more dangerous to drink and formula feed as you risk not making it up correctly!

[tiktok]

LOL at Zimm - one shcoop, two er three er two shcoopsh.....

[TruthSweet]

When talking to women about alcchol and bfing I always stress the importance of having a sober person on hand to give mum the baby and observe her feed then remove baby to let mum go back to sleep. This is if mum is talking about going out and getting absolutely blotto not asking 'can I have a glass of wine with dinner?'.

I also stress that if they were to get drunk whilst being a ffing mum they would still need a sober person on hand to prepare feeds/watch mum didn't pass out giving the bottle/etc. Too drunk to breastfeed is too drunk to ffed (and possibly too drunk to be at home and not hospital).