Wine every night

If she's feeding more than 2 hours after drinking the wine, her milk will be clear.

I’m not a drinker but fourteen glasses of wine a week while breastfeeding? I haven’t googled but I think that would concern me enough to check what (if any) alcohol is acceptable for a wee baby to be taking in their milk.

If you're EBF should you be drinking 2 glasses of wine a night? I didn't drink while I was breastfeeding but don't know what the guidelines are! It does sound like it could creep up on you and you're possibly drinking more than the recommended units per week. I would try having a few nights per week without drinking - treat yourself to a nice soak in lovely bubble bath and a herbal tea or some sparkling grape juice.

On mumsnet, eating crap seems to be more acceptable than drinking, which is a tad hypocritical

Try lots of no alcohol substitutes.

Change your wine glasses to 125ml.

Add other wee treats as substitutes.

Wine in any more than a very small amount seems to be now accepted as carcinogenic. This, more than the dependency issue, has made me reduce what I drink a lot in the last few years.

Totally get you. It’s how I got through my 30s and 40s, the stresses of work and caring responsibilities for kids and parents

Im now my 50s and due to weight gain I’ve given up most wine and am replacing the endorphins with the exercise bike.

Im worried that the wine over the years has damaged my memory and brain power but it might just be meno- brain fog, hard to know. It’s definitely not a good calorie source though, I’d try to start a better habit if you can

I don’t drink booze at home ever, but I feel the same about chocolate and snacks as you do about wine. Once the children are in bed and I finally sit down and relax I just associate it with something nice to demolish whether it’s biscuits, bar of chocolate, Pringles. It’s now become habit.

I agree it's a dependency issue, but I dont agree that it will always lead to drinking more and more. I know many people (including myself) who enjoy only a glass a night and can stop there. It really depends on the person.

Honestly, I was the same on maternity leave and still do love a glass of wine. For me it wasn’t the alcohol, it represented my chill time once baby was in bed and I could relax!

I got into this habit so decided to stop drinking for a month and it changed my habits a lot. I also found that it helps to replace that thing to look forward to though so something good on tv, a call to a friend, a nice dinner or pudding.

What happened to your friend?

Sorry but this is wrong. People who drink 2 bottles of wine a night didn’t start out drinking 2 bottles a night. It starts with a glass, or two, that you feel you can’t do without. Over time the volume increases, and that’s when people think they might have a problem. In reality, it doesn’t matter if it’s 1 glass or 2 bottles - what matters is the dependency. The looking forward to it so much that it’s all you think about all day. The fact you need to make a conscious effort NOT to have that drink. People that don’t have a problem, don’t give that much headspace to having a drink.

I’m a recovering alcoholic myself btw.

Drinking a cold glass of white wine, whilst cooking dinner, with some music or an episode of Friends on in the background truly is a delicious way to spend an evening though, so I get you OP. Its the situation I'm most likely to fancy a glass of wine in too, you aren't alone.

Two glasses a night is a significant amount, particularly if they are generous glasses. You’re probably very easily hitting if not exceeding the recommended weekly units for women. Combined with recent recognition that no amount of alcohol is good for you, particularly when it comes to things like breast cancer, you are potentially storing up problems for the future. Your choice.

I just don't really want to as it's my down time!

• You are already justifying to yourself why you ‘deserve’ wine every night.

• The fact that it’s a ‘concerted effort’ to not drink tonight is also something you should seriously think about.

It really does creep up on you from ‘just a harmless glass or two each night’ to not being able to stop if your life depended on it.

I think when you are home with small kids and all of your previous life has been put totally on hold it can be easy to see a glass or two of wine as the only 'high' in your schedule... like the only thing to look forward to. Given you are basically living to take care of another human being, I think it can feel like the only thing that's 'for you'. Whether it's a problem or not depends entirely on your character to be honest. I have found it's quite hard to get back down to what i would consider normal consumption (ie a couple of glasses, a couple of times a week rather than most days) because I am still unable to consistently do the thing that made me not want to drink, which is exercise.

I'm sorry to hear about your mum but you can pretty much guarantee she didn't start out drinking 2 bottles of wine a night.

I think the fact you're asking questions about it shows that you know it could escalate.

The down and out, fall down drunk didn't start out that way and alcohol consumption usually only increases (our brains trick us to continually chase the feeling of that first drink)

It's incredibly addictive and we have much less control over it than we think.

I abstained during pregnancy and breastfeeding, did DJ every year, didn't drink everyday etc yet I had a very dysfunctional relationship with alcohol. I'm 3 years teetotal.

Yes 2 bottles a night is of course a problem. 1 glass really isnt.

It's empty calories and more units than recommended. It's not ok, really, which you know.

An alcoholic can be someone who only drinks a relatively small amount per day.

Wine 🤢
But agree with others, the dependency could creep up very quickly.
Grumpy teetotaler here.

One 175ml class of medium strength wine is 2.3 units. You are drinking more than twice the limit recommended every week.

I had a bit of a problem with drinking as a late teen/early 20s. It mostly links to poor mental health and a lot of self loathing.

I have to be careful that it doesn't turn into my default option. I ask myself do I want a drink or do I need a drink? Do I want to enjoy a cold lager/cider in the sun or a glass of wine whilst watching TV or do I need a drink of anything whilst I make dinner? If the latter I have I think about what's going on with myself.