AIBU to drink and breastfeed?

[mrsseashell]

DS is 15 months, doesn't feed during the day but does wake four or five times in the night for milk. Could I have more than one drink on Xmas day, or would it get into my milk?

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t drink while breastfeeding. You decide.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/breastfeeding-alcohol/

I have had a few weak spirit mixer drinks while bf.... Dd is 16 months and not an alcoholic yet....

I asked my mum and and remembers drinking small amounts while bf me and siblings..... I joke that it explains why we all enjoy going to the pub so much

I'll have to Google for the reference, but your milk will have the same alcohol content as your blood alcohol level. So to make your milk more alcoholic than 0% alcohol beer you'd have to be dangerously drunk.

So you can easily have a few drinks without affecting baby, as long as you're not actually getting too drunk to look after them!

evolutionaryparenting.com/guest-post-breastfeeding-and-alcohol-consumption/

There is an app that I use. A timer starts when you begin a drink and it gives a countdown for when it is safe to breastfeed again. I’m in Australia, so not sure the app would be available where you live. But, yes it is safe to have a drink, wait a few hours and then bf

DS is 15 months, doesn't feed during the day but does wake four or five times in the night for milk.

Totally disregard this if you are happy to wake up 4 to 5 times during the night to feed but at that age have you tried feeding during the day and offering water only overnight? Most people would see waking up 4 to 5 times a night to feed at 15mths as a form of torture.

I did know someone who had a baby who would wake up once a night for a bottle (formula fed) and at 18mths they thought they would go crazy. Professional advice to them was to offer water only during the night, tough out the period of resistance (which resulted in screaming for hours) and not to give in. They did this and after a few weeks the baby decided they couldn’t be bothered waking for a boring drink of water and then slept through. Person got to sleep through and sanity was restored.

I didn’t drink whilst breastfeeding but there are no dangers (apart from suffocating child if you are pass out drunk obviously but no one is suggesting that) that I am aware of. I did however find that after being teetotal for a number of years (pregnancy then breastfeeding then pregnant again then breastfeeding again) that I get tipsy after half a glass of champagne or similar so if you are starting drinking again after a break do start slowly because your alcohol tolerance may have changed.

As long as you only have a couple. When bf couldn't eat asparagus however as dd would refuse milk. Weird.

I read somewhere (don't quote me) that if you drank two double vodkas, your milk would have a lower alcohol content than bread. I don't think there is any risk of contamination, I always had a few drinks when breastfeeding and no-body batted an eyelid.

Also, well done on feeding for 15 months
My 'baby' is about to turn 3 and I miss having little ones around.

Everyone I know who breastfed/feeds had/has a few glasses here and there! I wouldn't go binge drinking but I think a few is fine

Totally fine - believe the new guidance is if it's safe to look after baby, your milk is safe. As PP has said you have to drink a dangerous level of alcohol for it to affect your milk in any meaningful way and no need to pump and dump as it reacts in milk the same way as in blood so that has no effect.

You can get absolutely wasted and still feed without it having any effect. As people have said, your milk is made from blood and therefore the alcohol percent is very low. The highest ever recorded blood alcohol was just under 1.5%. Most people would be dead at that point!

The danger, especially at night, is that you might be sleepy or stumble with your baby.

I’m BF my second baby, never met anyone who abstains while BF and all medical advice is that alcohol comes out of your milk within a few hours.

However your issue is timing. I only drink in the evening after baby is asleep and she mostly sleeps through so the next feed is 6-8 hours later. If yours wakes 5x a night then it might be tough to get a 2 hour window.

As others have said, the alcohol in your milk is equivalent to that in your blood. The drink drive limit is 0.8% so if you stayed at that my calculations were that giving my DS a 150ml feed (less than 1/3 of a pint) would be equivalent to 1/15th of a pint of 4% beer - not sure if that’s accurate. If you then scale it by bodyweight, when he was about 10kg it would be equivalent to me (70ish kg) drinking just under half a pint.
Would be interested to see if other people agree with my calculations - I’m sure it worked out as less last time I did it!
Alcohol is metabolised at about 1 unit per hour and the drink drive limit equates to about 3 units for women so if you waited 2-3 hours before feeding you’d be back to very small amounts in your milk again.
I’m currently feeding a 6 week old so drinking very little as she is tiny and feeding frequently but still had a small glass of mulled wine last night.

I think you’re fine to have a drink. I will be and I’m BF my 9 month old who feeds 3 times a day and a few overnight. Just be careful if you are co sleeping to make sure it’s cleared your system before you go to bed.

It's totally fine, I think I read somewhere that even you were wasted your milk would still be less alcoholic than orange juice. My midwife said it is the equivalent of pouring the alcohol straight into a swimming pool.

LLL advice:
www.laleche.org.uk/alcohol-and-breastfeeding/

They link to dr Jack Newman’s advice.

Just repeating what others have said, but yes, as long as you're sober enough to look after baby then you can bf them. I'll have a drink or two and still feed Little Girl, who's 1 1/2, several times overnight

Breastfeeding has never stopped me drinking. I drink as much as I always have, which is just not steaming falling down drunk. I just time feeds around it so I’m not feeding him right after draining two glasses at lunch. Easier to do with an older baby/toddler who isn’t feeding constantly.

I think your maths is wonky Dr Why but not sure what you did wrong! See example here www.google.com/amp/s/expectingscience.com/2017/07/31/drinking-while-nursing-7-things-to-know/amp/

I feed my toddler after a glass or two. I figure the alcohol concentration must be practically nothing by the time it goes through his system.

But who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

www.laleche.org.uk/alcohol-and-breastfeeding/

A Consultant Obstetrician I worked for bought me a huge bottle of gin as a gift when I was about to go on maternity leave. I said it would be taunting me from the cupboard until I finished breastfeeding. Her response was “Enjoy it while you’re breastfeeding. You want the baby to sleep!”

Pump and dump xx enjoy your drinks 🍹