To ask how much you would drink while breastfeeding and when?

[planningtopplan]

My NCT group is vastly different, and looking for what others did.

Some in my group have wine occasionally and others actually have one or two while breastfeeding.

I have one or two every few days at about 7 or 8pm after DD's big feed and if she wakes at 10pm or so I'll feed her. But some of the mums in my group are not touching a drop until after their babies are fully weaned.

AIBU? What did others on MN do while BF?

I also drank as normal, as that's what everyone in my NCT group had done and said was fine, including one doctor. But a couple of months in, ai got the heebie jeebies about it. Obviously, I hadn't been drinking a lot anyway, as I had a tiny baby, but still. I exclusively pumped most of the time, so I was quite lucky I could pump, then have a drink if I wanted. On one occasion I had a big, night out and had to feed formula, pump and dump for half a day, but that was a big occasion.

I read all the stuff about blood alcohol levels and how much you'd need to drink yada yada. Totally right, but then I'd read the guidelines which are at odds with that, which is why I scared myself out of feeding breast milk which I felt might be boozy somehow! Looking back, maybe the formula that day, was worse than the allegedly boozy breast milk . Oh well.

Nothing, it would make me even sleeper!

Drank as normal. I’m a little but often type of drinker so I’ll often have a glass in the evening but rarely more than two and if I do, I’m drunk so someone else would need to look after the baby.

I have a picture of me with a glass of champagne whilst feeding my hour old newborn (to be fair the birth of a baby is a bloody good reason to open the champagne!)

The same as if you are giving baby a bottle - don’t be so drunk you can’t safely handle baby. Also extra careful if you’re bed sharing - or any risk of falling asleep with them on the sofa etc.
DD is EBF so the couple of times I had a few drinks when she was little DH was sober parent and sat with me when I fed her (I wasn’t super drunk but always careful since I once passed out while feeding her due to a horrible D&V bug).

Just to append to my post, and to clarify that I'm not a total alcoholic, I drank as normal after 5pm and actually found that enjoying a glass whilst nursing was my favorite time of day.

When DS1 was about 4-5 months old, we would have little "chats" whilst he was feeding and I was having a glass of wine. Lovely way to relax.

I had a single gin and tonic in the bath 5 times a week. I never drank more in any sitting but I drank a small amount very regularly after dinner.

I was tee-total whilst pregnant and when breast feeding.

I'm not a big drinker anyway (maybe only 6 drinks a year), so it wasn't a big deal for me to cut it out entirely.

@Strokethefurrywall

Just to append to my post, and to clarify that I'm not a total alcoholic, I drank as normal after 5pm and actually found that enjoying a glass whilst nursing was my favorite time of day.

When DS1 was about 4-5 months old, we would have little "chats" whilst he was feeding and I was having a glass of wine. Lovely way to relax.

I love this!

I drank when BF , not falling down drunk but a glass here and there
Most people I know did

I did have drinks (ie quite a few) once and expressed Quite a bit so that my
Precious infant wouldn’t be impacted

However for whatever reason he wouldn’t take the bottle and had to BF him
He slept very well that night but it wasn’t my proudest moment

I choose not to drink alcohol, mainly due to being up all hours in the night, rather than because of my baby was being EBF.

it's not about being sober enough to hold a baby but alcohol is present in the milk. I would need quite a lot to be unable to hold a baby but that wouldn't be safe did feeding. hmm

It’s well known that the guidelines for drinking whilst breastfeeding are more about being able to safely care for baby and not falling asleep together after drinking than it is about alcohol in the milk posing any danger.

I recently had a birthday and indulged in a considerable amount of vodka. I’m very lucky in that I don’t suffer hangovers so that wasn’t a problem really but I did feel too drunk to nurse and had my OH feed him formula for that night. Any other time I’ve had a glass of wine or 3 I’ve fed as normal, and have done with all my others. They’re all perfectly fine, well adjusted, developed as expected and really quite clever and sporty.

The baby is happy, alert and completely on track milestone wise.

I chose not to drink alcohol at all while pregnant or breastfeeding. It didn't feel right to do so and was a sacrifice which I was willing to make even though I love wine. It wasn't worth any risk to me, however small.

@Sanjii

If you can hold your baby you're fine to feed them

it's not about being sober enough to hold a baby but alcohol is present in the milk. I would need quite a lot to be unable to hold a baby but that wouldn't be safe did feeding.

If you drank enough to not be able to hold your baby the amount of alcohol in your breast milk would be similar to level which natural occurs in orange juice.

I don't at all generally because when I'm breastfeeding I'm absolutely bloody knackered and alcohol makes me feel wretched.

An occasional half a glass of wine and then I remember!

But if it didn't affect me in this way and I wasn't cosleeping I would drink normally. Such a minimal amount goes through to milk the benefits of doing it outweigh the risks.

I often have a large glass of wine with dinner at 5 (we have young children) but I wouldn’t want to drink more than that as I cosleep. My ‘baby’ is now 13 months and goes to bed before me and I join her about 10z

Small glass of wine most days, with a meal and a couple of hours before bed time feed.