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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

How long does alcohol stay in breast milk?

26 replies

fastasleep · 21/11/2005 14:50

Bad day, horrible children, horrible weather, horrible bus drivers... horrible everything!

I'm in serious need of a nice relax with hubby and a bottle of wine... I'm expressing and expressing enough to chuck some out, so how long does it hang around in there and how much alcohol would it take to need throwing away?

Haven't drunk anything alcoholic in years!!

MY GOD ds just tried to smother DD on purpose with a blanket while lying on her!! puts her somewhere extra safe

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NotQuiteCockney · 21/11/2005 14:52

Pumping and dumping isn't worth bothering with.

I think you clear about 1 unit/hour from your milk + blood, all at the same time. (Hence the pumping and dumping being pointless and unnecessary.)

A small amount of alcohol in your milk won't do your baby any harm, anyway. The rule I've read is, as long as you're sober enough to drive, your milk won't contain much booze anyway.

Roobie · 21/11/2005 14:54

I'm bf'ing and dh and I regularly share a bottle of wine - I wouldn't worry about it. If you do a search for Tiktok and alcohol there is loads of stuff about drinking and bf'ing - the upshot seems to be as long as you aren't going for it hammer and tongs and getting regularly pissed then it's fine.

motherinferior · 21/11/2005 14:55

I have breastfed when really rather drunk, which is of course dreadful and not something any self-respecting MNer would do, surely not, but all the soothing advice on MN seems to be not to pump and dump.

Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 14:56

I think 3 glasses over a long evening would be hammer and tongs for me so yes probably will be fine

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Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 14:56

lol thankyou!

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NotQuiteCockney · 21/11/2005 14:56

Alcohol is in bread. Small amounts of it are neutralised by stomach acids, so it's not really worth being too too twitchy.

I'd be more worried if your baby was tiny (is s/he?) or if you were doing this on a daily basis.

Jackstini · 21/11/2005 14:57

FA - if you are expressing enough to throw away please don't chuck it out. Hospital neonatal units are desperate for it and a milk bank will most likely drive out & collect it from you regularly.

motherinferior · 21/11/2005 14:57

Errrr, I should remind you that b/fing is not a reliable contraceptive if after going at it hammer and tongs you find yourself at it like, ahem, hammer and tongs

(Although personally I'd just fall asleep )

motherinferior · 21/11/2005 14:58

Errrr, I should remind you that b/fing is not a reliable contraceptive if after going at it hammer and tongs you find yourself at it like, ahem, hammer and tongs

(Although personally I'd just fall asleep )

Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 14:58

She's quite tiny! 7 weeks... but I haven't had a drink since before I had DS who's 21 months and even then I could only have two glasses before I got fed up of whatever it was anyway... I'm worrying over nothing! Just keep making the wrong decisions today didn't want to make another one!

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Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 14:59

jackstini pmsl! I have a thread on that and donate 5 litres of over supply weekly how's that for a come back..eh eh?

As if I'd even think about having sex ever again after today MI lol

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NotQuiteCockney · 21/11/2005 15:00

Ah, I said that about her being tiny, before I realised you were only talking about three glasses at most. And before I saw how long you've been teetotal for - you will probably find one glass to be quite a bit of booze.

Enjoy! It's fun becoming a cheap date, all over again!

Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 15:01

now you all know how utterly pathetic I am!

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Easy · 21/11/2005 15:04

Bad mother confession here.

When ds was 3 weeks old I drank 2 g&t's and a glass of wine over the course of the day at my father's funeral. I breastfed him at 8:00 p.m., and he slept right thru until 7:00 a.m. the next day, giving me a much needed rest after the stresses of the previous week.

ds is 6 now, and I don't think he suffered any ill effects at all. So don't panic about it too much.

Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 15:07

It was your dad's funeral! That's not being a bad mother at all!

(I think I'd down a bottle of wine just at having to spend the day with all my family nevermind at a funeral of a loved one)

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Original poster
fastasleep · 21/11/2005 15:11

Runs away to buy wine and chocolate and bubble bath... even better runs away and gets hubby to buy it all!

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Mummyvicky · 21/11/2005 15:16

Enjoy it, and savour every moment !!

JESSnutsRoastinOnAnOpenFire · 21/11/2005 16:01

LOL I once suggested that it wasn't really advisable to drink alcohol in any quantity while breastfeeding as the baby obviously gets some.. and that perhaps a baby too young to safely process to anything but milk could perhaps do without alcohol... and I got jumped on from a very great height by a large posse of indignant Mners. So I shut up!

JESSnutsRoastinOnAnOpenFire · 21/11/2005 16:02

(I wasn't of course suggesting that the odd drink was anything other than ok (probably more than ok if it keeps a mother sane!).. just that perhaps ^regular* drinking might not be...)

[runs for the hills]

CharBell · 21/11/2005 16:12

For what its worth, I was an angel when pregnant but have drunk lots (one or two glasses a day?) since he was about two months old. Now 4 1/2 months.

fells · 21/11/2005 20:11

Yes, me too Charbell. I drank zilch alcohol during pregnancy but since dd was about 8 weeks old (16 weeks now) have had a glass or two of red wine most evenings. Looking forward to it keeps me going through the day! She doesn't usually wake until after midnight so I'm assuming it's ok.

mummytosteven · 22/11/2005 19:28

i think we need an update here

dropinthe · 22/11/2005 19:33

I have breastfed two boys,the last for over a year and half and regularly had 2 to 3 glasses of red over the course of an evening-he was never sick,never noticed the difference,was never sleepy or lethargic after and is the brightest button of a boy I have ever met!
Yes, I am biased but I am also repeating what many non-relative/friends have expressed,(xcuse pun!).

Relax-have one or 2 glasses if you haven't had any for a long time and don't beat yourself up about it anymore!

dandycandyjellybean · 22/11/2005 19:38

I've done quite a bit of research on this, and the general consensus seems to be that only a very small percentage of any alcohol that you partake of ends up in your milk anyway (I think I read something stupid like 2 %), so you certainly don't need to pump and dump. I truly wouldn't worry. I drank fairly regularly throughout the second and third trimesters of my pregnancy (I know... terrible wicked woman that I am!!!), and have had a drink of some description most nights in the last few weeks since he was born (boy did I bloody need it), and he certainly doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects whatsoever, he is thriving like the proverbial weed. I would say that the stress relieving effects for a mommy of a couple of glasses of wine would far outweigh any negative effects for the baby. Get it down you girl!

strawberry · 22/11/2005 20:03

I also read that only 2% gets in bm on kellymom.com (fount of all bfing knowledge!). Agree no need to pump & dump