There's no such thing as a stupid question but...

[AyeWhySWIM]

In the spirit of having a Merry Christmas I've been enjoying a few smallish glasses of wine - only ever one at a time eg. had one the past few evenings but had one yesterday morning and one in the evening too. I'm ebf ds2 aged 11 weeks.

Now, I'm comfortable with the idea that so little passes into milk that he's unlikely to be affected by me having a single drink but I keep reading that regular or frequent drinking can be a problem.

The question is - if one glass isn't enough to register an effect then how would this be an issue if it happened over several days?

Am I overthinking this?

This wouldn't qualify as regular or frequent drinking. Not a problem at all, nothing to be concerned about.

This wouldn't qualify as regular or frequent drinking. Not a problem at all, nothing to be concerned about.

Sounds fine to me.

So a drink a day forever over the festive period isn't a worry?

If it were me, I would try to make sure the drink was just after a big feed, so that it had been processed by the liver by the time the next feed was due. Liver processes a unit of alcohol per hour.
I think the danger is that alcohol is the kind of drug which some people (me included) like to have more than one of, and if you're drinking regularly, there's a greater chance of having more.

I remember always waiting an hour between a small drink and a feed. But I would drink maybe twice a week. I BF for a long time, so complete abstinence would have been a bit harsh.

The research that came out a week or two ago stated that even when you are over the limit for driving, the alcohol content of your breastmilk is similar to or lower than that of orange juice.

I've always avoided alcohol whilst bf because I'm a lightweight and get drowsy/drunk quickly. It's also not safe to drink and co-sleep, and we co-sleep for at least part of each night. It's not the effect on the milk, for me.

A specialist bf hv friend of mine advises that the safest time to drink is during baby's feed, however inappropriate it looks to in-laws anyone else

Thanks for the replies.

Recent research sounds good! I fed ds1 for 15 months but he was my pfb so was a lot more overcautious.

I do quite often have my evening glass of wine while relaxing and feeding in front of tv on that reasoning! But he still feeds frequently and in an irregular pattern so can never guarantee a long gap even if I try.

The thing that was concerning me was the frequency not the quantity as I'm happy with just one drink and we also co sleep for the second half of the night. I'm also happy that years of wine 'appreciation' mean that the small amounts I'm having don't impede my ability to respond to the baby. I'd feel very uncomfortable indeed if I felt at all tipsy with baby present.