Drinking with a newborn

[daisystone]

I am bottle feeding not breastfeeding which is regretable but even though I have been following breastfeeding techniques and positions to the letter and have had numerous midwives try to help, my DD just won't latch on and was hospitalised for two days due to dehydration.

So, any alcohol I drink is not being passed on to her so I don't have to worry about that, but I was interested to know how other mothers felt about drinking with a newborn in general. Do you worry about having a drink and becoming a bit slapdash? I must admit I worry about dropping her or doing something to hurt her accidentally, even though it seems crazy.

Are other mothers abstaining until their babies are older?

Nope. I didnt drink when f feeding my son, but thats because I didnt fancy a baby and a hangover!
hen he was 3 weeks old though, I did leave him with my DH, and went on a night out and it was amazing after 9 months of abstaining!

If you aren't breastfeeding there's no problem at all with having a drink or two, but with the general lack of sleep, most new Mums don't fancy it or the feeling the next morning, but if you do fancy a drink and feel fine the next day - go for it!

It sounds as though you would like to BF - have you tried the BF threads? I am sure you would get a lot of advice/support over there.

I used to have a friend who was a lactation consultant and there wasn't a single Mum she couldn't get bf. I'm not saying that there are some people who can't, just that I don't think there is enough good support around and with the right support you might be able to - if you want to.

We FF as well. I had the off glass of wine when DD was tiny. To be honest it usually knocked my socks off so i didnt do it very often. I remember over the summer sitting out in the garden with a lovely glass of wine my H had poured for me. DD was about 8 weeks old and sound asleep inside. I got about half way through the glass and fell into a snoring coma. He had to half carry me inside. I think with the sleep depravation it sneaks up on you and hits you a lot harder than you expect it too.

I can also vouch for the morning after hell. I went to my departmental xmas do last week and overindulged quite badly. Next day was my day off with DD. All i can say is thank god she is the kid of baby who is happy to play independently cause i was a wreck. death would have been a mercy.

sorry for the spelling mistakes. hit post before i had proof read. i can spell. my fingers however cannot.

A glass of wine is fine, I wouldnt have much more than that for the reasons you stated but also because it is tough enough getting up at 4am as it is!

I'm breastfeeding too and I still have a glass of wine.

You can drink and breastfeed

I had a glass of guiness every other day when my babies were days old - good for iron

I had maximum of one glass of wine when DD was tiny - I exclusively Breastfed

Main reason for not having more was she woke 2 hourly for the first 6 weeks and then 3 hourly until she was 6.5 months old so was knackered

i bfed and still had a glass of wine every now and then, when i felt like it (just after a feed). having been off alcohol for so long a small glass was more than enough!

They say the rule for BF is that if you are safe to drive you are safe to feed. Personally I don't think I would be comfortable handling my baby if I wasn't safe to drive, regardless of feeding, I get nervous about taking him up and down our steep stairs as it is, and the door-frame/head relationship is occasionally dodgy. I think the risk of clumsiness, or being a bit blasé about handling baby is too great. We also share a bed with baby for part of most nights, which is a no-no if you have been drinking. I might have a bottle of cider or a glass of wine early evening, but that's it.

All that said, I've not been a big drinker since I was a student, so I'd never have more than 3 units in an evening anyway.