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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

How many glasses is "okay" for a celebratory occasion?

68 replies

clearBlueSavannah · 12/05/2010 13:07

First off, yes, I know that the new guidelines are AVOID BOOZE but I also know that Mumsnetters are a realistic and sensible bunch so would be interested in your opinions.

Am going to an evening wedding reception but don't want to let on that am pregnant.

Starts around 7.30pm and will go on until late.
Have heard from a bridesmaid that we'll be offered gin and tonic on arrival. Reckon I'll be able to get away with just tonic here.
I'll have a glass of wine with the meal and just hope that it's not topped up too much by the staff
Then champers for the toast

How much over one evening (with food) do we think is "okay"? as a one off.

I very rarely drink during the week.

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 12/05/2010 13:10

it's personal choice really but up until about 20 weeks i'd be very careful. After that i'd have the odd glass maybe 2 or 3 times a week (not every week though, and i did have 'a glass' of wine). After about 35ish weeks i relaxed a lot and would have whatever i fancied, aain that wasn't much.
I assume you're still less than 12 weeks?

StealthPolarBear · 12/05/2010 13:10

congratulations btw

shirevix · 12/05/2010 13:13

Congrats on pregnancy. Why not say you are on antibiotics for a dental problem (the ab the dentist gives you can't be tken with alcohol) - I got through a whole Christmas and New Year with this excuse!

IMoveTheStars · 12/05/2010 13:13

With me personally it depended on what stage of pregnancy I was at - first trimester I didn't drink at all, 2nd I had the odd glass (maybe a couple a week), 3rd trimester I relaxed a bit and had a couple of occasions where I had 2-3 glasses (weddings)

I'm sure that as a one off a small glass of wine + glass of champage will be fine

Rockbird · 12/05/2010 13:14

That sounds like a lot to me, but then I don't drink (don't like the taste) so don't understand this needing to drink thing. I would have thought anything more than a small glass of wine was too much but as Stealth says, in the early days I'd avoid completely.

sunshiney · 12/05/2010 13:21

i'd limit it to one glass, if that. in the first trimester the babies organs are being formed, so your body can really do without alcohol in your system.

in the third trimester i'd say maybe two during the course of the night, but you might find the heartburn it causes makes it impossible. ( i speak from experience, i'd love a little bit of wine but can't touch it).

PrivetDancer · 12/05/2010 13:22

I'd go for half a glass of wine with the meal (are you going with a dh? he can subtly drink half of it when no-one's looking), top it up with sparkling water if you can, and then the champagne for the speeches (you never get very much for that ime, champagne glasses are pretty small normally!)

that would be around 1 and a half glasses you've had, so 2-3 units roughly.

notso · 12/05/2010 13:32

Congratulations,
I am going to an Wedding next week, I'll be 9 weeks and I was planning on having a small glass of champagne for the toast, however have really bad sickness so will prob end up on water. I would use the antibiotics excuse.

Love the gin and tonic on arrival much nicer than bucks fizz.

ByThePowerOfGreyskull · 12/05/2010 13:34

I would have one small one and choose what it was before hand.

be clear of your choice before you go then you can be sure you are ready to get an alternative.

shipsladyg · 12/05/2010 13:35

My DH is a bit of a policeman with me about booze... I think he'd rather I didn't have any at all! He wants a child genius... TBH, he probably should have (metaphorically) not pickled his sperm in guinness whilst we were TTC if he was that serious!!!

Anyway - I avoided it totally until 14weeks. Since then, I've been very good with the whole "1-2 units once or twice a week" - but I was quite surprised at how little this actually is!!! I've been checking the units on a bottle of wine and then dividing it so I could have 1.5 units (a compromise hubby will work with - just). For most wine, this seems to be about 100ml (4 table spoons) which is basically just enough to Sniff.

Don't get the Sainsbury alcohol free wine. It's awful. Cobra 0% beer is truly ghastly too. However, Sainsbury low alcohol cider is suprisingly good - even DH was pleasantly surprised. And you can feel like you've let your hair down by having three - yes three! - 500ml bottles!!! Other than that I've been pretending my crushing juniper berries and infusing them in tonic water to kid myself I'm having a G&T.

If you do drink, spacing out drinks is the key as baby's liver can't break down the alcohol like ours - and ours takes about an hour a unit. It's all common sense really and the "zero" approach was mainly brought in for the women who weren't intelligent enough to count.

I've had less in the last few weeks as I gather that the most brain development happens in the last month of pregnancy.

Roll on Breastfeeding... 4 units a week then!!!

Webuyanycardotcom · 12/05/2010 13:35

Why don't you drive and not drink at all?

StealthPolarBear · 12/05/2010 13:40

shipsladfy, who told you 4 units a week while bf??

Ferry · 12/05/2010 13:45

Get DH to drink from your glass at the table. Worked a treat with me and OH but he ended up very very drunk! Pretend you've already drunk too much when you sit down to dinner and you're trying to pace yourself from then on.

flowerybeanbag · 12/05/2010 13:50

Drive or say you have a headache or are on antibiotics, then you haven't got to worry and will not feel under pressure to drink at all.

shipsladyg · 12/05/2010 13:51

StealthPolarBear - I read it one of my books (I read far too much for my own good)... Can't remember which one now. Maybe Kitzinger... I think we'll probably be making up our own mind once we've got BF and some sort of routine established...

porcamiseria · 12/05/2010 13:54

I'd have one G&T and then 1 wine with food

I am clearly in the "its OK to have a drink when PG camp"

iggypiggy · 12/05/2010 13:56

What I did before I could tell people about my preganacy was accept drinks - have a couple of tiny sips from them and then pretty much forget about them. So at the meal - I'd say yes to a glass of wine - sip a couple of sips, but not enough to spur anyone to top it up for you - and generally people don't even notice you aren't drinking. Then do same for champagne toast.

At our work xmas party I accepted some white wine, then pretty much left it after sipping a couple of times and then pretended to sip a bit more - someone said 'don't forget your wine' and I said 'oh it's gone all warm now, so I don't really fancy it'.. which also worked well

shipslady I hadn't heard that about BF - I thought it was more like 1 glass a night? But I am still pregnant, so what do i know!

cluckyduck · 12/05/2010 13:57

This is probably really dense of me, but you can cook with alcohol when PG cant you? I only throw a splash in, and the alcohol burns off doesnt it?

As for the OP I am 11+4 and I wouldnt really have any to be honest, but mainly because I am a worrier, and I would probably just throw it all back up anyway at the mo!

Trafficcone · 12/05/2010 13:58

None. Why is alcohol soooooooo important to you that you can't go for eight months without it? There are plenty of nice soft drinks out there.
I guess alcohol really doesn't have that much power over me that I'd feel the need to drink it while pg which I'm glad about.

iggypiggy · 12/05/2010 13:58

clucky you can def cook with alcohol - it will burn off!

cluckyduck · 12/05/2010 14:01

Thanks Iggy - thinking logically I knew that was the case, but I just had a crazy panicky moment...

I am very into sparkling fruit juices now, bit of ice, nice.

everythingiseverything · 12/05/2010 14:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Petsville · 12/05/2010 14:10

I'd have one glass before 12 weeks - if later on I might risk 2 in the course of the evening for a really special occasion (but I agree with the poster above who said spacing it out is the important thing). I've been following the old 1-2 units once or twice a week advice through this pregnancy: the odd small glass of wine seems to make the difference between feeling like a normal adult human being and a walking incubator. (There are no nice soft drinks out there - they're all too sweet, non-alcoholic wine is disgusting and fizzy water gets so boring!)

cluckyduck · 12/05/2010 14:13

Petsville - if you like your drinks less super sweet, I have a really good Apple Mojito recipe (virgin, natch)?

Its 12mint leaves, 50ml fresh apple juice, lime juice from a lime and topped with sparkling water - the lime and mint really cut through the sweetness of the apple juice!

DefNotYummyMummy · 12/05/2010 14:14

Drink your tonic if you can. If not take the G&T, but take little sips out of it and if no one is looking put it down somewhere to lose or pour some in a mates glass (hopefully they wont mind your germs !), or your partner.

Then at dinner have a glass of wine - and again, drink very slowly, sipping. What I noticed at the wedding I went to is that everyone was drinking at such a rate that in the end they didn't even notice that I wasn't drinking and seemed to have a 3/4 glass full all night (I'd been topping up my DH's).

As for the champagne - well, you have to toast the lovely couple . I drank that one!

Have a lovely time.