First Night Out

Congrats on the new baby!!! I did not breast feed, but what a lot of my friends that have said when they went out for their night outs, they would pump when they got home, then throw that milk out. This way they were getting rid of the "contaminated" breast milk. So if you wanted to have more than 2 glasses you could. Hope this helped.

What I did is pumped some before I went out. I then pumped later than night and fed him with the milk I pumped earlier. I tossed the milk I pumped after I had the alcohol. Good luck. Your pediatrician's nurse can help you with this too.

Hi Aleisha! I have a 10 month old baby boy, and whenever I go out for a few drinks, I always make sure I have enough milk (or formula for back up) for the next day. I pump extra prior to my night out and pump (or feed) right before I walk out the door that evening, just to be on the safe side. My rule of thumb is I wait 24 hours after my last alcoholic drink before I pump (or feed). If you go out, you are definitly going to want to take a pump, it gets very uncomfortable! I put batteries in my pump and take a 10 minute trip to the car during the evening (and throw that milk away!). Have fun, and enjoy your night out, you deserve it! Good luck, Jess

My doctor always advised me to wait at least 12 to 24 hours before breast feeding after alcohol. Pump as much as you can and keep frozen (can stay in freezer for up to 2 weeks) and always have a standby for situations like that. I have five and breastfed them all and they are all perfectly fine. It has been 7 years since a baby and information might have changed since then, but as far I know, it takes those hours for the alcohol to leave your system. But to be sure, talk to your doctor. And, hey, go have fun. You still have a life to live.

The research I've read shows no harmful effects to the baby unless you are a heavy regular drinker. The alcohol shows up in the milk, but leaves it very quickly. Even if you nursed right after drinking, it would be diluted. The baby wouldn't be getting a large amount enough to hurt him.

Truth be told that I've gone home after going out and having something to drink and nursed without paying any attention to the time. I've never noticed any difference in my child's behavior.

I just read somewhere that you should wait 2 hours after having a drink before nursing. It also mentioned that you should not have more than one drink. I would give you the website where I read it, but I can't remember where it was. Hope this helps! I am a 29 year old mother who nursed her son for the first year and is currently nursing my 10 month old.

Aleisha, as the step mother and guardian to three different kids that have been affected by the drinking habits of their mothers, please consider avoiding alcohol completely until you are finished breast feeding. There is so much risk involved. Even if your child gets just a little of the alcohol, the effects on his system will be much more intense and the long term effects can't be measured. During the first year of your child's life, he is growing and developing more than any other time. Even one small change in his system can change his future forever. Infinite Blessings!

When I was nursing my kids and if I had a drink or went out...I was always told to pump out a feeding and then your next milk that comes in will be ok for the baby to have. I did this as well. Good luck and don't feel guilty about going out and having a little fun.

Hi Aleisha and Happy Birthday! My grandson is 12 1/2 months old. My daughter-in-law goes out every Saturday evening (and I get to babysit!). Ryan (my grandson) was 7 weeks premature, so Carrie (my daughter-in-law) wouldn't go to the potty without asking her Pediatrician first! While Ryan was very small (from 3 mo's old to 6 mo's old) Carrie always pumped first, just in case, but Ryan refused a bottle anyhow. Her Pediatrician (Dr. Swain, I believe) told her that she could safely drink 3 beers (or glasses of wine)-a shot would have to be considered 2 beers-during the 4 hours that she would be gone, and that she should stop drinking totally for at least an hour prior to coming home, and that she should be fine. She has been doing this almost every Sat. night since, and everything's been fine. If you are planning on having more than a couple of drinks, you should pump enough for a few feedings at least.
Common sense tells you that if you have 1 drink or less per hour there shouldn't be enough alchohol in your bloodstream to affect your milk in any way. Good luck and have a great evening!

Everyone else gave you the best advice. Especially the one about going out dry. If you're anything like me, alcohol makes me produce more milk. Some say it's a myth but it happens to me. Another upside to having to give your son bottled milk: dad can get up at 4am and feed it to him so YOU can sleep in!! Wouldn't that be the best birthday gift ever? HAVE FUN!!

I believe when I was nursing, I asked the doctor who told me to wait an hour for every drink of beer you had before you nurse (I think it was two hours for every *shot* of something harder). So I'd say if the last drink you had was at midnight, and you only had two drinks total, then add two hours from midnight. I always added the total amount of hours from the time I finished my last drink. So by that standard, you should be okay by 2 AM (if indeed you finished it AT midnight) and so definitely in the clear by 4 AM. I remember though, that I would have one drink and wait two hours just to be safe. So even if you waited TWO hours for every drink, then you'd still be in the clear. Also, some good advice, I would wait until RIGHT AFTER I last nursed to actually go out some where (this was even if I wasnt drinking, that way I didn't have to bother to pump while out because I would usually get back in time for the next feeding) IF you you are worried that alchohol may contaminate your milk at the next feeding. It is a good idea to just pump a bottle to have for that feeding and "pump and dump" the milk you make to keep your body on a schedule, and then just wait until the next time around to nurse. Then you should most definitely be in the clear. Either way, I wouldn't drink more than just two drinks. I don't believe, if you follow the above guidelines, that your drinking two glasses of wine would harm your baby. Especially if its wine, because wine has helpful things in it for you. However, if you could deal with having the virgin daquori or margarita instead, I'd suggest doing that. You could still have fun and then you wouldn't have any worries. I know I waited until my daughter was older than six months (mostly because by then she wasn't so dependent on my milk alone) before I chose to have one drink one night (and it was probably a month or more inbetween any time I chose to drink. If you drink a little but drink frequently, that could still have a bad effect)Also, just to let you know, pumping frequently while drinking will not get the alchohol out of your milk any faster. You still have to wait for it to pass through your blood for it to decrease levels in your milk too. One more thing, when in doubt, call pediatrician. :0)

Either way, hope you figure things out and have an awesome birthday! I'm sure you deserve a night out, a special night all about you.

What you may want to do before going out is pump 4 bottles because unfortunatly your sister-in-law is right your milk will have alchohl in it until the following morning around 9:00 a.m.

My doctor said rule of thumb if you have anything wait 12 hours before breastfeeding. It will be in your milk! I did that a few times and I was a hypocondirac (sp) and waiting 24 hours from the time of the drink.

The rule I use is if you're okay to drive, then you're okay to nurse. There's no need to pump and dump the next day. Just remember that lots of moms use dark beer to up their pumping output. And, if all alcohol was a no no during breastfeeding, people in Italy and Germany, where drinking is often a daily occurance, would be in loads of trouble!

Don't worry about your milk, and have a good time!

Hi,

I don't drink but I know some of my friends who breastfeed and still go out for happy hour and others. They just pump before hand so that there is enough milk for the baby then go out and enjoy!!!:)

Happy B'day.

First off HAPPY BIRTHDAY :)
Pump tommorrow between feeding for like 10 mins about 3 times. To get enough to have just in case. If you produce alot then I would "pump-n-dump" at the 4 am feeding.I know alot of people cringe when they hear that. Has he had a bottle yet? Thats ok if not. I had a friend who refused to give hers bottles. Didn't want it to mess up her supply or something. So what she did was feed him with a medicine dropper off to the side of his mouth, where he still had to suck. It worked. (a nurse taught her this) It is better to be safe than sorry. Also if you only have two and are not drunk you should fine, just fed him. Your sister in law is right. If you are drunk it can pass, get the baby drunk and can cause brain damage ect......
Don't worry about this unless you are samshed or really buzzed. Worring can also hurt your supply.
Last but not least HAVE FUN :)

That is true that whatever you eat or drink and you are nursing then your baby will receive it through your breastmilk. But I truely don't think that two glasses of wine will hurt anything either. 4 hours later I think is plenty of time.

When I went out for my 24th b-day i was still nursing, maybe the best thing to do is pump a few bottles that way you can still feed him the breastmilk and not have to worry about the affects of the alcohol. then in the morning when you're sober you can pump out the milk that accumulated. that's what i did, i pumped as much as i could in the few days before, it worked great. but before i left to go out i nursed and what she didn't use i pumped out till i was basically dry because you don't want to go out full, you'll be in so much pain after a few hours that you'll be miserable! happy birthday and have fun!

Aleisha,
Actually your SIL is right. If you are buzzed then you shouldn't feed him. If you aren't then the milk is ok. If you are drunk..one pump n dump isn't going to help. You should pump until you are no longer drunk. Good luck and have fun!!

For every glass of wine you have you have to wait two hours before you breastfeed. You also have to drink on glass of water for every glass of wine. So if you finish your last glass and you only have two by 12 you should be good for 4am.

First, congrats on your new baby, and second, happy birthday to you! :)

For some good details on breastfeeding & alcohol, I'd check out this link:
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/alcohol.html

And this one (I've pasted the text of the page below the link) from the excellent breastfeeding resource site, Kellymom:

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http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alcohol.html

Breastfeeding and Alcohol
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC

Guidelines

* Current research says that occasional use of alcohol (1-2 drinks) is not harmful to the nursing baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs classifies alcohol (ethanol) as a “Maternal Medication Usually Compatible With Breastfeeding.”
* Many experts recommend against drinking more than 1-2 drinks per week.
* It is recommended that nursing moms avoid breastfeeding during and for 2-3 hours after drinking (Hale 2002).
* There is no need to pump & dump milk after drinking alcohol, other than for mom's comfort -- pumping & dumping does not speed the elimination of alcohol from the milk.
* Alcohol does not increase milk production, and has been shown to inhibit let-down and decrease milk production (see below).
* If you're away from your baby, try to pump as often as baby usually nurses (this is to maintain milk supply, not because of the alcohol). At the very least, pump or hand express whenever you feel uncomfortably full - this will help you to avoid plugged ducts and mastitis.

In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom's blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom's body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels.

Always keep in mind the baby's age when considering the effect of alcohol. A newborn has a very immature liver, so minute amounts of alcohol would be more of a burden. Up until around 3 months of age, infants detoxify alcohol at around half the rate of an adult. An older baby or toddler can metabolize the alcohol more quickly.

Effects of alcohol on breastfeeding and the breastfed baby

* Alcohol does not increase milk production. In fact, babies nurse more frequently but take in less milk in the 3-4 hours after mom has had a drink, and one study showed a 23% decrease in milk volume with one drink (Mennella & Beauchamp 1991, 1993; Mennella 1997, 1999).
* 2+ drinks may inhibit let-down (Coiro et al 1992; Cobo 1974).
* One study showed changes in the infant's sleep-wake patterning after short-term exposure to small amounts of alcohol in breastmilk -- infants whose mothers were light drinkers slept less (Mennella & Gerrish 1998).
* Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.
* Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).

Page last modified: 12/05/2005
Written: 5/1998
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