Tips on Having a Couple of Drinks While Breastfeeding......

Pump and dump. Just pump a bit before hand for the baby to eat after you have the beer, then pump for at least 24 hrs after you drink and dump it out. Also at my lactation class they told us that if you don't feel anything at all from the liquor then you're probably ok to breast feed but I still dumped.

I'm not a big drinker so I this was never an issue personally. I breast fed both my boys for 13 and 16 months respectively. It was so worth it! Keep it up as long as you can, or is right for you.

My friend on the other hand was a social drinker and she did a few different things. First there was just timing it correctly. She would have drink then nurse right away before the alcohol would pass into her milk. She would also pump and could give the baby that milk if she needed to. Your daughter is old enough that nipple confusion shouldn't be an issue if you aren't already using a bottle too.

I don't really know how much if any alcohol passes through the milk. My sister is a Pediatrician and I know she would have an occasional drink and not do anything different when time to nurse. But it was ONE glass of wine or ONE beer. I know she never had more than one when nursing.

You could always just pump and discard any milk you think you need to. You can supplement with formula if needed. Just be warned, you are used to breast milk poops, formula poops stink to high heaven. Also formula spit-up will sour or mold quickly, so don't forget a burp-cloth in the diaper bag for a day like I did once. I only gave my oldest formula a few times and never gave it to my youngest partly because of stuff like this.

You don't have to breast feed to be a good mom. I'm not a breast feeding snob. It was just the only way to go for me. I also understand the urge to have a drink occasionally. Drinking occasionally doesn't make you a bad mom either. Good luck.

There is nothing wrong with having a beer while breastfeeding your child. In fact, while I lived in Canada, I had a beer a day (brewer's yeast) and never had any problems with the milk. Baby would nurse and I would have a beer while rocking her in the chair. When I finished breastfeeding 10 months later I stopped having a beer. Look up the benefits of what is in the beer that is good for you and your baby. A glass of wine on ocassion is fine as well. Just don't overdue anything -- moderation (not the town drunk).

I never did b/c I was still too sick to drink even after having the baby, but the term "pump and dump" is used quite frequently. Ask your ob....they would know more statistics and such! I think there are several different ways to go about this, but ask your dr for sure!!

I agree with joanna. the best time to have that drink is while you are feeding because the alcohol isn't going to make it into your system that fast.

then, assuming that you feed every 3ish hours, you'll be fine with just one drink without pumping and dumping. If you want more than 1 drink, then I would feed while drinking #1 and then dump instead of feeding the next time around. I would then feed your baby frozen pumped milk...

The only thing I would suggest is to pump once after drinking and discard that milk.Hope that helps

First of all you need to check with your doctor about drinking while breastfeeding. They find out more and more about the effects of drinking and what actually is passed to the baby. What is another 3 1/2 months of sacrifice for the sake of your child's lifetime? Remember that when you chose to give birth you changed your priorities. Your child's health is most important. 3 1/2 months will fly by if you focus on something else.

W.

Congratulations, this is my second time breastfeeding, my first I did for a year and so far I have 5 months on this second one and I am also aiming for a year. What I do is have one drink every once in a while, from what I have read if you have one drink and don't breatfeed for the next two hours you are good. If you can freeze some milk and when you feel like drinking more then just pump and dump and give your baby the frozen milk, they won't miss out and your milk supply won't go down because you will pump.

Hi A.
Don't feel bad. I understand.
I have talked to nurses and a doctor and others who say it's ok to have a drink now and then.
In fact, beer is very good for milk production and wine is just good overall.
I've been told to limit it to 1 drink and it won't hurt the baby at all. I did have a couple margaritas one evening and decided to pump and dump, but it is so hard to do that when you realize that our milk is like liquid gold!.
I personally have a 5 month old and I may have 3 or 4 drinks per week, so there you go. Many moms may be horrified by this, but really it's to each his own and all in moderation.
Good luck! I hope you meet new people in your area soon!

I pumped and dumped until i knew the alcohol was out of my system. It was great. It gave me a lot of freedom. Not just for alcohol but for spicy foods that i knew gave my girls heartburn, or when i got sick and was on medication.

I was told - although I do not necessarily agree - by La Leche League that if you're sober enough to drive then there's not a sufficient concentration in your milk to cause an impairment in your baby. If you're not able to drive - or if you're just not comfortable with the idea - pump and dump.

A glass of wine or a beer is nothing - but if you're planning to tie one on Saturday night, pump starting the weekend before so that you have enough set aside - feed her right before you go, leave the pumped milk with a sitter, enjoy yourself, pump and throw it out till your sober, then feed her as normal.

The first two weeks are impossible, the first four - six months are hard. After that, I just kind of got in the groove and :ahem: didn't stop till they were two.

A lactation nurse once told me that the best time to have a drink is actually while you are feeding! She said the alcohol doesn't have time to get into your system while you are still feeding and that way it has the longest time possible to fully metabolize before your next feeding. Personally I wait until immediately after I feed to have a glass of wine. It takes about 90 minutes to metabolize a 4 oz glass of wine. I am not exactly sure of the alcohol content of beer, but it is the same or less than wine so I would follow that guideline.

Have not had a chance yet to read any thing anyone else has posted (or am I the first one? haha) but as far as drinking while breastfeeding, there are no real steadfast rules, other than, obviously, drinking enough to get a good buzz or get drunk and doing it often are NOT good things! ;)

You can talk to a local CLC or IBCLC and see what they recommend, but, as you said, it is hard to find info regarding this, simply because there are no controlled studies surrounding alcohol and breastfeeding, which I'm thankful for because it means that someone has enough decency to not let breastfeeding moms get plastered all the time and then go nurse their poor babes who have no say about it!

A good rule of thumb that we like to tell moms (I'm an LC at a hospital and also a CBE and certified doula) is that one drink per day is a good limit. Every person metabolizes alcohol differently and that includes the baby. Another good rule of thumb is to be aware of your baby's feedings and wait until right after she has nursed to drink that beer. Theoretically, this is going to give your body the most time possible between the time you drank the beer until the time she nurses again to hopefully give your body enough time to metabolize the alcohol so she's not get much, if any. But, hey, here's something fun to know!....some LC's will suggest that moms with low milk supply drink a little beer each day because the hopps increases your supply!

I know what you mean....I'm not a big drinker AT ALL, but after all those months of pregnancy going with non at all, I miss it after each baby, too. I occassionally do have a beer or margarits and have never noticed an ill effects on my son (same with my oldest two kiddos)

Hope that helps!

A.

If your baby is sleeping through the night, just wait until he's asleep. My daughter sleeps for 13 hours at night, so I'll have a couple of beers, and go to bed. By morning, it's all out of my system and she does fine! They say wait 2 hours for each drink you have. I never have more than 2, so I would relax. I've been successful for almost 6 months now, and still going strong!

I have heard it may be ok if you have one after the last feeding of the night. But personally, I wouldn't do it, but I am not a drinker anyway. My baby always comes first while I am nursing. She is 6 months old, and I am having to be careful what I eat because she is having allery and rash problems, so I am having to make diet sacrifices to keep her healthy, but it is worth it to me.

i breastfed for much longer than 6 mos. and i did have a beer or wine...i think how much is more of an issue than just to have. stick with it it really does make a huge developmental difference for a child not only immune wise but intellingence as well.

When you go out to drink, make sure that your daughter has milk that she has been frozen or freshly pumped. AFter you have a few and go home, go ahead and pump and dump it out immediately. A glass of wine won't hurt but if you have beer or hard liquor then you need to pump and dump it. I did it plenty times when I was breastfeeding my now 21 month old. good luck!

Is it really worth the risk? I would say absolutely "No"... but I realize we are all different. So, here's some researched advice:

What about drinking alcohol and breastfeeding?
Women are often warned to not consume alcohol during pregnancy, as ample evidence has shown that it poses a severe and avoidable risk to her unborn baby. The risks of consuming alcohol while breastfeeding are not as well defined. Breastfeeding mothers receive conflicting advice about whether alcohol consumption can have an effect on their baby, which often leaves mothers feeling like they have more questions than answers. So, what information should a mother who is considering drinking while breastfeeding know?

La Leche League's THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING (p. 328) says:

The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother ingests. When the breastfeeding mother drinks occasionally or limits her consumption to one drink or less per day, the amount of alcohol her baby recieves has not been proven to be harmful.

La Leche League's THE BREASTFEEDING ANSWER BOOK (pp. 597-598) says:

Alcohol passes freely into mother's milk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when taken with food. Alcohol also freely passes out of a mother's milk and her system. It takes a 120 pound woman about two to three hours to eliminate from her body the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine...the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes for it to be eliminated. It takes up to 13 hours for a 120 pound woman to eliminate the alcohol from one high-alcohol drink. The effects of alcohol on the breastfeeding baby are directly related to the amount the mother consumes.

The Hops in beer is supposed to be good for your milk supply. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Heck when our parents were kids, they would give them a swig of brandy for a cough. It's not like you are putting it in a bottle and feeding it to her. Have a few....and if you are feeling guilty.....pump and dump :)

A.,
I breastfed my son for six months and drank every now and then. Just don't overdo it! I would make sure he was fed first and then if I wanted a drink would have one! Most of thet time, I would pump it out and throw it away, but they say that it doesn't hurt them at all so sometimes I wouldn't.
It all worked out fine! Where do you live? My son is now almost eight months old! I am always looking to make new friends! I live in Granbury!
H.

I nursed my daughter and I too was ready for a few drinks soon enough. I pumped as much as I could and any time she finished nursing I pumped out anything that was left. This way, I always had a small supply on hand in the freezer for those nights when I wanted a few drinks. I nursed her then had my drinks. A few hours later I pumped and dumped. I fed her the stored milk for the remainder of the night and if I felt engorged I pumped and dumped. Make sure you pump and dump even if you have milk stored in the freezer so that you can maintain your body's supply. Your body will stop making as much milk if it thinks you don't need it. If you don't have any pumped milk you can supplement with formula and even mix it in the same bottle with breast milk. In the morning you should be fine to nurse again as long as you didn't go crazy the night before(and believe me- you don't want to be dealing with a baby and hangover at the same time so I wouldn't get too crazy!)
And don't forget, it's probably been awhile since you had a few drinks so they may affect you a little more easily.
Have a good time...you deserve a break and you deserve to celebrate!