What about drinking alcohol while nursing

[frannie]

Is this safe. I've read where some posters have done this. How long do you need to wait before BF.

I ask because I sure could use a drink. DH comes home with 3 beers everyday after work to "un-wind". Im so stressed out to, but I cant do anything about it right now. It would just be nice to sit and have a drink with him like old times.

[jessiehannan]

I think it varies from person to person.
I never waited to BF, but I don't drink a lot at one time.
Some people say to bf the baby, drink and by the time the baby is hungry again, it is ok. Some people say it is never ok.
More than anything, I think it is based on your own level of comfort with it.

[Meredith]

Breastfeeding and Alcohol (http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/alcohol.html)

[Babyblue]

I put juice in a wine glass and pretend.

[Teresa64]

I usually have only up to 2 drinks when I go out. If it has been at least 4 hours since I drank then I will nurse. Otherwise I have dh give ds2 a bottle.

[Theywerepert]

I don't drink more than 1 or 2 in an entire day, when I do drink. I have never pumped and dumped, and I have never waited to nurse. If I'm eating dinner and having a beer with it (hmmm...mexican food), and dd needs to eat (don't they always want to nurse right when you are sitting down to a hot meal?) then I will nurse then and there. That's my personal comfort.

[frannie]

I put juice in a wine glass and pretend.

Oh how I wish my imagination was that good.

[frannie]

I usually have only up to 2 drinks when I go out. If it has been at least 4 hours since I drank then I will nurse. Otherwise I have dh give ds2 a bottle.

So does the alcohol just dissolve(?) in 4 hours.

[frannie]

theywerepert, do you notice any difference in your DD when you nurse right after. Well wouldn't that be better, since that milk would be alcohol free.

[madelsmama]

A general rule is to wait one hour per drink.

The alcohol enters the milk just as it enters your bloodstream, and then leaves the milk as it is metabolized by the liver. If you're not tipsy or feeling the effects of alcohol, chances are good that you're fine to nurse the baby.

[nicurn]

So does the alcohol just dissolve(?) in 4 hours.


It doesn't dissolve, but it doesn't just sit in breastmilk, either. All metabolites (nutrition and other molecules) flow in and out of breastmilk in relative concentrations to what is in the blood. As your liver works to remove the alcohol in your blood, it is also removing alcohol from your breastmilk.

[babymakes4]

When I was nursing Owen I would have a glass of wine on occasiion. I always tried to nurse him first and then have my drink so I had at LEAST an hour in between. I was actually advised to have a beer a day when I was having supply issues. I never did though because I don't like beer. I don't see a problem with having a drink or two, so long as your not knock down drunk.

[newmominct]

I drink every once in a while...i wait until DS is asleep for the night and have one or two beers but usually not any more than that.
They say if you're okay to drive then you're okay to nurse....
DS is asleep at 9PM on the dot and wakes up again around 3AM so I know its been long enough and I can nurse him again.
If you're not feeling sure about it they sell alcohol testing strips for breast milk. I think Lansinoh makes them....
At any rate, its okay to knock back a few every once in a while, so, if you feel the need and are comfortable with it, enjoy! :)

[AuLait]

I have no problem having a glass of wine and nursing soon after. If I was having more than one or two drinks, or drinking shots or anything, I'd wait until I felt mostly sober before nursing. I've always heard that if you're sober enough to drive, your sober enough to nurse.

Being that on a good night I might be able to drink just 3 weak alcoholic beverages before falling asleep, overdoing it and having concerns about how soon is it, etc. isn't really a problem for me!

[pawprint]

I go with the 'okay to drive' okay to nurse rule as well. I didn't drink other than maybe Christmas and New Year's when I had a newborn.

Also, since the OP mentioned other posters that drink and are still bf I wanted to point out that, while I have sometimes posted whilst very intoxicated (heh) I am nursing a five year old and no longer make milk, so I think we're safe, lol.

[lolabear]

i have drank a few then nursed but i did notice the next morning when i pumped (i pump ever morning) that there was a faint smell of alcohol in the milk, and it had been 8 hours since i had a drink and i had 3.

[RaisingThemLeft]

Drinking in moderation while nursing is fine. Getting drunk and then nursing a baby is not. At this point I really don't worry about how much I drink. My nursing child is 4 and I'm hardly making milk. And if I'm drunk it means he isn't awake and won't be nursing for 10 hours or so.

[frannie]

If you're not feeling sure about it they sell alcohol testing strips for breast milk. I think Lansinoh makes them....
At any rate, its okay to knock back a few every once in a while, so, if you feel the need and are comfortable with it, enjoy! :)

I think I will knock back a few tomorrow:p
I almost drove to the beer store today(I'm in a dry county, the beer store is about 20 miles away"wait") But chickened out. I told Dh to bring home an extra beer for me. I think he thinks I'm joking.