breast feeding and drinking for a night

Tanya - posted on 01/10/2010

They have some strips now at the drug store to test your milk. it will tell you if its okay to feed to your baby.

Gabrielle - posted on 01/10/2010

thank you for the information, i just wanted to add my husband will be the one watching her so she will be close by and i dont plan on drnking too much i just wanted to be on the safe side, just thought i would add that because i didnt want my question to sound irrsponsible :)

Cassie - posted on 01/10/2010

I just saw that your little one is only two weeks old so you may want to have enough milk pumped for 2 feeds depending on how much drinking you plan on doing. At that young of an age, your little girl will probably wake more. I also advise that you take it slow at your party. You have gone just around 10 months during pregnancy with no alcohol and it will probably hit you faster and harder than it once may have. :)



Just to add also, my daughter is 14 months old and is now able to use a sippy cup but when she was much younger, she only had a bottle maybe 3 or 4 times total. One of those times being when I had some alcohol and she was very young. At this age, your little girl will most likely do just fine taking the bottle. If she is hungry and her body needs milk, she will accept it. Tell whoever is watching your daughter that if she refuses the bottle at first not to push it but to try again in half an hour. Your daughter will not starve herself over the one bottle and will accept it when she is hungry. If you give her formula, it may be too big of a taste change and she could refuse it completely so I would try to pump, pump, pump this week to build up enough milk to feed her while you are out. Just remember, you don't have to pump and dump!! All that does is waste perfectly good breastmilk. If you can drive, you can nurse! :)





*Edited to add:



Here is a link from La Leche League about alcohol consumption and breastfeeding as support for what I have said. :)

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/alcohol.html

Cassie - posted on 01/10/2010

No offense intended towards Amanda but please disregard her message.

Drinking while breastfeeding is perfectly fine. While many believe that you have to pump and dump, this in NOT TRUE. Feed your daughter just before you begin your evening with alcohol. Hopefully, your daughter is able to go to sleep and sleep through your party. Alcohol affects your milk just as if affects your blood. The rule of thumb for a nursing mother is when you are safe to drive, you are safe to nurse. Alcohol is metabolized in your milk just as it is in your blood. There is absolutely no need to get rid of your milk to get rid of the alcohol. It will leave your milk naturally. If your daughter wakes and you do not feel sober enough to drive, you shouldn't nurse. You may need to have enough milk pumped for a feed. As long as you are semi-responsible, you should only have one possible feed to worry about. You may not have to worry at all if your daughter is able to sleep for long stretches through the night.

My daughter is almost 15 months and we are still breastfeeding. I have drank a couple of times since she was born. I always enjoyed myself but never became hammered or fall down drunk. The first time I drank, she needed one feed of pumped milk because she was nursing more often through the night. The other couple of times, maybe two more times, I did not have to worry about a bottle of pumped milk because I had metabolized the alcohol by the time she needed to nurse again.

Just remember, you DO NOT HAVE TO PUMP AND DUMP!!! That is an old wives tale and is completely false. As soon as you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to nurse. Less than 1% of the alcohol you drink can even enter your milk but to be on the safe side, just remember that if you can drive, you can nurse. I know I am repeating myself but this is a major misconception when it comes to breastfeeding and alcohol!!

Have fun Friday!! You and your daughter will be just fine! :)