Breastfeeding And Alcohol

[Guhlia]

Ok, I got invited to go on a girl's night out and I'd really like to have a few drinks or so. Does anyone know how long I need to pump and dump to avoid getting alcohol in my baby's system? I know I should just call my lactation consultant and ask, but I feel kind of embarrassed about wanting to go out drinking when I have a two month old. I feel comfortable with you guys, so I thought maybe someone would know.

[ravenwoodglass]

Can you go out with the girls and not drink? That would be best but when I was breastfeeding my son his pediatrician allowed me one glass of wine while I was breastfeeding to relax. I was told not to drink more than that. How long it would take for the alcohol to leave your system has a lot of variables to it, like your weight, sex, condition of your liver and kidneys, how much you drank, how fast you drank, how much you ate, etc. Could you go along and be designated driver and at most have just one glass of wine?

[CarlaB]

I drank when I breastfed with all five of my kids .... I know it's not the ideal, but it's not the same as drinking while pregnant, either.

I'm not a heavy drinker, so it wasn't like I was getting loaded. It was a couple drinks every once in a while.

I didn't pump and skip a feeding when I did it ....

[Guhlia]

Thanks guys. I definitely don't want to be the designated driver. I'm willing to pump and dump for as long as I have to to make it 100% safe for the baby. Anyone have any clue how long if I have 3 drinks? What about 4? What about 5? I'm approximately 140 lbs, 5'3" and we'll probably only be at the bar for 3 hours so I'm assuming it will be spread out over 3 hours.

[Darn210]

Angie,

Here is an article/table to show how long it takes to clear alcohol out of your system for breastfeeding mothers. Get your glasses, the print size in the table is tiny!

Open Original Shared Link

[JennyC]

If you have three drinks I really wouldn't worry about it, but if you're not comfortable breastfeeding after drinking dump your milk while drinking and four hours or so after you stop. The peak amount of alcohol is in your milk four hours after drinking.

Go out and have a GREAT time!

[Guhlia]

Janet, that is EXACTLY what I was looking for! I wasn't having any luck finding it through google though. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thanks to everyone else too who replied.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

You've probably already had your Mom's Night Out, but I just wanted to point out that if you're going to "pump and dump," you should pump before you leave, too, so that the baby gets your milk and not formula.

Your baby might be able to tolerate formula just fine. But I was told by a neonatal nurse that nearly every nursing baby she ever had to give formula to had colicky reactions to the switch.

That could be a rather heavy price to pay just for a couple of drinks!

[Guhlia]

I have a week's worth of frozen breastmilk in the freezer that we rotate out so my husband can feed her a bottle at night. Last time, with Tori, I ended up in the throes of Celiac while breastfeeding. I ended up in the hospital rather unexpectedly and we didn't have any reserve breastmilk. We had to throw poor Tori onto formula with no weaning period. She didn't handle it well at all, even Alimentum gave her bloody diarrhea, and we ended up having to give her Neocate until she was almost a year old. I was so sick that I couldn't even muster up the energy to pump while I was in the hospital, so my milk dried up. I was in the hospital for a week. It was horrible. So.... Needless to say I'm rather paranoid and have made sure that I have plenty of breastmilk on reserve. I pump once daily now so that we can keep the reserve in the freezer fresh. I never, ever want to have to throw this one onto formula like we did with Tori. That was just entirely too stressful for all of us.

[ruthla]

Ok, I got invited to go on a girl's night out and I'd really like to have a few drinks or so. Does anyone know how long I need to pump and dump to avoid getting alcohol in my baby's system? I know I should just call my lactation consultant and ask, but I feel kind of embarrassed about wanting to go out drinking when I have a two month old. I feel comfortable with you guys, so I thought maybe someone would know.

No need to pump and dump, as long as you don't "get wasted." If you're sober enough to drive safely and safely care for your baby, you're sober enough to nurse. If you do get drunk, you're fine to nurse again as soon as you're sober enough to drive.

The only reason to pump and dump is if you need to avoid nursing for several hours (longer than the baby normally goes between feedings) you may want to pump just to keep up supply and avoid engorgement. Your milk alcohol level will go down as your blood alcohol level goes down.

OK, now I read the rest of the thread and feel like an idiot for responding after reading only the first post.

[Guhlia]

Ruth, don't feel stupid. I'm glad you replied because it reminded me of something else I wanted to ask... If I don't pump and dump, but just wait the amount of time on the chart, will my milk still have alcohol in it? Or does it go away as time goes on.

Also, if I do pump, then store the milk, will the alcohol level decrease? Does that make sense?

Sorry for all the dumb questions... I just don't know how this whole thing works and I'll really like to be able to go out with my friends every once in a while. God knows I don't take enough time for myself. It would be really nice to get out and let loose occasionally.

[Darn210]

I know it won't decrease once you've pumped and stored it.

The article that I linked (and ruthla ) both say you don't have to pump and dump unless you need to because you are uncomfortably full. The alcohol in your breast milk (while it is STILL IN your breast) will diffuse back into your blood stream. As your alcohol level goes down, so does the breast milk alcohol level.

[bakingbarb]

I'm so glad I read this thread. We have a friend whose Grandson is going through some terrible food allergies and the Drs want to put him on all kinds of drugs. He is just turned 1!

I saw the Neocate and am going to pass that on to her. I won' t get into the rest of it here but it relates to me saying STUPID DR

Oh and when I go out and drink I also drink glass of water per alcoholic beverage. It helps your body flush it out and keeps you hydrated.

[ruthla]

No, the alcohol in the milk won't decrease when it's been pumped and stored, but you may be less concerned about the alcohol intake of an older baby, or you may be willing to use it if you're down to the last bottle of frozen milk, mom isn't available, and you're not sure how the baby will tolerate formula. So, if you don't want to pump and dump, you can pump and carefully label.

[Guhlia]

No, the alcohol in the milk won't decrease when it's been pumped and stored, but you may be less concerned about the alcohol intake of an older baby, or you may be willing to use it if you're down to the last bottle of frozen milk, mom isn't available, and you're not sure how the baby will tolerate formula. So, if you don't want to pump and dump, you can pump and carefully label.

I'm currently producing 4-6 more ounces a day than what I actually need because I'm currently giving my other daughter breastmilk to supplement her diet since she's on a gluten challenge. Long story... She's 3-1/2. Would it be safe for her to have milk pumped after drinking? I'm assuming it wouldn't be, but it never hurts to ask. That way I wouldn't have to skip any of her breastmilk (which is what I would do if I pumped and dumped).

[Glutenfreefamily]

Non educated opinion here but, I would be concerned about a 3.5 year old since if they do get intoxicated slightly from it they might fall and hurt themselves. Im usually an overly paranoid parent anyway so take it with a grain of salt

[Fiddle-Faddle]

It just seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to just for a few drinks. Is it really worth it??

[Guhlia]

It was absolutely worth it! I had a fabulous time and I feel like a new woman today. I really needed to get out and let loose. I don't do that often enough.