Do you drink alcohol when b/f?

[MummaSue]

.... and if so, how much do you have?

I freak even at a glass of wine! I'm so paranoid about it.


Sue xx

[meow]

I didn't drink for the first 3 months then I slowly started to have a little bit. Generally straight after a feed and in small amounts means your blood alcohol % will be low before you feed again. I had a maniacal evening cluster feeder though so I ended up giving up on 'straight after a feed' and just consuming a small amout through the evening.

[boomba]

I stopped drinking before we fell pg with our fist DS...I liked a drink now and then but knew I didnt need it...I dont drink now cause I would hate to upset DS2 since he is still BF and wouldnt like the morning after with the kids...I couldnt imagine nursing a hangobver and trying to wrangle my 2 lol :P

But I did have 3 sips when Dh went out for dinner a few months back and was off my tree Light weight lol

[wysiwyg]

Not for first 8 weeks then maybe 1 glass a week timed straight after a feed to give longest gap. I don't tend to drink apart from with food and quite rarely at home, so would just really depend on if we were eating out or not. Have you read the ABA leaflet on Alcohol and Breastfeeding (is on their website) I think the info there is pretty balanced.

[Vixstar]

Never! My Mum was an alcoholic and I just cannot bring myself to drink when ttc, pregnant or bf...........for a lover of a drinky pooh, that is one h*** of a drought!

[~Kim~]

Not often for health reasons, but if they didn't exist then yes I would.

[~me~]

Yes I do in moderation. Never to excess.
It has never effected DD. I have a glass while getting dinner ready then sometimes another with dinner. This is not everynight, it depends on how my day has been
I am pretty sure someone posted a thread here quite a while ago that the amount of alchohol that would pass through to your breast milk is minimal, as in you would have to drink a whole bottle for a pecentage to get through. I look it more from a safety point of view..as in how it it going to effect my ability to function.

[Calluna]

I haven't had a drop since we started TTC (so about 27 months) and my goodness I wish I could have a drink or two some nights but I'm worried DS will wake up when he normally wouldn't for what ever reason so I'm too scared to have any. I've got about 4 bottles in the cupboard going to waste too I hope they're still ok when I can finally drink again...

[briggsy's girl]

i rarely drank while ttc and then not at all while pregnant (so it was a looong time) - didn't really drink while BF until a couple of months ago. it wasn't so much about alcohol getting to the baby (have read all the stuff on ABA about alcohol), and i don't drink wine (which has a much higher alcohol concentration doesn't it?) - anyway, i started having a beer every now and again with DH, and will now have a vodka and mixer when the mood takes me. i tend to worry more about the sugar content keeping DD awake than the alcohol!

[Epacris]

Yes I regularly drink (have drunk) alcohol while breastfeeding. I’ll happily have a glass of wine with dinner and another one after.

[~ Mylitta ~]

I haven't touched a drop since well before we started TTC for DS, so probably almost 2 1/2 years now. I was never much of a drinker though. I don't drink beer or wine (never acquired the taste for either), so only ever had a drink when I went out for the night, and even then only small amounts. Because of that it hasn't really been hard at all for me to give it up. I'm guessing that now that I'm pregnant again (and still breastfeeding DS), I probably won't touch alcohol until after the new baby decides to wean as well.

[jackrose]

I'm with Meow, very little to none for the first 3 months and only ever directly after a feed. Plus I also have a big cluster feeder here so am limited in the evenings. As time goes on and DD is more predictable I will probably indulge a little more.

[kelebek]

yep I drink and I am still bf. He was at least 9 mnths old before I would have had a glass but that is because he was feeding every 2/3 hrs 24/7 most of the time. I did some more reading from the ABA and basically if you can drink you can feed. Now I am not saying I got sloshed every night or anything but I would have a drink either after the last feed before going to bed or once he was in bed as that first sleep would normaly be the longest.

[Erin_25]

I'm another who will have a drink whilst getting dinner ready & chat to DH about his day & might have another with dinner. Not every night, but when I feel like it or when we are out etc. It doesn't affect DS2 and I'm not getting drunk.
I guess it really is just choice, there is a good mix of those who do and those who don't.

[onthefly]

I got caught out a couple of times early on when he woke much earlier than expected in the evening, so didn't have much till he was much older and no longer feeding so much. I did plan ahead for my birthday and expressed a bottle for him, which he refused to drink, but oh well.

[Junglemum]

Yes I regularly drink (have drunk) alcohol while breastfeeding. I’ll happily have a glass of wine with dinner and another one after.

Me too.

[Laranna]

I started to have a glass or two of wine in the evening after DS's last feed when he was about 9-10 months and sleeping through the night.

At the moment, I haven't had any with DD as she's such a frequent feeder especially in the evenings. However, I am planning to have a glass of champagne when DH & I go out for lunch for our anniversary on Sunday, so that will be the first drink since I fell pregnant with DD.

[rufalina]

Yes I regularly drink (have drunk) alcohol while breastfeeding. I’ll happily have a glass of wine with dinner and another one after.

Yep me three... But I did avoid red wine with DS1 as it did hurt him with the reflux, so just from habit I didn't drink with with DS2 either...

But I can totally understand why people dont and happily respect that. It is a totally personal choice, one which I made after doing my research, and one I was comfortable with.