Nursing and Drinking -- how can I make it work?

Question

Okay so I've been pregnant for 9 months, and now I have a 1 1/2 month old baby. It's been a long time since I've been drunk, and I'd really like to have one night with my boyfriend and friends to do so. I drink a glass of wine here or there, but not enough to make me drunk or affect my baby.

I would consider pumping so she can eat, but how much should I pump?

I also heard that the alcohol, even after the 'drunk' is out of your system, stays in your milk, so you have to pump it out. How much should I pump out before I let her back on the boob?

This sounds pretty irresponsible, but after 10 1/2 months of missing out on holidays, parties, birthdays, etc, I'd really like to have a good night of drinking to enjoy myself. I hardly get time away from her anyway, since she is nursing.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Hey no judgement, I feel the same way sometimes!  Make sure to pump more than you'd expect your baby to eat.  So perhaps 6 oz for 3 hours.  Also make sure to dump at least one pumping before nursing again!

Answer 2

I feel your pain, only its been a lot longer for me!! I have 2 older kids 5 and 14 months so its pretty hard to get a time to drink! I was breastfeeding my baby before i got preg. (she was 6 months then!) so I haven't drank since before I got preg with her!

My dr just told me to pump. pump enough for her to eat and then pump a couple times afterwards. It depends on your baby how much you should pump, are you supplementing with any formula or pure breastmilk?  

Answer 3

alcohol leaves your milk as your body metabolizes it.  as long as you feel sober, you are safe to nurse.  

that said, i would probably wait a little longer before spending a night away from baby.  things are still pretty fragile at this point.  it would be safer for your bonding and your nursing relationship if you waited another month or two.  at this point, you'd probably end up having to run to the bathroom to pump every couple hours or you'll leak all over yourself.  how much fun would that be?  you've waited 10 months... what's one or two more?

Answer 4

I totally feel you, and am wondering this myself. From what I've read, its pretty much what some1 else here said: If you get drunk, then dont breastfeed til you feel sober. And according to kellymom.com, for every drink you have, ypu should wait at elast 2-3 hrs. Now that said, it really does depend on the individual: on how your body metabolizes alcohol, such as your size and your tolerance level. Being that you havent had a drink for so long, your tolerance might be on the lower side so that emans less drinks would get you drunk faster, which means less drinks could "contaminate" your supply. Also, the amount of alcohol in what you consumed matters too. Ppl on here are saying for every glass of wine or beer wait an hour but that to me is inaccurate bc wine has more alcohol in it than beer! so I would guess wine would take longer to leave your breast milk. I had a wine cooler last night and felt slightly buzzed from it, and I decided to wait 4 hours before even nursing my baby, which she was mad about instead bc she hates formula, but I wanted 2b on the safe side, and it was only 4 percent alcohol. But yes I agree Id like to have a night where I could just go out and get sh*it faced too.  

Answer 5

your body process 8 oz an hour.

you drink a 12 oz beer or drink or what ever you prefer wait and hour and a half, make sure you pee and your good.

no need to dump your milk, there will be very little alcohol that will transfer over.

Also remember that alcohol increase you milk supply. you after a few hours you will be very engorged even though it may not even be time for your baby to eat. just make sure your babysitter has enough pumped milk to get her through the night.

Good luck enjoy yourself!

Answer 6

The level of "drunk" in your milk is the same as in your body.  When you're blitzed, your milk is blitzed.  When you're sober, your milk is sober (milk doesn't just "stay" in your b*****s...it's constantly being "recycled", so to speak, and the alcohol along with it).  You don't have to pump it out unless you're getting uncomfortable.

How long are you planning to be away from the baby?  You might not have to pump a lot...generally, they say an ounce per hour, but, I'd do a little more to be on the safe side.  I would check and make sure you can pump that much before hand (some women have a hard time pumping - they just don't respond well to the machine).  Do you know if your baby will even take a bottle?  A lot of breastfed babies won't (which is actually good).  

I wouldn't make too much of a habit though - you don't want to cause nipple confusion for your baby.

Answer 7

i really dont know but i wasnt even thinking about how to get drunk next when my son was that young, and i am 19 yrs old. everyone should have fun but when they are that young i think stuff like that can wait. so idk why dont you ask your dr and if you dont want to then you must be irresponsible and wrong.

Answer 8

pump as much as you can for a couple of days beforehand, like when she doesnt eat. if she doesnt drink it all, you can always freeze it and its good for a long time. after you drink, pump all you have out and to be safe, i would say a bit from the next time.

Answer 9

The alcohol leaves your breastmilk as it leaves your body.  So if you are letting her stay the night with someone, just pump as much as you usually would.  No need to pump and dump.  they say if you are sober enough to drive you are sober enough to breastfeed.  

dont listen to the negative comments either, you are your own person, just because some peple dont want to drink doesn't mean you dont want to.

Answer 10

pump enough for 24 hours. that way it will be out of your system .

1 beer= 1 1hour to not breastfeed

2 beers= 2 hours to not breastfeed

so on and so on and so on......................

so if you have 12 beers that means 12 hours NO BREASTFEED!

get it?

if your drinking liquer

1 shot= 1 hour

if your drinking wine

1 glass=1 hour

so 24 hours will give you plenty of time to get ALL the alcohol out. you dont have to dump your milk either.

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... =]