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breastfeeding questions and alcohol
I'm going on 31 weeks on Tuesday. I am so ready to have my son in my arms already. I am considering breastfeeding,I will be pumping also. I have been craving a beer so bad lately but I WILL NOT GIVE IN. Going out is the last thing on my mind right now and even after I have my son. But when I do decide to go out, when will I know if the alcohol is out of my milk supply before it's safe to feed baby again. Our how often should I pump to remove the alcohol. Or is that even possible?
When I breast fed and drank I pumped and threw it out only once though I fed him my milk after that, I also ended up with mastitis :( don't go to long without pumping it's a killer!
Give your body 2 hours recovery per standard drink. So a point of beer, say 3 hours to be safe. I would pump and have some supplies waiting :)
Oh thank you so much. I'm so new to breastfeeding just want to make sure.
If you drink during breastfeeding only 0.01% of the alcohol will be in your milk and that is not enough to harm your baby. Your body is a pretty good filtration system. Pumping and dumping is such a waste of perfectly good breastmilk.
No. No no no. Seriously I wish these myths would just die in a fire.
For one thing, those test strips are garbage. They'll test positive for alcohol 18 hours after having one drink which is freaking ridiculous. There may still be a miniscule amount of alcohol in your system but it wouldn't be nearly enough to cause any negative effect whatsoever.
For another, the concept of "pump and dump" is a total fallacy. The body metabolizes alcohol. It's actually pretty good at it. You don't need to use leeches after you drink to get it out of your bloodstream... you don't need to throw away your milk. What a waste.
The general rule is, if you're too buzzed to drive you're too buzzed to breastfeed. The "no, no, I'm fine, I can totally drive home" kind of "sober" isn't what I mean - and I'd hope that anyone who is old enough to drink (or to procreate) knows the difference. Basically the one drink an hour rule applies. Moderation and staying well hydrated with water is the key to being able to nurse your baby when your baby needs you.
However the problem lies in the fact that we as consumers don't do a good job of knowing what "one drink" is because we're almost always overserved. One shot is one drink. One 12 oz beer is one drink. And one 4 oz glass of wine is one drink. A Long Island... that's, like, five or six drinks. A tall rum & coke is at least two, maybe a couple more depending on your bartender. A pint of beer is 16 oz and not 12... so that adds up quickly too. And the average glass of wine is wayyyy bigger than 4 oz. You need to be paying attention if you're going out.
If you're going to have a drink or two after your baby goes to sleep for the night, as long as you know he or she will sleep for at least a few hours before waking to nurse, it's totally okay to go ahead and enjoy yourself. Make sure you're drinking water - alcohol dehydrated you.
If you're planning to leave baby with a sitter and go out to get hammered, it's important to have enough pumped in advance for baby to have at least a few bottles at the ready. Keep drinking water while you're out and lots more when you wake up. When your head is clear, when you're sober again, you can nurse your baby no problem. But you do NOT need to throw away your milk.
For one thing, those test strips are garbage. They'll test positive for alcohol 18 hours after having one drink which is freaking ridiculous. There may still be a miniscule amount of alcohol in your system but it wouldn't be nearly enough to cause any negative effect whatsoever.
For another, the concept of "pump and dump" is a total fallacy. The body metabolizes alcohol. It's actually pretty good at it. You don't need to use leeches after you drink to get it out of your bloodstream... you don't need to throw away your milk. What a waste.
The general rule is, if you're too buzzed to drive you're too buzzed to breastfeed. The "no, no, I'm fine, I can totally drive home" kind of "sober" isn't what I mean - and I'd hope that anyone who is old enough to drink (or to procreate) knows the difference. Basically the one drink an hour rule applies. Moderation and staying well hydrated with water is the key to being able to nurse your baby when your baby needs you.
However the problem lies in the fact that we as consumers don't do a good job of knowing what "one drink" is because we're almost always overserved. One shot is one drink. One 12 oz beer is one drink. And one 4 oz glass of wine is one drink. A Long Island... that's, like, five or six drinks. A tall rum & coke is at least two, maybe a couple more depending on your bartender. A pint of beer is 16 oz and not 12... so that adds up quickly too. And the average glass of wine is wayyyy bigger than 4 oz. You need to be paying attention if you're going out.
If you're going to have a drink or two after your baby goes to sleep for the night, as long as you know he or she will sleep for at least a few hours before waking to nurse, it's totally okay to go ahead and enjoy yourself. Make sure you're drinking water - alcohol dehydrated you.
If you're planning to leave baby with a sitter and go out to get hammered, it's important to have enough pumped in advance for baby to have at least a few bottles at the ready. Keep drinking water while you're out and lots more when you wake up. When your head is clear, when you're sober again, you can nurse your baby no problem. But you do NOT need to throw away your milk.
Hopefully you have a good milk supply but when you drink you have to "pump and dump" to get the breastmilk with alcohol out of your system...and there are strips they sell at Target and other stores for you to test your breastmilk to make sure its Alcohol free before you start feeding baby again
They make these alcohol tester things for your breast milk ;)
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