2-3 glasses of wine a night = bad mother??

[sandilion]

I have to be upfront about this - lately on a nightly basis i have been drinking 2-3 glasses of wine. I have been doing it when LO has gone to bed for the night....but occasionally he'll wake when only 4 hours has passed since i stopped drinking, and since he screams blue murder when i try to give him a bottle of expressed milk, i end up BF him. At the time i do not feel tipsy or drunk at all... I have a high tolerance though.

Please no flames.... but is this bad? Am i hurting my baby?? I keep being told mixed things, and over here in Australia they are super strict and believe that no alcohol is best. But i am aware of women being allowed to be a lot more relaxed in other countries, for example during pregnancy. I never drank at all during pregnancy.

Be honest but not mean - am i hurting my baby?

I am not a alcoholic per-se as i don't NEED it, but i LOVE it. Big difference but still a issue.

 

[toby1331]

There are strips that allow you to test whether or not there is alcohol in your breast milk.

I don't know the effects and how much is good or not good. My LO is only 3 weeks and isn't really consistent with her feeds yet, so I'm skipping the wine. Though I really really want a glass!

 

[sandilion]

Yeah i didn't touch a drop until the last 2-3 months once he started to sttn.

What are the strips called??

 

[Dk1234]

Just google alcohol test strips for breast milk. I had a bottle of wine the other night and the neat morning felt fine but there was still alcohol in my milk. I would have bet there wasn't so I would get the strips. Plus I personally wouldn't drink every night. Even minute ammounts might have an affect if they get it every day.

 

[TheNewMrs]

On occasion, probably not.
Every night? Probably not the healthiest thing to do for yourself or for baby

 

[Bevziibubble]

It is ok occasionally but probably not advisable every night. I admit to having a few on the odd occasion, I shared a bottle of wine with my MIL a month ago. Maybe just stick to one glass or trade it in for a few drinks of a lower alcohol drink such as lager or cider x

 

[leahsbabybump]

every night is bad for you aswell as your baby women shouldnt be drinking in excess of one small glass a night really :-/
as a pp said often there is alcohol in your milk when you least expect it
personally i wont touch a drop while im breastfeeding but thats just my personal opinion i hear ladies have the odd glass hear and there cant see a problem with the ocassional glass :-/

 

[Leids]

I have an occasional beer here and there and don't see any harm in that. 2-3 every night might be a bit much though. I honestly don't know if it could cause harm to your baby, as any alcohol in your breast milk will be processed through his liver as well.

There's some good information here: https://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/lifestyle/alcohol/

*Daily consumption of alcohol has been shown in the research to increase the risk for slow weight gain in the infant.
*Daily consumption of alcohol (1+ drinks daily) has been associated with a decrease in gross motor development (Little et al 1989).

 

[Larkspur]

Depending on how big those glasses are and the strength of the wine, I would say it could well be risky for both you and LO.

One unit of alcohol is a lot less wine than most people think. If you are drinking a wine that has more than 12 percent alcohol (which is a LOT of Aussie wines these days), and those glasses are larger than 150mls (which is not a lot... as much as would fit in a standard single-serve yoghurt pottle), in those 2-3 glasses you could quite easily be drinking 4-6 units of alcohol a night, which is high risk by anyone's standards, and officially classified as binge drinking.

Sorry to spell it out like that hon, but yes, you should definitely check your alcohol strength and measures, and probably think about cutting back, for yourself as much as LO. Maybe two glasses per night, with at least three nights off per week would be a better level to aim for.

 

[sandilion]

Yep you're right... i am stopping completely. It's not right, i have been through so much this year with family issues etc but it's just NO excuse. I feel terrible. LO doesn't *seem* effected as he has caught up to a normal 7 months old size in weight etc even though he was 8 weeks prem, and he is very strong so i am constantly told (i don't know as he is just my fist baby)

So yeah, I think if i stop now it will be ok. I hope. I feel terrible now. But thank you all for being nice about it and giving me what i needed. I needed someone to make me realise it isn't normal and not good. I know it seems silly, as i managed to stop completely all through pregnancy and most of my BF so far, but lately i have slipped up and I need to get a grip! I will admit prior to falling pregnant I wasn't dependant on alcohol as such as i managed to stop instantly, but i drank a LOT. So there is history of me having a bit of a issue with it. I think i need to just not have it in the house anymore. Just like chocolate.

 

[Leids]

I know it's hard, I had a bit of an issue myself prior to getting pregnant. I don't remember a time when there wasn't a fridge full of beer (with no food in it, just beer!) and a huge cabinet full of liquor. DH and I loved to party and drink. When I got pregnant I completely stopped everything, but I had the awful cravings for it.

You recognized that there may be a problem, so you can stop now. I'm sure your LO is fine. I'm sorry you've been feeling awful with family stuff. Family drama can definitely suck the life out of you.

 

[tu123]

Good on you hun. I know whenever we have had difficulties in the family the wine calls! I think people also need to consider that the metabolites of alxohol are quite stimulating too.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Yep you're right... i am stopping completely. It's not right, i have been through so much this year with family issues etc but it's just NO excuse. I feel terrible. LO doesn't *seem* effected as he has caught up to a normal 7 months old size in weight etc even though he was 8 weeks prem, and he is very strong so i am constantly told (i don't know as he is just my fist baby)

So yeah, I think if i stop now it will be ok. I hope. I feel terrible now. But thank you all for being nice about it and giving me what i needed. I needed someone to make me realise it isn't normal and not good. I know it seems silly, as i managed to stop completely all through pregnancy and most of my BF so far, but lately i have slipped up and I need to get a grip! I will admit prior to falling pregnant I wasn't dependant on alcohol as such as i managed to stop instantly, but i drank a LOT. So there is history of me having a bit of a issue with it. I think i need to just not have it in the house anymore. Just like chocolate.

That's great you're going to stop. And as the others have said, I'm sure your LO is fine and won't be affected. I'm sorry to hear that you've been through a lot with family issues, it sounds like it's been a hard time for you x

 

[sandilion]

Yeah whenever i feel stressed i straight away want to turn to the wine, it really is my best friend and my worst enemy LOL! Instead though im going to focus on other things that will help me cope better, like healthier eating and exercise. Im thinking if i feel better about myself then i will be able to cope better like i used to when there are up's and downs and family drama.

Leids - yep im hearing ya - the DH and i have a history of good partying. We love it too!

I think my mind is properly made up to stop though as i don't even feel like a drink tonight!

 

[flashy09]

Well, I drink about 2 glasses a night. My baby sleeps through, but I bought the Milkscreen strips and after 4 hours there was never any alcohol in my milk. Two glasses for me is about 1/3 of the bottle...not 1/2 or more of the bottle. I am under 100 lbs as well. So I would not beat yourself up too much about it.

 

[sandilion]

Well, I drink about 2 glasses a night. My baby sleeps through, but I bought the Milkscreen strips and after 4 hours there was never any alcohol in my milk. Two glasses for me is about 1/3 of the bottle...not 1/2 or more of the bottle. I am under 100 lbs as well. So I would not beat yourself up too much about it.

Thank you I have been feeling so worried about it.

 

[TheNewMrs]

Making a habit of drinking every night is a slippery slope. Weather it effects your Los development right now is important. Knocking it on the head is a very wise, brave, and courageous decision.

A habit can develop into a dependency very quickly. Growing up with alcohol issues in the family I don't drink. My mother drinks enough for me and her. 2 a night can easily turn to 3and so on.

Your baby is lucky his mama has made this choice now. My mum used to only drink 2glasses a night. She's a 45 yr old alcoholic who fights in pubs, gets kicked out of houses, has her electric and gas switched off, little relationship with her kids, less with her granbaby, and it breaks my heart. I'd love if she had put us first all them years ago.

 

[sandilion]

Aw sorry to hear that That's horrible. Yeah i would never let myself get like that. I have never been like that before LO came along, so i will continue to make sure i don't end up like that now.

 

[MrsBNo4]

The recommended daily amount is 3 units for a woman per day with at least 2 alcohol free days per week.

3 units = 1 large glass of wine

To work out how many units are in a drink.......volume X ABV ( percent/strength of alcohol) divided by 1000

To drink any amount of alcohol whilst pregnant or breast feeding is not a good idea.......

 

[Rachel_C]

If you are sober enough to be looking after a baby or drive a car, you are okay to breastfeed. However, what you feel doesn't always tell you if you're sober enough because alcohol affects how you think.

From the Kellymom link given above:

In general, if you are sober enough to drive, you are sober enough to breastfeed. Less than 2% of the alcohol consumed by the mother reaches her blood and milk. Alcohol peaks in mom’s blood and milk approximately 1/2-1 hour after drinking (but there is considerable variation from person to person, depending upon how much food was eaten in the same time period, mom’s body weight and percentage of body fat, etc.). Alcohol does not accumulate in breastmilk, but leaves the milk as it leaves the blood; so when your blood alcohol levels are back down, so are your milk alcohol levels.

If LO is down for a few hours, I would say it's fine to have a drink. However, you need to make sure it doesn't impair your thinking at all. It's not the alcohol getting to your baby that would worry me, it's all the other possibilities - dropping baby, not waking properly if baby cries, even not smelling a dirty nappy!

Regular drinking, however, would scare me from the POV of your health. I don't think it's really necessary to cut out all alcohol but maybe keep it to once a week.

I don't drink at all for religious reasons so haven't had to worry about it, but if I did, I would drink while BF just not WHILE breastfeeding or in the hour after