Help! Twin's Bachelorette Party

[LunarSpoon]

So my twin sister is getting married in October and her Bachelorette party is Oct 3. My son will be almost 3 months old at that point. He is exclusively breastfed with the exclusion of one bottle at night from DH (sometimes organic formula, sometimes pumped breastmilk.)

My questions are as follows...

-Am I crazy for wanting to participate in the party with my son still being so young? If so, tell me. If I have no business going out, I certainly have no problem staying home with my kiddo!

-if I'm NOT crazy, how would you prepare for leaving your baby with DH (or sitter if he decides to go) for 5-7 hours? I.E. should I start pumping/freezing now? How much stored breast milk should I have available if it needs to cover up to 3-4 meals?

-If I were to consume alcohol while I'm out, should I plan to pump/store extra in case I need to pump & dump? How much is safe to drink with how much of a time buffer before breastfeeding?


Would you go or would you stay home? If you've gone out and left LO with a sitter, how did you prepare?

 

[sheldonsmommy]

I would go out and have fun!!

My son ate pretty consistently every 3 hours at that point, and ate about 4 ounces when he had a bottle. So I left 2 feeds with dh if I was gone for 6 hours, but he would usually take just the one bottle and I'd feed him when I left and when I got home if I hadn't had that much to drink (a very very tiny amount gets into bm so I wasn't too fussed about it personally).

At that age I would still pump for a missed feed if I had a quiet place to maintain supply, but I'm sure missing one wouldn't hurt

 

[TXJen]

I am going to a bachelorette party next month as well. I don't plan on drinking a ton, but I am planning on having a glass of wine or two (this is a low key thing). I am even going to bring my pump and leave it in the car in case I get uncomfortable and need to pump and dump. I've heard to wait 2 hours after 1 drink to pump/feed but also that basically if you are safe to drive then you are probably safe to breastfeed. You can also buy test strips that will tell you if there is alcohol in your milk - I use them every time just in case (I like to have a glass of wine with dinner on occasion!) and I love them.

 

[Literati_Love]

Alcohol leaves breast milk in the same way that it leaves the bloodstream, so there is no need to pump and dump (except to keep up supply) but you do need to wait the appropriate amount of time for your weight and the amount of alcohol consumed for it to leave your system. The general rule is wait about 2-2.5 hours PER 1.5 oz of spirits or one small glass of wine/beer. So, if you have three drinks you'll have to wait around 7.5 hours before your breastmilk is safe again. You can look up a chart for exact timing based on weight online. I would make sure you have enough pumped for several feedings just in case...but I think you should go for it and just have fun! New moms deserve a night out too!