Help me. I drank a lot during my first trimester!

[Anonymous]

If anything is wrong it is most likely due to your age rather than your consumption of alcohol. I highly doubt your baby will have FAS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a large amount to you? You are probably fine. I was drinking quite heavily when I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. No ill effects.

Each time, it was probably around 3 to 6 glasses of flavored vodka on ice (that's the only thing I really drink). I am beyond horrified right now.

You said you did not get "shit-faced drunk." I'm scratching my head figuring out how that would be possible if this is what you drank each time.

NP here. People have different tolerances for alcohol; also, neither of us knows mow much was in OP's glass. It's entirely possible for someone to have 3-6 drinks and not be shitfaced.

OP, this came up in Dan Savage's adoption memoir -- his child's mom drank a fair amount (=passing around a mylar bag of boxed wine to keep warm) before realizing she was pregnant. The advice he got at the time was that as long as she didn't regularly get blackout drunk, the child would probably be fine or have ADHD. Based on that (admittedly low) standard, you're probably OK.

It's very difficult to find good info about FAS. For starters, most of what's out there is designed to deter pregnant women from drinking (for good reason!), so it all presents the worst case scenario. Also, it's not something that can be studied with any rigor. (You can't ethically feed a random group of pregnant women different amounts of alcohol and see how their babies turn out.) They can study mice, and they can ask women after the fact how much they drank during pregnancy (which means it's all self-reported).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a large amount to you? You are probably fine. I was drinking quite heavily when I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. No ill effects.

Each time, it was probably around 3 to 6 glasses of flavored vodka on ice (that's the only thing I really drink). I am beyond horrified right now.

You said you did not get "shit-faced drunk." I'm scratching my head figuring out how that would be possible if this is what you drank each time.

NP here. People have different tolerances for alcohol; also, neither of us knows mow much was in OP's glass. It's entirely possible for someone to have 3-6 drinks and not be shitfaced.

OP, this came up in Dan Savage's adoption memoir -- his child's mom drank a fair amount (=passing around a mylar bag of boxed wine to keep warm) before realizing she was pregnant. The advice he got at the time was that as long as she didn't regularly get blackout drunk, the child would probably be fine or have ADHD. Based on that (admittedly low) standard, you're probably OK.

It's very difficult to find good info about FAS. For starters, most of what's out there is designed to deter pregnant women from drinking (for good reason!), so it all presents the worst case scenario. Also, it's not something that can be studied with any rigor. (You can't ethically feed a random group of pregnant women different amounts of alcohol and see how their babies turn out.) They can study mice, and they can ask women after the fact how much they drank during pregnancy (which means it's all self-reported).

Thanks! Yeah, the glasses I use for cocktails are pretty small...not sure exactly how much they hold, but they are small size glasses, and I also fill them with ice cubes, so that also further cuts down on the amount of alcohol that is in there.

I'm feeling a little better after reading the replies here, so thanks! Lol, I'm also pretty worried about my age factor too.

I still cannot believe that I'm pregnant....I don't know how long it's going to take for the shock to wear off!

[Anonymous]

CONGRATULATIONS!

Unless you are actually an alcoholic, your kid won't have FAS.

[Anonymous]

OP, what can you do about it now anyway? Worry for the rest of your life? Which gets you where exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CONGRATULATIONS!

Unless you are actually an alcoholic, your kid won't have FAS.

Thanks! lol, I'm just starting to think, OMG, how are we going to afford another kid?!? They daycare cost alone is freaking me out! This is just crazy, I never thought I would be having another baby at 40. I was so "one and done". My DH, on the other hand, is just beside himself with joy. It's going to take me a while I think to come to terms with this news....

Haha! I'm kicking myself in the butt right now, because last year I donated pretty much all of our baby stuff we had left....now I'm going to have to go re-purchase all that stuff!

[Anonymous]

I knew a girl who didnt find out until a lot later than you and drank quite a bit more. I would go see a doctor but not stress too much about it. A lot of people drink before they know they are pregnant.

[Anonymous]

How old is your other child ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a large amount to you? You are probably fine. I was drinking quite heavily when I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant. No ill effects.

Each time, it was probably around 3 to 6 glasses of flavored vodka on ice (that's the only thing I really drink). I am beyond horrified right now.

You said you did not get "shit-faced drunk." I'm scratching my head figuring out how that would be possible if this is what you drank each time.

Agree. I think your baby is probably fine, but I think you have a drinking problem (and I drink)! How old is your older child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is my understanding: Embryos don't share a blood supply with their moms - and the embryo doesn't become a fetus until week 9. So you are probably o.k. Now that you know that you are pregnant - abstain completely. Congratulations!

'

This. I'm not sure how many weeks in until you share a the same blood stream but if anything you've only shared blood for a couple of weeks. You'll be fine. And as a PP said, what's done is done so just move forward doing what's best now that you know. But serious for a good chunk of these past 8 weeks you're baby would not have had the alcohol go in it's blood stream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CONGRATULATIONS!

Unless you are actually an alcoholic, your kid won't have FAS.

Thanks! lol, I'm just starting to think, OMG, how are we going to afford another kid?!? They daycare cost alone is freaking me out! This is just crazy, I never thought I would be having another baby at 40. I was so "one and done". My DH, on the other hand, is just beside himself with joy. It's going to take me a while I think to come to terms with this news....

Haha! I'm kicking myself in the butt right now, because last year I donated pretty much all of our baby stuff we had left....now I'm going to have to go re-purchase all that stuff![/quote

OMG! Op you are exactly me! At 40 (last year) out of the blue I found out I was pregnant. I found out in February and had given away all of my last baby gear in November. Our DD was four and we were one and done. Never dawned on me I would get pregnant. I too freaked out....especially about child care costs. But we are now 5 months in with an adorable, joyous little girl and I am soooo happy. Yes, childcare is way pricey but oddly things shift and you will make it work.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry op. For some part of the last 8 weeks the embryo wasn't even connected to you, then he was get nourishment from the yolk. The placenta is finishing forming now or next week.

My understanding about FAS is that binge drinking is what causes it - e.g a college student who drink Thursday, Friday and Saturday and then spends the next day throwing up in the bathroom or doesn't even remember how she got there, who she was with or how much she drank. Those are usually the people who binge drink (and alcoholics).

Plus, think about it - before the advent of the stick pregnancy test I am guessing women took a while to find out, unless they were very tuned to their own cycle and were regular. Those were also the days when people usually drank a lot, pregnant or not.

If FAS was so common and the result of every type of drinking, can you imagine the make up of the Irish, the British and the German population some decades and centuries ago?

[Anonymous]

I drank a ton too before I found out. Got pregnant after getting piss drunk at a Gala. Went out of town and partied the next weekend. Then, went out of town and partied the next weekend (and we are home bodies who never do anything). Then, super bowl sunday, found out I was pregnant (before drinking).

Baby was fine. No probs whatsoever. My Aunt who works at an OBGYN office (as a nurse) said that the embryo/fetus isn't even attached the first month or two (cant remember exactly) so basically it is not feeding off of exactly what you ingest, and that it's natures way of protecting the baby until you can find out you are pregnant.

[Anonymous]

I did, too, and my baby was early for unrelated reasons, and has delays. Of course, I always freak out about FASD. I found out at about 4 weeks in. I have researched it a lot, and while it is very unlikely your child would actually have FAS -- that is pretty recognizable at birth and the diagnosis is pretty strict, requires small percentile, small head, etc. -- FASD is blurry. There are so many kids with ADHD that it is impossible to pull out the case in most cases.

One issue that does bother me is the whole "nature's way of protecting the baby" -- we are animals and its not like we evolved to drink alcohol. At the time this all evolved, there was probably no need to insulate the baby from tertrogens. So there is that.

I did find, OP, that there is a nutritional component to FAS, they think -- most women who are well nourished and hydrated do not seem to be at risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is something you should talk over with your doctor.

+1. Talk to your OB. Don't rely on anonymous internet advice from people who may or may not know what they're talking about.