Drank too much while breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here again. Baby woke up to nurse at 6. Seems fine, but she did sleep longer than usual. How would I know if she was affected by last night? What are the continued risks? Or is she probably ok?
We were at a neighborhood (outdoor) gathering, so driving wasn’t an issue. And it was so nice to be outside in good weather and see our neighbors. But I probably had 4 cocktails over 5 hours? Maybe even 5. And I nursed her throughout that time without a thought.
I am a basket case and so upset with myself. What was I thinking?!

Clearly you WEREN'T thinking. Where was your spouse in all of this? I can't believe your friends didn't say anything to you?

[Anonymous]

OP - your baby is fine, clearly.

I'm curious about what it was that you were drinking - I don't typically serve or drink cocktails at a barbecue. When I was nursing, I only ever drank low ABV beers and I drank them slowly (I "nursed" them, LOL). Liquor, which is what is in cocktails, as a much higher alcohol by volume percentage than beer or wine, and if I were you, I would avoid cocktails going forward, and stick to beer which has a lower ABV and takes longer to drink because it's a larger drink. Not just for your baby, but also for your own health.

[Anonymous]

Wow, so much misinformation on this thread.

OP, your baby is fine. The risk has to do with you being a competent caregiver while intoxicated. Breastmilk transfer of alcohol is extremely low and won’t affect baby. Please try to relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

Pumping and dumping isn't necessary. I don't drink myself but I'm a chemist and the concentration in breastmilk is so low even in someone who is totally smashed it's just nothing.

Remember the whole advice people gave to rub whiskey on a teething baby's gums? I'm again not saying that's a good idea but for some perspective doing that once would expose the baby to an order of magnitude or more as much ethanol as could possibly be passed through a totally smashed mother breastfeeding for a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

Pumping and dumping isn't necessary. I don't drink myself but I'm a chemist and the concentration in breastmilk is so low even in someone who is totally smashed it's just nothing.

Remember the whole advice people gave to rub whiskey on a teething baby's gums? I'm again not saying that's a good idea but for some perspective doing that once would expose the baby to an order of magnitude or more as much ethanol as could possibly be passed through a totally smashed mother breastfeeding for a day.

+1 if you want to pump and dump that’s your decision but don’t imply others need to. It’s not based in fact

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The amount of alcoholics on this board is…yikes. 5 drinks in 4 hours is too much for anyone, let alone someone who is in charge of watching a child, let alone someone who is BREASTFEEDING that child. Full stop.

OP, atleast you’re in good company. Maybe you and a dozen of these other women can start a support group.

If you knew any real alcoholics you would know how stupid you sound.

Ah yes, the irony. An immediate family member -who had children - died of alcoholism. Does that give me the stripes you need? What a dumb, ignorant comment. This is red f***ing flag behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

Pumping and dumping isn't necessary. I don't drink myself but I'm a chemist and the concentration in breastmilk is so low even in someone who is totally smashed it's just nothing.

Remember the whole advice people gave to rub whiskey on a teething baby's gums? I'm again not saying that's a good idea but for some perspective doing that once would expose the baby to an order of magnitude or more as much ethanol as could possibly be passed through a totally smashed mother breastfeeding for a day.

But she nursed 3 times. It adds up. And with judgment like hers, I would be concerned about future decisions. Where does she draw the line on what is a good idea and what isn't?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

Pumping and dumping isn't necessary. I don't drink myself but I'm a chemist and the concentration in breastmilk is so low even in someone who is totally smashed it's just nothing.

Remember the whole advice people gave to rub whiskey on a teething baby's gums? I'm again not saying that's a good idea but for some perspective doing that once would expose the baby to an order of magnitude or more as much ethanol as could possibly be passed through a totally smashed mother breastfeeding for a day.

But she nursed 3 times. It adds up. And with judgment like hers, I would be concerned about future decisions. Where does she draw the line on what is a good idea and what isn't?

So the baby got three cups of fruit juice? Call CPS!

[Anonymous]

I reported a ton of comments on this thread but clearly need to report more.

OP, you're fine. Don't make a habit of it for obvious reasons (whether breastfeeding or not) but PPs who say a negligible amount of alcohol reach the breastmilk are correct. Plenty of reassuring things here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK501469/

[Anonymous]

I skimmed through this thread and can't believe nobody mentioned that the biggest risk of drinking and breastfeeding is dropping the baby!! Sounds like that didn't happen, OP, so your baby will be OK. But keep it in check next time or hire a babysitter and give formula or pumped milk.

Btw, re: pumping and dumping, you don't need to pump just to "clear" your milk of alcohol (that's not necessary). But it is necessary to pump to keep your supply up, especially when your infant is so small.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2-3 hours per drink before breastfeeding again is what I followed. This is just one time, baby will be fine!

Thanks. I have no idea what I was thinking! I nursed him 3 times when I should NOT have been driving. Feel like the absolute worst parent on the world right now…

Why the hell did you nurse him? When I was in that situation, I pumped and dumped and fed the baby pumped milk.

DP. That was equally stupid, because the risks from nursing while drunk primarily arise from dropping or smothering the baby, not from the negligible amount of alcohol in the breast milk, so feeding the baby pumped milk wouldn't help. Your judgment is misplaced here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I skimmed through this thread and can't believe nobody mentioned that the biggest risk of drinking and breastfeeding is dropping the baby!! Sounds like that didn't happen, OP, so your baby will be OK. But keep it in check next time or hire a babysitter and give formula or pumped milk.

Btw, re: pumping and dumping, you don't need to pump just to "clear" your milk of alcohol (that's not necessary). But it is necessary to pump to keep your supply up, especially when your infant is so small.

PP: I mentioned that on page 3. Otherwise I agree with your post!

[Anonymous]

"if you regularly have more than one drink a day, it can have negative effects on your nursing baby.”

Nursing babies who are regularly exposed to alcohol through breast milk may experience:

Developmental and neurological problems.
Sleep problems."-- Cleveland clinic.org

Op-- The bottom line: You obviously care about your child and had an extreme misjudgment on one day. Please self-correct going into the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The amount of alcoholics on this board is…yikes. 5 drinks in 4 hours is too much for anyone, let alone someone who is in charge of watching a child, let alone someone who is BREASTFEEDING that child. Full stop.

OP, atleast you’re in good company. Maybe you and a dozen of these other women can start a support group.

If you knew any real alcoholics you would know how stupid you sound.

Ah yes, the irony. An immediate family member -who had children - died of alcoholism. Does that give me the stripes you need? What a dumb, ignorant comment. This is red f***ing flag behavior.

OP's behavior might be red flag, but I'm responding to the comment about this thread being full of alcoholics. Reading comprehension, a valuable life skill!