Saturday Night!!!

[allstarsassyone]

As we ALL know when weekends are here it's time to have a few drinks. Well, I work a tight schedule. Being a new mommy and all. My baby is almost 8 months old. Breastfeeding sometimes during the day. She's starting to take a bottle and eats solids. I want to drink a few glasses of good wine. But, i'm worried about her. It's not like i'm gonna go out to some bar and stay there all night. Just wanted to stay home have a couple of glass maybe watch a good movie...and sleep. Will my baby sense that i'm doing something bad? Will she drink it in the breast milk? Will she feel neglected? Just want to know!!!!!

[The Morrigan]

Alcohol goes out of your system at about 1 serving per hour, on average. So if you don't breast feed til the next day, the breast milk shouldn't be a problem. The ONLY thing it might effect that way is if, like some foods, it gives it any flavor she doesn't appreciate - but mine was like that about anything with garlic. The only other thing would be to make sure you are only relaxed, just in case you need to get up and/or drive somewhere, but I'm sure you've considered that already. Your baby will only sense it as bad if you're nervous or unusually uncomfortable around her - that's what she will pick up on, how YOU feel about it. As long as it's on occasion and in moderation, a glass of wine to have a relaxing evening won't harm either of you - and the relaxation could probably do you both some good since you'll recharge a little!

[QTpie87]

i don't think that it would be a very good idea at all to start drinking as long as you had a young child. i mean, no she probably wouldn't sense anything wrong, but sometimes babies do. and besides it's not a good idea to get drunk while you are taking care of a child.

[Ash]

The baby won't sense that you're doing something bad in a psychological sense unless you think badly about it. If you're perfectly comfortable, so will baby be. However, the alcohol you drink will come through in your milk.

 

As The Morrigan says, don't drink often, and try to keep it in moderation. Don't breastfeed your baby for several hours after drinking. Even better, if you can express milk, you may want to consider doing that after you drink, and discarding it. What will happen as you drink is a small amount of alcohol will come through, and even if baby doesn't feed for several hours, a bit will still be retained in your milk. Doing this possibly tends to fall on the side of being over cautious, but think about it if you're concerned.

 

A very small amount of alcohol, on a very occasion basis is unlikely to harm your baby.

 

You're baby won't feel neglected if you don't neglect her, and you certainly don't sound like you intend to do that. Again, if you're concerned about her feeding while you're having a drink, or soon after, and she won't take a bottle in the evening because of the taste, express beforehand and feed it to her when she's hungry. Depending on how she is, at 8 months, she'll be starting to get a little more used a variety of meals anyway, as you point out. So, it doesn't sound like an issue, her not being able to feed from you for a few hours.

 

Be careful, smart, plan ahead. and remember, happy mom equals happy baby!