Drinking excessively, can be very dangerous to your baby if you are breastfeeding as a young baby under three months old does not have a mature enough liver to process the alcohol. To have an occasional alcoholic drink has not been proven to do any harm. So if you would like to have a glass of wine or something similar during the holiday season, go ahead. But, remember pumping and dumping, or drinking alot of water will not remove the alcohol from your blood stream. You simply need to give the alcohol time to work it’s way out of your bloodstream and breastmilk. So for as long as you feel the effects of the alcohol it will be in your breastmilk and you should not be feeding your baby at this time.
So enjoy a little, but make sure you have some reserve breastmilk, while your body’s metabolism has time to digest the alcohol. Enjoy in moderation!
Good to know that I can have a glass of wine with my Christmas dinner but I wonder if you could tell me whether I should also be careful with what I eat? Christmas is a time for rich food which is out of the ordinary. Some people say that you shouldn’t eat peanuts whilst breastfeeding for instance. I don’t know how much truth is in that, there seems to be a lot of conflicting information about but as I don’t normally indulge in nuts, Christmas is the time when they sneak their way into my diet hidden in cake and other Christmas indulgences. Should I be concerned?
Hello Pauline,
Enjoy your glass of wine! The general rule of thumb while breastfeeding, is everything is fine to eat, but in moderation! So when you are indulging in your rich christmas delights, just have small amounts, no matter how good it tastes! The guidelines for peanuts has changed relatively recently. The government guidelines used to say that you should avoid peanuts during pregnancy, brastfeeding and not give them to your child until he/she is three. Now they have deemed it safe to eat peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as long as you don’t have a close family history of peanut/nut allergies. So the answer is no you shouldn’t be concerned about the nuts you happen to find in your christmas eats. Enjoy, Happy Holidays.