As I write this post, my little person is not home. I miss the kid, what with his biting my nipple, fussing, whining and absolutely adorable smile. But it's nice to be able to spend time alone with my husband (and share a bed with him). Usually on our nights out we go eat and have a drink or two (or four which is my personal limit).
Oh no! I'm ruining my milk! In the words of the Redneck Ninja, "No says I."
It's OK to drink and breastfeed.
I'm not saying to get smashed and give your baby some milk on tap (see what I did there?), but I am saying that if you have a night out and have one or even a few drinks, it's not going to ruin your milk. The alcohol content that goes into breast milk from just one beer or glass of wine is so small that even if you fed your baby immediately after, it would have no effect (Detailed information here).
Wait a minute. What about when you get a little toasty?
DON'T FREAK OUT. If you get kind of drunk, it's best not to feed your baby immediately, but once you feel sober, then it's safe to say your milk is sober (Really great article here). When my husband and I went out for his birthday and I celebrated (he stayed sober...happy birthday suga suga), I was in no shape to sit up and pump when we got home. In other words, sitting up straight wasn't really an option for me that night.
After I woke up COMPLETELY engorged (try to pump if you can just for physical comfort) and feeling like I had just undergone a cheap breast augmentation, I pumped a good 15 oz. I froze the milk (because alcohol doesn't freeze...the logic is uncanny, really) and later decided to throw it out JUST BECAUSE it looked more water than milky.
To pump and dump is wasting your milk, especially if you are sober. The truth is, the milk is not going to change just because you throw out the milk that was "in there" while you were drinking. The only reason to throw the milk out is because:
1) you're drunk and uncomfortable
2) it's more foremilk (watery) than hindmilk (fatty and more nutritious) <personal thought.
So go out, have fun and if you want to drink, sip it up!
Or not.
It's whatever.
If you are an alcoholic, you probably don't need to breastfeed. <personal thought, just throwing that out there.
None of the information above pertains to illicit or prescription drugs, so don't do those. Just say no.
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