Beer!

One thing I really missed when I was pregnant was beer.  Before I got pregnant, I had just started venturing outside of my Miller Lite box and into the delicious world of ales and pilsners.  I like my wine dry and oaky, I like my beer hoppy!  We had gone to a beer festival and I got to try some of the best hoppy IPAs and couldn’t wait to sample more.  What made it even better was that my husband brewed beer, so I would get to explore my palate even more.

Obviously when I got pregnant I had to give that up, and it was easy.  I had no resentment or problem.  I did miss the social aspect of it, and at first friends wondered why I wasn’t joining in on nights out.  The hubs brewed a special ale for the baby shower.  Everyone kept saying how great his beers were, and luckily he saved me some.

Then I started finding out about breastfeeding and I found out that I couldn’t have a celebratory glass of champagne in the hospital like my mom wanted to do.  The Bumble would be eating so frequently and alcohol passes so freely in your system that it was not feasible.  Oh well, I figured.  I can wait.

Well she is almost 3 months old now and going about 6 hours between feedings at night.  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, alcohol is considered a safe consumable; with limitations of course.  Alcohol should not exceed one drink per day, and breastfeeding should wait until at least 2 hours after consumption to give the body time to get rid of the alcohol.  The pump and dump method is a farce; milk contains alcohol just as the blood does.  Pumping and dumping does nothing.

So last night I decided to take the plunge!  My husband bought me a Founder’s Pale Ale, and poured it for me after her last feeding of the night.  I drank it within an hour, along with water.  Bumble did not want to eat for another 4 hours, so I felt good about that.  Although I did worry in the morning, I kept remembering that it was one drink and I had continued to drink water all night long.

I decided that I will let myself have a beer on Friday and Saturday nights only right now.  This will give me something to look forward to and a chance to ease into it.  Also I just don’t have the urge to drink much.  It is nice to relax with a beer, but it’s even nicer to cuddle with my little baby.  🙂

If you are a mom, do you have an occasional drink?  If you aren’t a mom, do you think you would?  I’m interested to hear since this seems to be a hot topic!