Dear Erika, I have a question about drinking and breastfeeding. I am going out for a night with the girls for the first time I will have 3-4 drinks in a 3 hour period. How long should I wait to breastfeed? My baby is a month and a half old how do I know how many ounces to pump to make sure there is enough milk for him? Thank You,Kristie Dear Kristie, Your concerns about alcohol passing into your breast-milk and onto your baby are correct. Drinking and breastfeeding on a regular basis is not healthy for you and your baby. Occasional drinking of 1 or 2 alcoholic beverages is considered safe. The safest practice is to wait until you feel normal again before breastfeeding your baby. If you are intoxicated you should wait until completely sober to breastfeed your baby. When you feel normal, your blood plasma alcohol levels will be quite low. Alcohol does not become trapped in your breast milk and it will pass out of your breast milk at the same rate that it passes out of your blood at a rate of approximately 1 oz per 3 hours. Pumping your milk while intoxicated will not make the alcohol levels go down any quicker. Here are a few suggestions that may work for you: Assuming you will be away you’re your baby for 3 hours you will probably need to leave at least one pumped feeding. Breastfeed your baby before going out. Consider choosing lower alcohol level drinks such as beer or wine as opposed to harder drinks like vodka and whiskey etc.Enjoy your night out! Warmly,Erika Lange | 
