I think I'm an alcoholic.
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The World Health Organisation said that there is no such thing as a safe amount of alcohol for human consumption. This wasn’t said in relation to breastfeeding but just in general. The advice of ‘if you’re sober enough to find the baby you’re sober enough to breastfeed’ is ridiculous. We all react to alcohol in different ways and the reality of the situation is - if you’re blacking out it’s not just the breastfeeding you should worry about but also your own safety too. Anything could happen, you could choke, could leave your baby unattended etc. I think it would be useful to get some medical advice about this in terms of: A) your baby’s development especially as you are worried about it B) help to stop drinking - for your health too, not just your baby (although breastfeeding whilst intoxicated is definitely NOT recommended at all). I do want to say that it’s really really positive that you’ve recognised your pattern of drinking as problematic, it can only get better from here :)
This is really concerning. The fact you breastfeed when your ‘drunk asf’ is awful. The fact your mum has also said ‘if your sober enough to find the baby, your sober enough to feed’ is also concerning, this is wrong information. There’s SO many risks with this. Please please get help. Are you turning to alcohol because you’re suffering with post partum depression?
the biggest thing you’ve done is admit youre an alcoholic. but now you have to stop, if you’re not willing to stop then formula feeding is always a solution. but for your baby, stop. you knew when having a baby you wouldn’t be able to get drunk 24/7. your baby needs you to be sober. i grew up with an alcoholic mother and it broke me and caused so many problems, with family, friendships etc etc. as for your mother i think that advice is disgusting. and do not follow through with the “sober enough to find your baby” at all.
Doesn’t blacking out scare you to be around your baby? You don’t get scared to get drunk around your baby? I’m not trying to be rude. When my partner gets drunk I don’t want him around the baby it scares the shit out of me. Have you tried tommee tippee bottles? They are the closest to naturally to a nipple.
If you don't seek help/get sober or at the very least stop feeding her while intoxicated, somebody should call cps.
Thank you everyone for your advice. I've seen and addressed the issue at hand and I'll be looking into AA groups near me and I won't be drinking again until she's on the bottle and someone else can watch her while I'm intoxicated.
I am not trying to shame or instill fear in you, but please PLEASE stop breastfeeding while that intoxicated. The idea that of being sober enough to find them is sober enough to feed them is extremely outdated logic and goes along the same idea of smoking cigarettes while pregnant doesn’t harm the baby, it’s just outdated and ignorant. Alcohol absolutely passes through breastmilk and especially in large quantities your child is being harmed by the affects of alcohol in development, sleep, and growth. I urge you to please please take whatever steps you need, find a support group, a program, use resources available to you, and please please do not feed your baby if you are extremely intoxicated and it hasn’t been 2 hours since you stopped drinking. I do understand this takes time to work on and in the meantime I recommend working with your baby with different bottles, and getting the hang of pumping for occasions like that. The Lansinoh brand bottles are designed for breastfed babies.