You've carried the baby for nine months without a drop of alcohol. Now that your bundle of joy is out of your belly, you'd love nothing more than a glass (or two) of wine. Not so fast. Having alcohol in your breast milk can lead to things such as let-down inhibition and decreased milk production, increased calorie consumption by the baby but without nutrients, disturbed sleeping patterns of your baby and potential inhibition of development of motor-skills of your baby...

...but you'd love just one glass of wine. In order to get the best of both worlds, you may want to consider getting Milkscreen a two minute test for the detection of alcohol in breast milk. Since time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system and every mom metabolizes alcohol differently, it is important to test your milk before feeding your baby if there is any question of the lingering presence of alcohol. Milkscreen takes the guessing game out of it and a box of four test strips is just $13.95. You can buy it directly from Milkscreen.com.

Please know that I am not in any way saying that the Milkscreen is a great excuse for new moms to drink like fish. However if you have an occasional glass of celebratory champagne, you'll know if you should use pre-pumped milk or formula just this once.

Fit's Tip: Alcohol is typically high in calories so consuming a lot of it will not help in your efforts in getting back to your pre-baby weight. If you are worried about milk production or creating an infection from not breastfeeding on your normal schedule, do the "pump and dump" after having your glass of wine.