Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I got these neat little strips as a baby shower gift. I’m not sure about the accuracy of them , but I’ll go over my observations given the few times I’ve used them. My baby’s health is my #1 concern and I’m sure if you’re looking at these and you probably feel the same. I think knowing your body and using common sense is the most important. First experience: I used these on the 4th of July. I had about 5 Jello shots and one mixed drink. I tested my milk about an hour after the consumption and it tested that I was ok to breastfeed. I felt buzzed and didn’t really feel comfortable feeding him, so I pumped once before bed and then breastfed him in the morning. This experience made me a little hesitant to rely on them 100%. Second experience: I went out for the night with my hubby and some friends. I drank a significant amount of alcohol. I would say I drank about 4 mixed drinks and took about 4 shots of vodka (I hate to make myself sound bad here, but I want to be accurate). I am an ER nurse and do a lot of breathalyzers and blood alcohol levels on patients, so I feel like I can kind of estimate what my BAL would be. I would guess I was about a 0.2 (I didn’t drive and had a babysitter at home). I started drinking at about 6pm and finished around 10pm. I got home and tested my milk at 11pm. The strip turned dark, much darker than the box showed. I woke up at 1am to pump and dump. It still showed dark. Alcohol leaves the blood at about 0.02 per hour. So if I was remotely accurate with my guess my milk should be alcohol free by about 10am. At 9am I tested it again and it showed that it was clean. I pumped and dumped one more time for good measure and fed him at 10am. He was slightly cranky for a few hours and his poop smell different. I freaked out and was so worried that I fed him bad milk. By early afternoon he was his normal happy self. Sorry to bore you with a drawn out account of my experience, but I like having facts and details, so if you’re like me it might help. I think these are great strips, but I would error on the side of caution and pump and dump an extra time after it reads clean. Then again, I think it depends on how much you consume and how soon you plan to feed baby. An average woman who has a glass of wine after baby goes to bed and baby sleeps 6+ hours, I don’t think you even really need to test the milk. But, if you plan on having a significant amount of alcohol these are helpful. As always, use good judgement.