Caffeine really that significant?

[LROM]

My LO is almost 8 months old and I've been breastfeeding the whole time (although she's eating solids too). In the last couple of weeks I've gone from only drinking periodic coffee drinks (no more than one a day) to having an iced coffee every day. I also noticed somewhere in the 1st week that I seemed to have a bit less milk and that it wasn't it's usual more white, super milky-looking color. It looked more like skim milk than whole milk basically.

I figured it was just my milk evolving or changing, didn't worry about it too much cuz DD didn't seem to change her nursing habits.

But 4 days ago I decided to really try to kick the caffeine habit and no more daily iced coffees. I notice that the last 3 days I've had a good 3 or 4 oz more milk per pumping session and that the "whole milk" color has returned. I can't think of anything else that's changed in my diet or habits.

Does caffeine really make *that* much of a difference? I always thought one drink didn't do much? And what does the white in milk mean - is that the fat? I'm assuming it's better for it to be more white/opaque?

[LaurieG]

Could be because caffeine acts as a diuretic so it's very dehydrating. That would explain the decreased production.

Color can change according to you diet (i.e. greenish color on days where you've had a lot of green leafy veggies), opaqueness is related to fat content. I've heard mixed reviews on fat content in mother's milk. DD's nutritionist told me that fat content decreases as a baby ages, but I've read the opposite on kellymom.com. The literature says composition of nutrients in BM doesn't change with mother's nutrition but I know I've had fluctuations in fat content of pumped milk - I assume according to my overall nutritional state. So in my mind it's definitely possible that caffeine intake could affect fattiness of the milk.

[KJRSMR]

Hi,

I have been drinking one large iced coffee per day while nursing my 10 week old twins. I have never noticed a difference in color or supply if I cut down on the caffeine.. I was wondering the same thing though. It doesn't seem to bother my twins at all..They still sleep a little bit.

[monkey-lamb]

I am not sure how it affects your supply or quality. I cut caffeine out completely when my DD was around 4 months old and it had no effect on her sleeping habits (or the lack thereof).

[LROM]

Thanks for your replies!

I actually had 1/2 an iced coffee this morning because I needed to stay awake during a long mtg, and sure enough... after 4 days of very opaque and more milk, when I pumped this afternoon it was that lowfat milk color again (much more watery/bluish looking) and there was a little less of it.

Maybe it does vary from woman to woman, and the effects on baby also vary from baby to baby?

I just know it seems to affect my milk production and maybe quality, so I'm gonna try to keep it out as best I can.

Thanks for your thoughts! I will probably check Kellymom too, forgot to look there.

[SamiPolizzi]

I basically drink half a pot of coffee every day, and my milk supply is good (if anything, I've got too much) and my baby is huge.