Did you avoid all caffiene? - Page 3

[staceychev]

I was so strict with my first pregnancy. This time, I'm having 1-2 cups of half-caff each day.

[Jelinifer]

Nope, not worth the potential risk for me... my infertility specialist told me no caffeine after ovulation each cycle, and (despite my love of coffee) I have stuck with it

[lizsky]

I would only drink coffee a few times a week pre-pregnancy, so it was easy to cut it out. I am tempted, however, to try having a little bit now that I'm well into my 2nd trimester, as my constipation has become awful.

[Pinoikoi]

I completely give it up.

[bjorker]

My first pregnancy, I pretty much gave it all up.
So far with this one I haven't, but I'm going to try and reduce it a little bit more... I hope...

[Thandiwe]

I've had coffee during this prg, though mostly decaf, sometimes 1/2 caff, very seldom full strength. I avoided caffeine way more in my last two pg, but this time around with a 4 yo, 2 yo, and 1.5 yo, I can't manage w/o the cup of coffee of some strength or another. I still buy caffeine free coke if I have it, though.

FWIW, my mom had 2-3 cups a day of full strength coffee with my sibs, and they are all just fine, well-adjusted, healthy adults.

[ZTMOM]

Ate any chocolate I wanted plus 1-2 cups of coffee/day with both pregnancies.

[Lillypop]

I'll drink up to one cup of green tea a day all the time, during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I don't do chocolate in the first trimester, and then only in small amounts all the rest of the time anyway (and it's organic, dairy free, dark chocolate chips).

I am not a coffee drinker nor do I drink black tea regularly. If I have black tea it's in the 2nd or 3rd trimester, or while breastfeeding, and it takes up my chocolate ration for that 1/2 week.

I do not drink soda ever, not regular or diet, and avoid all artificial sweeteners. We eat very healthy though, so that's our norm...all organic, whole foods, no dairy/beef/pork.

I do drink a cup a day of RRL tea every day in mid to late pregnancy, beginning around 25 weeks.

[*Erin*]

Mercy, no!
I drank it at will thru both pregnancies. Some days none, most days a cup to 3 cups, some days I was so exhausted I drank half a pot. Kids are fine

[Tattooed Hand]

I'm at 34 weeks with my first but have had a great, complication free pregnancy. I usually had (pre-preg) one mug of coffee a day, with soymilk no sugar. I was also really in shape, drank tons of water and ate lots of homecooked fruits, veggies and other natural foods. I'm mentioning this because caffiene is not consumed in a vacuum and I think context is a big part of the effects.

Once I got pregnant I drank half a mug full of real coffee a morning, filling the other half of the mug with soymilk. Some mornings I didn't finish the mug, some mornings I did. I just had as much as my body wanted (but never half a mug of real coffee - decaf weirds me out).

[jabeen]

I couldn't drink coffee or tea during the 1st tri since it made me sick, but now I have 1 cup of black tea a day. The occasional cup of Pepsi. And I don't limit chocolate (except for trying to not get too fat!).

[Ninetales]

Well, I haven't had any coffee because I never drink it anyway. I hate it.

I did give up other caffeine drinks for the most part. I switched to caffeine free stuff but I hardly drink pop anymore either. I have had a couple Mountain Dews in the last few weeks, and I like hot chocolate every so often, but that's really it. I figured it couldn't hurt to give it up and might be helpful, so why not?

[deny_zoo29]

I don't drink coffee (never have, don't like the taste) but I have had 1 (sometimes 2) cans of Mt. Dew each day throughout my pregnancy (doc ok'd this) and on occasion (maybe twice a week) I have a cup of Black Tea (not decaf).
I've had a picture perfect pregnancy (no morning sickness, no GD, not excessive weight gain, just a healthy baby). And I'm at 38 weeks today.
Just my experience.

[Dena]

Originally Posted by Tattooed Hand

I'm at 34 weeks with my first but have had a great, complication free pregnancy. I usually had (pre-preg) one mug of coffee a day, with soymilk no sugar. I was also really in shape, drank tons of water and ate lots of homecooked fruits, veggies and other natural foods. I'm mentioning this because caffiene is not consumed in a vacuum and I think context is a big part of the effects.

This is a really good point. From what I have read, the studies dealing with caffeine and low birth weight babies fail to take into consideration whether the mom is adequately nourished and hydrated.

Something else I have been thinking about is whether any of these studies take into account women who drink only organic coffee, as I suspect a lot of the coffee drinkers here do. It is pretty well established that non-organic coffee contains some of the worst pesticides and other chemicals, and that those are released big time when the coffee is brewed with hot water, so I wonder if it is the caffeine per se that is causing the problems, or the level of chemicals ingested by the mom. Just a thought.

[kanga1622]

I am not a coffee or tea drinker normally so that wasn't a problem for me.

My only sources of caffeine are soda and chocolate. I eat chocolate when I feel like it (which honestly isn't very often). I drink a soda once every couple of weeks when I feel the need to have juice with bubbles (I love orange/pineapple juice with just a bit of 7-up).

My doctor never gave me a list of things to avoid, just told me to take everything in moderation and use my best judgment.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

I do the "moderation" thing here too. In the first trimester, I drank no coffee (couldn't stand the smell) and very little tea unless it was ginger or Rooibos. Now, I have a coffee a few times a week (usually mixed with hot chocolate). We drink "bold" coffee at home which has less caffeine overall. I try to limit to one caffeinated drink a day - so either a tea or a coffee - and there's usually some chocolate in there somewhere - I have a small addiction to chocolate-covered almonds! No pop but simply because I can't stand that much sugar.

I've read that black and green tea can strip your body of Folic Acid, so I've been careful not to have too much of that either. I'm loving my Rooibos - and I guess pretty soon I should be starting on the RRL tea!

[november]

Nope, no way. Pop is my ONLY vice and I refuse to give it up, lol. I get horrendous headaches if I cut out all pop (usually 1 can per day) and seeing as I can't take any headache/migraine medication while pregnant, I continue to happily drink my pop without guilt.

[artemis33]

With DD I gave coffee up completely for the first half of that pregnancy - both out of concern and also because I became completely repulsed by even the scent of it during the 1st tri. Strange because I love coffee! But I took that as a sign my body didn't want/need it.

This time I have continued to have 1-2 reasonable size cups in the AM. I am a coffee snob and buy only organic fair trade shade grown so I know it is good quality. I don't drink soda. Occasionally I've had green tea instead of coffee if that was more appealing and I do have a little dark chocolate on occasion.

I agree that looking at the whole diet is important! I drink a TON of water, eat well, don't eat fast food or other junk (avoid HFCS, hydrogenated oils, etc) so I think a little caffeine is just fine. Besides I'd never be able to keep up with DD without it!

[ladyleah]

I have had about a 1/2 cup of coffee per day for most days during my pregnancy. I don't drink pop/soda or anything else with caf.-- but I do eat dark chocolate whenever I wish (which is often!).

I am 35 weeks now, and have had a wonderful, peaceful, physically comfortable pregnancy thus far== so it seems to be working for me!

baby to all!

[2sw33t]

I cut way back on coffee during the first trimester of my first pregnancy, then gradually upped it to 1 or 2 mugs of coffee a day or sometimes a 16 oz. latte. This time, I haven't really cut back at all, but up until last week (~20 weeks), I stuck to lattes because the smell of the coffee at work just nauseated me.

No problems with size, either on the first or with this one.

Always,
Jill