coffee and nursing...

[nelson]

So, maybe this is just obvious and I don't want to admit it. Do you think drinking coffee makes a difference in how well your baby, or in my case, toddler, sleeps? Is there anyone, who used to drink it while nursing and then stopped and noticed a difference? My DS is 21 months and still nurses pretty frequently. I used to be better about my coffee intake when he was an infant, but not so much now that he is older. Opinions? Experience?

[lmk1]

I cut out coffee when I was pg with ds, and I HAD to start drinking it again when he was born. I was so tired and it was the one thing I really looked forward to ... that was my moment to enjoy alone. I didn't quit, so I can't tell you if he slept better or not. I did have just one cup of cappucino, so I wasn't drinking coffee all day, but it was good strong cappucino
Personally, I can't imagine that the morning cup of coffee in bm would affect how a kid would sleep at night. Not sure though if you're having a cup at 8pm though!

[KristyDi]

I only notice a difference when I have more than 1 caffeine drink later in the day. I do notice a difference though. When I indulge too much we have a crappy night.

[akind1]

I didn't really cut back my caffeine intake while pg or with nursing now. That said; I have only a large cup of coffee in the morning and maybe a diet coke once in a while (like once or twice a week at most). Maybe DS is just used to it? but I don't notice a difference on days I miss my coffee . . .

[tmwmommy]

I have a cup of coffee every morning and have never noticed any difference in dd.

[Llyra]

Caffeine never seemed to affect my girls at all. I did find that caffeine after about 3 pm made DS have a cranky evening and a hard time settling at night, though. But he was the world's cruddiest sleeper anyhow, so who knows?

[JayJay]

I wondered at first, when Bella was born, if my 1-2 mugs a morning were affecting her. Now that she's settled into a routine, I have to say I don't think that they are. I do know other children are affected - but she doesn't seem to be. Like previous posters I don't go over the top, but have about 1 to 1.5 mugs of milky coffee in the morning and probably another three or four cups of tea in the day.

Bella sleeps like she always sleeps - best in a swing of in the pouch on me during the day, and then quite soundly next to me (apart from sleepy nursing time) at night. She has her fussy time for a few hours until midnight or 1am, but that's just her. As far as I can tell she's right on track in terms of sleep

[witchygrrl]

I had coffee throughout pregnancy (occasionally I got decaf), but generally I'm a one large cup a day gal, so it's no biggie. And we're still going strong with nursing at 18 mos.

[Chryseis]

Originally Posted by KristyDi

I only notice a difference when I have more than 1 caffeine drink later in the day. I do notice a difference though. When I indulge too much we have a crappy night.

That's what I found while nursing also. My morning coffee was never a problem, but I did have to watch my intake throughout the rest of the day. My daughter was far more sensitive to my caffeine intake than my son was, though, so it seems each baby has different thresholds.