I drink one mug of coffee 4-5 days a week. I love the taste and the ritual. I'm not addicted to it at all. I don't get headaches if I don't drink coffee and it doesn't do much to wake me up.
If I need something to wake me up, I have coconut water. I get instant energy from it, with no caffeine side effects.
what is this about coconut water instant energy? I have never heard of this
I don't drink coffee because it makes me have to pee a lot. I don't like spending so much time running to the bathroom over a one small cup of coffee.
thanks everyone for piping in!
as far as a non dairy creamer.... homemade cashew milk is incredibly creamy!!! although I haven't made it myself but a friend of mine does I tasted it and it was awesome and she said it was easy!
even though that may be true that my brain is still tired when I have to teach 3 and 4 year olds dance it is really important that I feel like going to sleep, or I get REALLY impatient. So even though I totally agree with you about not covering your body signals when you don't have a choice about going to bed earlier or napping then what?? :D
Yeah, it's when you can't get more sleep that is the hard part. That's the point where I really start to seriously question my priorities. Last fall 1 yo ds started having hellish sleep issues and I had just gone back to school part time. He was keeping me up 3 or 4 hours in the middle of the night nearly every night. I was trying everything I knew to get the sleep that I needed, and get ds to get the sleep that he needed, and it just was not working. It lasted about 3 months. Impatience was a big problem for me, after being woken up again, and trying for over an hour to put ds back to sleep. I found I had to give myself pep talks before hand, about how I would handle it when he woke up, what steps I would take, how he wasn't doing it to make me crazy etc etc. Luckily we got it figured out finally, otherwise I probably would have quit school.
If you want to try giving up the coffee, maybe think of some mantra or other strategy ahead of time to handle your impatience in the dance class. Or start thinking creatively about how to rearrange your life so that you can get more rest.
I used to drink a few cups/day. I don't drink it in the morning anymore. I enjoy coffee, but it keeps me awake at night if I drink it too late in the day. I also didn't like how I crashed every mid-morning after having coffee. I guess I'm affected by it more than others, as dh drinks as many pots as some of you here drink cups. Yep, dh drinks a few POTS of coffee/day. He's from Turkey, so we also drink Turkish coffee. In Turkey, it's a kind of mid-morning ritual (I think I explained this just recently in another coffee thread, but I can't remember where). They drink tea for breakfast in Turkey, and coffee is considered a digestive. Sometimes in the afternoon, I make myself a cappuccino and really sit down and relax with it. I did so on this past rainy Friday afternoon and it was just lovely. Had some Italian amaretti cookies along with it and it was a treat. That espresso/cappuccino maker has been going for nearly 20 years now and I've loved every moment of owning it. It makes me feel indulged without drinking a lot of coffee every day (and saved me a lot of money, since I can make all the coffee shop favorites at home).
I tried to kick the habit, but I'm back to a daily cup of coffee. It's my only vice! If I don't have it I will get a headache so I know I'm hooked.
I used to need a morning coffee and soda at lunch when I was teaching, but I feel coffee is at least healthier than that junk. I drank half-caff during my pregnancy and am now breastfeeding. I was very careful to notice if affected my babe but I don't see any changes in his behavior if I drink it or not. I mix regular coffee with decaf so I do feel better about having less caffeine.
If you are trying to cut back, you could try mixing in a little decaf and gradually cut back that way.
I live in NW were coffee is worshipped and I was barrista for a few years. I never really drank coffee or espresso because the “caffeine” made me so jittery. I was already a bit of a hyper spaz anyway and didn’t need any help in that department LOL
From learning about coffee I understand that it has additional componants beyond just caffeine that bring on the alert feeling but can also cause jitteriness or that anxious feeling. This isn’t found in chocolate, black tea, etc…
I occasionally drink decaf speciality drinks. I mostly drink a single cup of English Breakfast tea with cream and sugar in the morning. It’s warm and provides a bit of a boost.
Rhianna
what is this about coconut water instant energy? I have never heard of this
Coconut water is filled with electrolytes. It is the best pick-me-up! It can be an acquired taste, but I love it.
I love LOVE coffee. When I first was pregnant last year, I gave it up. A bit of the way into my pregnancy I started having weekly lattes. It was such a treat. I have an infant now, almost 6 months, and while I'm sometimes conflicted...I admit I do have one large mug of coffee most days. It's the easiest way for me to get a ton of calcium as my nursing babe can't yet digest the dairy protein. So it's actually two cups I have of half coffee, half almond milk.
In college I drank coffee all day. All day. I love, love, love it. Then I gave up coffee for probably 4 or 5 years- a few while TTC, 9 mo while pregnant, and then in the first year of BFing. Now I drink a couple of cups in the morning and just relish it. I've had to give up so much because of DS's food sensitivities- dairy, eggs, wheat, soy, nuts- I feel like it's my one guilty pleasure left. As long as I keep it to about two small cups, he's fine. I also only drink it in the morning, because PM coffee just messes me up now.
And for those looking for dairy-free coffee creamer, So Delicious makes a coffee creamer out of coconut milk that is sublime!
I love my coffee!! I love it just about any way, any time of day. I used to hate coffee until I met my husband, and he's a total coffee addict, so I'm hooked. I usually make decaf or at the most half-caff and have it in the morning. It's usually 1-2 mugs full. Sometimes if we're out, I'll buy a decaf later in the day. I just love coffee. I gave it up a couple of months ago, complete with awful headaches and lethargy. But my nursling was struggling to sleep well. After a few weeks, I switched back to decaf. So far he's doing much better. I never functioned the same after giving it up; I didn't have the same energy I had as when I had a cup of morning joe. I seem to get waaaaaay more done on the days when I've had a cup of full-strength coffee. But until I'm done nursing, I can't do that.
I think anything in moderation is fine. 
I have 4 to 6 ounces of coffee every morning. Sometimes I'll have more of the same, or a cup of black tea, around 4pm.
Maybe I'm being weak and dependent, I dunno. But that's not how it feels.
I love my coffee!! I love it just about any way, any time of day. I used to hate coffee until I met my husband, and he's a total coffee addict, so I'm hooked. I usually make decaf or at the most half-caff and have it in the morning. It's usually 1-2 mugs full. Sometimes if we're out, I'll buy a decaf later in the day. I just love coffee. I gave it up a couple of months ago, complete with awful headaches and lethargy. But my nursling was struggling to sleep well. After a few weeks, I switched back to decaf. So far he's doing much better. I never functioned the same after giving it up; I didn't have the same energy I had as when I had a cup of morning joe. I seem to get waaaaaay more done on the days when I've had a cup of full-strength coffee. But until I'm done nursing, I can't do that.
I think anything in moderation is fine.
I too gave up caffeine for a little while because my babe wasn't sleeping well. I was happy to discover the coffee had nothing to do with the sleep (or lack thereof). Phew! :)
I used to drink lots. Now I am down to a double expresso a few times a week. I stopped becasue I felt it was making my body too acidic. Since stopping I feel icky when I drink filtered coffee.
I've been free of coffee for about a week now. I quit for pregnancy, but started drinking 3+ cups to get me going as soon as baby was here. I don't know if coffee has anything to do with it or it was stress I developed asthma and then read in few places that caffeine is not good for asthmatics. 
I decided to quit again and started by limiting my coffee, so went from 3 cups to 2 and then to one. I used Teccino (herbal coffee that is caffeine free) as an alternative. They even give you a guide on how to do it on their website. I still wish I could have coffee some days, but overall transition wasn't bad. I'm shock myself that I don't need coffee to keep me going! I would drink it though because I like it so much if not the health impact.
If you want to srink coffee make sure it's organic and fresh. There are some articles on Dr. Mercola's website about it which I found interesting.
I love coffee! I've actually gone back and forth on this over my lifetime but most of the research has found a lot of positive affects from coffee (decreases your risk for Alzheimer, Parkison's, cancer, and gallstones http://www.benefitsofcoffee.org/). That being said I go cold-turkey when I'm pregnant and I'm actually thinking of not drinking decaf either during my next pregnancy (there are more added chemical in order to make the coffee decaf). Plus, it relaxes me and is an almost zero calorie drink (I don't use sugar and it's the only way I drink any milk). I know I can live without it because I've done so twice during pregnancies but in the meantime I love it and I definitely need the extra energy chasing after a toddler and trying to work at the same time!
I gave it up when I started TTC. I generally had 3-4 cups per mroning so I had to ween myself slowly. FIrst I went to half caff for a few months and then gradually decreased that. Instead, I know have tea in the AM which allows me to keep the ritualistic part without so much caffeine. I have coffee now on rare occassions as a special treat. For example, I had a cup with dessert for Easter Brunch and it was wonderful!!
Neither of my parents drink coffee regularly so I didn't really grow up with it. I do occasionally drink a cup, usually in a fancy restaurant with dessert or at a family gathering again with dessert. That happens less than 10 times a year though. Usually it's a good, expensive coffee or a flavored one. It's mostly something I can take or leave. I think the coffee you get in offices or schools or places like that is nasty.
I like coffee drinks better than plain coffee. I will get a mocha or a caramel macchiato every once in a while, less than once a month. Every fall when Starbucks gets pumpkin spice lattes I go through a bit of a binge there though. I tend to get one a week for a few weeks, then taper off again. Now since I'm working on losing weight, I haven't gotten anything like that in a while. There's an insane number of calories in those drinks.
My parents didn't drink coffee, but my Dad regularly drinks wine and mixed drinks (he's not a beer drinker) We never got watered wine or anything, but he would allow each of us (me and 3 siblings) a single sip of whatever he had. I remember liking the white wines and we kids called gin and tonics "shoe polish."
All 4 of us grew up to handle alcohol responsibly.
My DD has tasted both coffee and alcohol, though neither were intentional. She has grabbed my latte a few times and sipped. She's also grabbed a bottle of fermented cider that I had finished and drunk the last few drops in there. She liked that and has asked if she could have some of her own. I explained that it was a mama drink and she could have some when she was older. Now I usually let her have those last 2 or 3 drops in the bottle. But I only drink every few months. I generally feel like if I model moderation and don't make it a Big Deal,then she will do the same.
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