Coffee

[katiesmom]

I just can't give it up. If I do, I will not be able to function very long.
I have two cups in the morning and that is it. Is anyone else still drinking coffee? Is it THAT bad? I gave it up last time, but I didn't have a 4yo to care for, and taking care of the house was a lot easier!
Any thoughts?

[calynde]

ya know...all my (American) pregnancy books say to avoid coffee, but I live in Switzerland now and went through pregnancy and birth here. My OB and midwife both looked at me like I was crazy for even asking about it. I got an emphatic "of course you can drink coffee!!??" "what a very *American* thing to ask!".

I doubt this is particularly helpful for you but I think *technically" the research shows no problem up to 3 cups. That seems like a lot to me, though. I personally cut way back...one cup a day at most.

good luck!

[soccermominsd]

Hi Heather,
I was raised in a German household and started drinking at a very young age. I LOVE coffee. Admittedly often times I would drink it for it's perks on top of the flavor through the years. With my 16yo DD I drank a cup & 1/2 per day and she came out wonderful.

Because of my m/c in November I am more conscious of my coffee consumption as I have read from different sources about it's relation to m/c (though I believe it's due to complete excess). So I am down to a 1/4 cup of coffee and fill the rest of the cup up with soy milk and hazelnut creamer and that's it and I sip it super slow and try not to drink the whole thing.

[katiesmom]

Thanks you guys. I guess that I will try to keep it to 1 cup? I'm still only in the 4th week so, by next week, coffee could make me sick, hopefully!

[umami_mommy]

as long as it's not bothering you, i say, go for it.

last time coffee gave me heart palpatations, so i stopped. plus the smell of it was a bit too much for me.

this time i having one cup in the AM. today i was out and had a caffe au lait with a shot of hazelnut syrup... cause i love speciality coffee.

if it bothers me i'll stop, but for now it's cool and since i drink organic free trade with raw organic cream... i don't feel too bad about it.

[BCmamaof6]

Coffee usually makes me sick during pregnancy...so I quit in early pregnancy & usually resume drinking it by the end in small amounts.

With this pregnancy I am drinking a ( : ) Starbucks latte about once or twice a week if I'm out somewhere & really have a craving...but to avoid temptation I am not bringing coffee beans home (we own a coffee shop/cafe...so I have unlimited amounts...which probably explains why normally I drink 5-7 cups a day )

[Earthy~Mama]

I LOVE coffee but when I am pregnant it makes me want to hurl. So I cut back to...well...nothing.

BCMAMAof5... I am so jealous. I would love to own a cafe.

[OMama]

I normally have a double latte every morning, but gave it up cold turkey a week and a half ago when my pregnancy test was positive. I thought I would totally get headaches and be really grouchy, but it's been okay. No headaches. Not sure about the grouchiness -- we'd have to ask my DH. I gave it up with my daughter too the first time. Sometimes I miss it but not too terribly bad -- and who knows I may start drinking it again on occassion, but I'm trying to avoid that. I have to confess however that I think I have sort of replaced it with hot chocolate! First, I was just having steamed milk (I'm a foam junky!) but then somehow I started adding a little organic coco mix to it. Really, it is only less than one tablespoon but I realize it is still sugar and caffeine. So, could this be worse than my coffee? My friend told me she had read something once about chocolate being good for you (and the baby?) during pregnancy . . . anyone else heard this? Maybe it is just wishful thinking!

[pageta]

Here are my tips for getting off coffee...drink lots of water. Coffee dehydrates me, and when I'm dehydrated, I get almost the same boost from drinking water as I do from drinking coffee. Water also helps the withdrawal headache go away. It takes three or four days for your body to adjust, but once it does, you actually have more energy in the mornings.

I absolutely love coffee - love the smell, love the taste. Mixing caf with decaf is another way to wean oneself, but sometimes that's hard if they don't have your favorite blend in decaf. If I do drink coffee, I always drink extra water in order to keep hydrated. I have weaned myself from coffee more than once so I know how hard it is. One thing I will say about not drinking it very often is that when you do, you get way more of a buzz from it than you did when you had it every day. I weaned myself from coffee when I found out I was pg with ds, and I've managed to keep off of it since then (except for the occasional indulgence) and drink chai tea instead.

Those ideas may or may not help. I totally understand how you feel. But again, I will say that after having weaned myself from coffee, I find that I have more energy than I did before, even though I drank it to get energy. Coffee gives you a boost, but then you crash.

My final word of advice: try going coffee free for 30 days. Don't commit to it beyond 30 days. At the end of 30 days, you can either start drinking it again, drink it only occasionally, or not drink it anymore at all. But after 30 days, you can make an informed decision because you will know how you feel with it and how you feel without it and you can then weigh that against possible risks it might have for your baby.

Good luck!

[ssolberg99]

I just can't completely give up coffee if I am prego during the winter months. I am due in a month and have been drinking it (though not daily) for the past 4 months. Sometimes tea can satisfy me just as well.

[jule924]

Last time it made me sick starting around this time so I quit and didn't pick it up again until ds was probably close to 6 months.

This time around it is still tasting good and I don't drink much anyhow (not even a whole cup usually) so I'm not giving it up. Plus I think I need it to chase around my toddler!!

[chaibaby]

Mmmm...I understand. I don't like coffee, but I have always had an obsession with Starbucks Chai Latte. Its so hard to give it up...and I have had two since I found out. But I find that the taste isn't the same and so maybe it will wear off soon...

[katiesmom]

Ohh, I love chai latte! I just had one today But I thought I was being good. I don't think I would even worry about the amount of caffeine in a tea beverage. Thanks for the suggestions ladies, I got down to 1 cup today + a chai latte. I thought that was pretty good!
We'll see...

[~Shanna~]

I suspect the ban on coffee during pg has more to do with theoretical rather than practical experience. Like you've said, kids come out fine where they drink it during pg. I haven 't struggled with this, but I have struggled with.....

What do you ladies think about drinking pop during pg? I had given it up completely, until I had a craving this week. I drank 2 this week, but both were caffiene free (root beer and sprite). What are the bad things , besides the sugar? Citric acid? Just the sugar and caffeine?

[Momof3Girlz]

I gave up coffee after my bfp, not so much because I think it's so harmful, but I always hated the fact of being addicted to a substance. I do still drink it (had a craving for hazelnut just this morning, in fact) however, I do not have it on a daily basis anymore. I'm not enslaved to it as I was before. It was hard getting off of it, but I'm okay now. I guess the good thing too is that I haven't placed a "ban" on coffee per se. So if I feel like a cup than I have one. I'm just not depending on it anymore for functionality.

Sorry for being so wordy. I sound like some recovering drug addict, lol!

[deliarose]

I enjoy a latte daily, but have read mixed things as well about the caffeine. So I started doing half caf. I figure that is better than full caff. Somedays I don't have any, so I am not an addict, but do enjoy with a sit and a book now and then.