Question for coffee lovers

[CityGirl]

Are you quitting for your pregnancy? I did with my first, although I got so tired my third trimester I would have a cup of Earl Grey tea. Since the birth of my daughter I've become much more caffeine dependent. I found out I was pregnant a couple days ago and stopped drinking coffee and tea, but boy DO I MISS IT. The conventional wisdom these days seems to be that caffeine in moderation is okay--I certainly see pregnant women slurping it down left and right. But somehow I feel like it can't really be healthy. So what's everyone here doing?

[HydeParkB]

I've cut it out completely, mostly because the nausea made it unappealling. I've probably had 5 or 6 caffienated beverages (tea/soda) in the last 6 weeks. When I went to see my OB and she ran through the drinking/smoking/coffee list of do's and don't's, she said that a cup a day would be fine.

Plus, I'm having a hard time drinking enough water and milk, so I try not to have tea when I could survive with a glass of water. I just stumble around in a tired haze.

[KoalaMommy]

I did tea each morning, I wasn't too worried about that level of caffeine. I've since stopped, but a cup here or there doesn't worry me too much. Now that's just me. You could also try easing off by switching to half caf and then tea and then tea every other day then nothing. I have used this method to avoid caffeine headaches that sometimes plague me during stressful times when I drink way too much coffee. If I'm craving the flavor, I just have decaf, or coffee milk made with coffee syrup, which you have to buy online if you live outside of New England.

[plantmommy]

I drink coffee to my body's tolerance level, which has varied from one pregnancy to the next, and also over time with each. Typically, I couldn't drink it at all in the first trimester. I would never have more than a cup in the morning at any time, anyway, but right about now I have a half a cup, light and sweet.

[Artisan]

I have like 1/2 cup a day of strong coffee. I didn't want any with my first baby, but I really do with this one.

I actually think decaf is worse for you, as the chemicals that are used to decaffeinate the coffee are pretty yucko. People have been consuming caffeine for thousands of years, and I am comfortable with the amount I drink.

[delighted.mama]

I cut down to decaf before getting prego with dd#1. Drank decaf throughout the whole preganancy. Would have a couple a cups of day. I'm doing the same with this pregnancy, even though I've snuck a couple of cola's this time around! I think it's ok if in moderation and if your body reacting to it well. I know immediately when I have too much caffein.

[sadean]

I have made a concerted effort to cut my caffeine intake to either 0% or a minimal level (less than a cup of coffee equivelent per day). I had my first cup of even decaf in about 3 weeks this morning. I ate some chocolate over the weekend. I did go through a relatively annoying withdrawl period this pregnancy. I was getting a caffeine headache every afternoon for a while. They have subsided recently, but it took awhile

[supervee]

The smell made me nauseous the first trimester. Combine that with the general lack of energy & I was mostly horizontal. I'm okay with it now, thank goodness. That 2:30 p.m. cup (mostly milk) really saves my life. I read somewhere that you "could have" up to 2 big gulps (those giant convenience store sodas) a day and not go over the limit of 350-400 units of caffeine. So I'm thinking my daily cup of free-range coffee bean (teehee) latte is fine.

[insomniamama]

With both kiddos, I couldn't even stand the smell of coffee each morning, when my husband made it, during the first trimester. Beyond that, however, I have been a regular consumer of coffee either in the form of a single shot latte twice a day, or (as our Fourbucks/Peets budget has dwindled) 2 cafe-au-laits each day (one milked-down cup in the morning, another in the afternoon).
TODAY, however, I must have made a really strong batch of coffee, and I'm having a hard time unwinding. It's been killing my conscience. In fact, I just found this thread after searching "caffeine and pregnancy" because I've been so worried about this rush the past couple of hours!

I really want to cut back, it's just very difficult for me. I have thallassemia minor, which tends to make me really crave a nap in the afternoons, plus I am pregnant right now (33 weeks), PLUS I have a spirited 2 year-old who hates to take naps!

-insomniamama

[SomedayMom]

I have tried to minimize, but really my only other major source of caffeine would be chocolate :) and the occasional tea (but I mostly drink decaf for that anyway).

I usually get decaf. I get half reg/half decaf if I really feel like I need the real thing, but the longer I'm away from it, the less I want it :)

[OakEmber]

I'm with you...I didn't drink it when I was pregnant with DD, didn't want or miss it...I did however crave Pepsi slurpees that are probably much worse for you due to the sugar content :LOL This time I am having a much harder time going without, maybe that has to do with being woken up in the morning by DD instead of waking to my own internal clock! Anyway, this time I was drinking it pretty heavy (about 3 cups a day) until m/s hit, and then once I started feeling better got back into the habit of one in the morning. I've been buying decaf to ( it's swiss water processed and organic to boot so I don't think it's worse for me than regular) because sometimes one is not enough. I do feel guitly about it, although my midwife believes (as I do) that it is not going to cause harm. I am more concerned with the dehydration factor being that it is summer, so I make sure I drink lots of water. I know that I will be drinking coffee while nursing, like last time, and at least this way it won't be a shock to baby's system...right.

[Aura_Kitten]

for me, moderation is key.

when i first got pregnant i was drinking... a lot. i was still in college full-time, and was spending about 12 hours a day at the college. when i found out for sure i was pregnant i couldn't give up my coffee entirely... i started cutting back on it, but i still would drink a couple of cups a week.

finally toward the end of december i started doing without caffeine... until we all got the stomach flu early january (OMG i don't want to go through that again!)... luckily (? is there a "lucky" anything in this case??) i was the last one to get it, so while the others were sick, i stayed up w/ them and drank lots of Matte Latte herbal tea ~ "all night samba herb tea": lots of caffeine, and lots of scent, so i could bury my nose in the steam when the smell around me got to be a little too much. after that i realized that a cup now and again of something strong, hot, and caffeinated wasn't going to kill us. :)

i don't drink a lot of coffee anymore now... around the 6th month it started giving me horrible diarrhea. :( but i still torture myself with a delightful cup of dark happies once in awhile and just bear the pain that comes with it...

[~Megan~]

I'm not preg, sniff, but I did decaf.

You can't always tell what's in the cup. It could be steamed milk, I had a lot of friends drink that when preg. Here in the NW you can't go without some coffee drink for a whole 9+ months.

[sadkitty]

Here in the NW you can't go without some coffee drink for a whole 9+ months.

Amen to that. I went to Mabels today and had some of their fabulous fresh limeade, but I really wanted a big ole' cuppa. My brain and tongue miss it soooo much. My digestive system will probably up and leave me if I drink coffee any time soon. The good news is my NP is so relaxed, she said I could drink coffee after 12 weeks when I feel like it, but not more than 3 cups. Only 2 weeks `til then!

[mum2tori]

I'm not a coffee drinker (that's DH's addiction :LOL), I'm a major ice tea drinker though. With my first pregnancy, I cut almost all caffeine out. I was drinking decaf tea or lemonade. With my second, I switched to mainly decaf tea but still had the occasionally regular tea when I was out. This time I still make my ice tea mainly decat (large decaf bag with a single regular bag). I try to moderate my caffeine intact but I don't go totally avoid it.

Oh, never avoided the caffeine in chocolate in any of the pregnancies. :W :W

[jeanettemc]

hey ladies, Teecino worked for me when I couldn't resist the craving. No caffeine and lots of potassium and the vanilla or mocha smell so good! Just a thought. Jeanette

[cholderby]

So far I've cut back to two cups (not mugs, but those annoying small cups that come with a dish set that never get used) a day. I don't drink any soda or tea, so I don't think I'm over my limit.
I'm thinking that there are so many things that I really want and can't have (like an allergy pill!) that I might as well have the things that are approved in moderation. I also don't want to make too many big changes at once.

What's teecino? Where do you get it? I think it's really the smell of coffee that gets me, not so much the caffeine...

[BabyOsMommy]

I stopped drinking all caffeine during the first trimester. I was getting headaches though, and discovered that one (large) cup in the morning helped with that. And it's not like I was in withdrawal, I hadn't had caffeine for weeks, and before that never more than 3cups/day (and those were my bad days). The risk is at 3 or more cups/day, and I had planned on cutting it out entirely, but I am really enjoying that one cup in the morning!

[Snowbaby]

I cut it out the first trimester (except for a few sips here and there). Had it occasionally (once a week or so) during second trimester, and switched to decaf for third trimester because it is all I crave now, the taste of coffee.

[plantmommy]

Amie! LOL! Actually, with my last pregnancy, I couldn't tolerate coffee at all for the duration. The morning after her glorious homebirth, I remember the smell wafting up the stairs from the kitchen, where dh made coffee, and despite not being able to stand the smell for the whole pregnancy, it was heavenly! I had him bring me up my cuppa.

: D

I have to think our bodies have to be our guides here. I just listen, and obey, pretty much. On some days I can have that cup, on others it's a few sips.

[tofumama]

With my first, I did everything 'right' including cutting out all caffiene. Once ds was born, I tried to have a SMALL cup of coffee, and he SCREAMED for about 30 mins after he nursed. Ugh.
Since then, with dd, I cut it out for the first tri, then was back to 2 cups a day, and could drink it while nursing, no problem. It didn't even keep her up!
With #3 I never stopped. I've been drinking it all along, and thankfully, m/s doesn't affect my desire for it!
They say everything in moderation, and I guess you just have to listen to your body. I have a girlfriend from the Phillipines who had a glass of red wine a couple times a week while she was pg! In her culture, that's what they did/do (I think it was ONLY red wine, and I don't know why). Not sure I would be comfortable with that...but you do what you know...

[ChasingPeace]

I'm not pregnant now, but when I first suspected I was with ds, I gradually cut down on coffee (doing the half regular/half decaf thing), and eliminated it during my first trimester. During the 2nd trimester, I'd occasionally drink a cup of decaf, and during the 3rd I usually drank a 20-oz bottle of caffeinated pop on workdays. I think the jury is still out on caffiene during pregnancy. I remember reading that caffeine in the first trimester increased the risk of miscarriage, so that's why I avoided it. I've also read that caffeine (a cup or 2 a day) combats depression (in general, not specific to pregnancy) which is why I went ahead with it during the 3rd trimester.

Kind of off topic, have you seen that study stating that moms who ate chocolate everyday while pregnant had happier, less fearful babies? Chocolate, of course, has caffeine in it, so caffeine can't be all bad!

[mamapajama]

I am 36 weeks pregnant now, and have had 8oz of NW strength coffee every day of this pregnancy. Hats off to all of you who quit. I just couldn't bring myself to do it this pregnancy

[OakEmber]

You know, I just wanted to add my 2 cents about the miscarriage risk. I had a m/c with my second pregnancy...one where I was drinking a bit of coffee but not much as I had already switched to decaf while TTC. I think the fact that I could tolerate coffee, still enjoy it infact was more a clue about the viablility of that pregnancy...like I stated before I was drinking coffee much heavier at the beginning of my third (this) pregnancy until I found out that I was pregnant and then I lost the taste for it...for awhile anyway.

So I am definately not making a statement that if you can stomach coffee your pregnancy is doomed....just a sort of which came first the chicken or the egg thing...does it really make sense to think that the coffee caused the m/c or is it just that the people drinking it were going to have one anyway...mine was chromosonal which most are so no amount of coffee or not would not have made a difference.

[nikirj]

My M/S was so bad it kept me from it for a long time. A week or two ago I started wanting it again and it does WONDERS for my m/s - I am not sure why, but a cup of decaf will ward off m/s for a whole half-hour (this is a BIG DEAL for me, I have been very sick most of this pg). But until then, I wanted nothing to do with coffee, chocolate, soda, tea...anything with caffeine in it. There are a lot of other things I didn't want anything to do with - but so far as it is relevant, it was never a problem for me to quit cold-turkey because it made me so sick.

[applejuice]

:coffee

No I am an old Java hound from way back...

:coffee

Time for a :coffee break, :wave

[MountainLovinMama]

Thanks mamas! I have been wondering about this too. I did not drink any in the first 13 weeks, but now am pretty regularly (a couple times a week) having a big mug of half decaf/half regular - and enjoying it! I buy organic coffee, and get the water-processed decaf - I worry about all the chemicals more than I do about the caffeine. Decaf that is conventionally processed is full of the nasty ones, so I feel much better about drinking the water-processed stuff, preferably organic.

[woobysma]

I couldn't stand the smell my first trimester, coffee or cigs - thank GOD - so it was easy to quit both completely (I had cut down drastically on both prior to getting preg, but still had a lingering habit)

In my second trimester, I started getting my morning latte again, but decaf only or herbal tea - for me it was having something hot in a paper cup that I needed - the lack of caffeine didn't really phase me.

[kris1225]

I couldn't stand coffee this pregnancy first trimester but I drink 2 cups of half-caff each day. And I wanted to agree with the other poster who worries more about the coffee being organic than caffeinated.

I actually became a coffee addict during my pregnancy with DD! I had to have a Starbucks latte every day before work. Oh yeah, and that was when I could afford a latte every day! :LOL

[MamaOui]

With #1: No caffine during my pregnancy and once in a blue moon during his first year of nursing

With #2: Occasional cup during pregnancy and about once a week during his first year of nursing

With #3: One cup a day during my entire pregnancy and one cup a day since she has been born. And she's 5 months old. I had the easiest pregnancy and delivery with her. And she's super mellow. I had an extra cup of coffee this evening, so I am still awake and she's sound asleep.

[mezzaluna]

used to have 2-3 caff. drinks/week, now have about 2/month during pregnancy. i specifically had a few in the 1st trimester to combat constipation!

caffeine always gives me horrible menstrual cramps, so i figure it does something uncool to my hormones, or at least to my uterus, so i'm trying to keep it pretty minimal during pregnancy. i'm sure not every woman experiences this, but i know of enough women who have the caffeine/cramps connection, that it's worth thinking about...

[sqoya]

Hey, just wanted you to know that when I did all my coffee research when I became pregnant, I discovered there are 2 ways to make decaf coffee: using chemicals, or using a newer method, which just uses high pressure water (SWP, Swiss Water Process). The chemicals are not considered safe for pregnant women, but luckily most gourmet coffee shops/health food stores carry the SWP decaf.