Do you use caffeine?

[Maxine45]

Do you use caffeine?
Did you quit when you found out you're pregnant?


I'm in the process of cutting out black tea due to this pregnancy. I've worked my way down to green tea and the occasional iced tea at lunch.

My goal is to go off the sauce completely within a few weeks. I've seen lots of mixed reviews about whether or not it's ok to continue using caffeine.

Just wondering what everyone else is doing about this.

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

i don't do caffeinated beverages when i'm pregnant, tea, coffee or soda. i have an herbal tea i use from the natural pregnancy book by aviva jill romm that works great for me and is caffeine free. i do however still hit the chocolate sometimes which i know still has some caffeine in it, but i have a horrible sweet tooth sometimes and just can't help it.

one thing we discovered with DD though was that postpartum i had to bring caffeine back into my system very slowly and not until she was over three months old. i had one cup of coffee after dinner when she was about 3 weeks old and we were up ALL NIGHT with an inconsolable baby. the only "colic" my DD ever had.

[Maxine45]

i don't do caffeinated beverages when i'm pregnant, tea, coffee or soda. i have an herbal tea i use from the natural pregnancy book by aviva jill romm that works great for me and is caffeine free. i do however still hit the chocolate sometimes which i know still has some caffeine in it, but i have a horrible sweet tooth sometimes and just can't help it.

one thing we discovered with DD though was that postpartum i had to bring caffeine back into my system very slowly and not until she was over three months old. i had one cup of coffee after dinner when she was about 3 weeks old and we were up ALL NIGHT with an inconsolable baby. the only "colic" my DD ever had.

Aww that sounds so awful :(

I read a comment in the archived threads about not wanting the newborn to have to go through caffeine withdrawals, but I didn't consider the other way around.

[fenwickmama]

i'm pretty much off the caffeine for now. i'm not going to beat myself up if i want an iced tea out but at home and at work, i'm caffeine free...

[lotus.blossom]

No caffeine for me! And I love my coffee and green tea!
Its a small sacrifice for my babe. However its been hard becasue lately I had been buying diet cherry vanilla dr pepper (even though I rarely drink soda) and I'm slighly addicted to it! So its good that I'm pregnant so no more soda and sugar substitutes.

[midwestmom]

I still have an occasional one cup of coffee in the am. I drink decaf hot tea alittle and then just water-tons of water. With my first 2 preg's I did the same although many am's I had a coffee aversion, esp early on. I get very minimal caffeine. I don't drink soda and never do sugar substitutes anyway. We really have a mostly sugar and sugar substitute free house, so that isn't a problem.

I didn't give up coffee when I nursed either b/c neither kid had a problem with it. the most coffee I have ever drank in a day though is 2 cups and it is usually one and I like my coffee on the weak side.

[PancakeGoddess]

I'm having coffee in the morning - cutting back to half decaf and half regular. I feel SO much better after my coffee... pathetic but true. Most research I've read has said that the risks associated with caffeine are for really huge daily amounts, so I feel OK about my small amounts. In my first two pregnancies, coffee started to sound awful and I quite. Last time, I didn't really develop an aversion to it. I kind of hope I do this time!

[PrettyBird]

I switched to one cup of half caf and tomorrow I am going all decaf. I stopped all artificial sweeteners awhile ago but yesterday I accidentally ate ketchup with Splenda in it..yuck.

[Jade2561]

I usually have a glass of decaf. tea with dinner and I will occasionally have choclate milk or coffee milk. Not everyday, once in a while as a treat. I think it's better for me to have a little bit once in a while, because if I can't have something I want it more.

[sewaneecook]

Why is caffeine so bad. I know the reasons when TTC, but what does it do to the babe in utero? I rarely drink anything other than water, so it isn't too much of an issue for me, but I do have an occasional soda (I'm talking one/month!). And as for artificial sweeteners, I stay as far away from them as possible, I'm allergic and they give me seizures! Yikes!

[~pi]

I use caffeine. I make sure to monitor my caffeine intake, but I do that regularly anyway because I'm a little sensitive to it and if I have more than one or two cups of tea, it messes with my sleep patterns.

I did a full lit search on caffeine in pregnancy because it was one of my concerns. I found no evidence to support the idea that it might be harmful to the growing babe. I did find evidence that it may cause difficulty with conception and implantation, so I cut it out while we were TTC. (Note: of course, like anything, it is of concern when consumed in excess.)

In addition to the medical literature, I also considered it in terms of history and anthropology. Many cultures have consumed caffeine for centuries, including pregnant women, with no adverse results.

And as for artificial sweeteners, I stay as far away from them as possible, I'm allergic and they give me seizures! Yikes!
Make sure you tell your health care provider. If you have trouble with artificial sweeteners, it may be because you have trouble with phenylalanine, which means that your babe may be at increased risk of PKU (phenylketonuria), and that's something that you want to know asap. Phenylalanine is an amino acid found in many, many foods and untreated PKU can lead to neurological problems.

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

No caffeine....no fake sugar.....in fact very little sugar at all....very little dairy.

I know...how boring is that!!! :lol

[PancakeGoddess]

I wish I could cut out the dairy and sugar, but definitely no fake sugar or fake fat (olean or whatever, gag). I do basically lose my sweet tooth when pregnant, which is great, but I'm not no-sugar by any means.

[babydoll]

and milk chocolate has very little caffeine in it!. I don't eat enough of it to worry about anyway. I have never done good with caffeine. It makes me jumpy and if I get too much I can have shallow breathing. I do like decaf iced capp. though. (chocolate of course!) YUmmy

[homemademomma]

i still have a cup of coffee almost every day. thats the only caffiene i have though. i drink diluted RRL/nettle infusion all day after that. with ds coffee made me nauseas, but so far it is not bothering me. i know i should cut it out though. my whole diet is sooo squeaky clean that i would be so sad if i couldnt have my measly cup of coffee, kwim?

and if you are switching to decaf, MAKE SURE it is water processed! the chemical processed decaf has so many gross chemicals in it (like formaldehyde? maybe) that it is waaaaaaaaaay better to just have the caffeine!

[PrettyBird]

and if you are switching to decaf, MAKE SURE it is water processed! the chemical processed decaf has so many gross chemicals in it (like formaldehyde? maybe) that it is waaaaaaaaaay better to just have the caffeine!

I am :) It is an organic, water processed brand from my HFS. I am glad I found out about how terrible regular decaf is before I got pregnant.

[luckymama]

i was drinking a cup of green tea with lemon & ginger in the morning, but it started to smell bad to me, so i stopped. so i'm off caffeine now ... drinking pregnancy tea and water, and some juice. oh, i do take chocolate.

[desireeb]

I was addicted to decaf coffee with I was pregnant with DD, but this time I think I'll stick to pregnancy tea. I do enjoy a cup now and then, however. Oh, and I love that hot chocolate. That's my once a month treat.

[otter]

I don't do a lot of caffeine anyway but I do love my morning cup of coffee before work.
I had a question about dairy. I was thinking it was good to get lots of dairy with the calcium and all. Can someone enlighten me? I am brand new to this whole thing. Thanks!

[ilovemyavery]

I'm a total coffee junkie :) I never developed an aversion to it with my last pregnancy. Last time around, I weaned myself down to all decaf for the first trimester and then drank one cup of 50/50 in the morning in the second and thrid trimester. I'll probably do something similar this time as well. Although I dumped my coffee this AM because it didn't taste good. Something that has NEVER happened before!

[~pi]

I had a question about dairy. I was thinking it was good to get lots of dairy with the calcium and all.

Dairy isn't necessarily as great a source of calcium as one might think. However, it is a very convenient -- and IMHO a very yummy -- source, so allergies and ethical concerns aside, it isn't a bad thing to include in your diet. I've been having a little extra milk/cheese/yogourt lately, but I don't have any problems with dairy. If you do, good nondairy sources of calcium are things like leafy greens, tofu, seafood (especially sardines) etc.

[otter]

Thanks so much ~pi. That helps a lot. I have so much to learn about all this that any bit of advice or help is SO appreciated.

[1stTimeMummytoLore]

if you are concerned about getting enough calcium, that would be a good reason to dump the caffeine. caffeine and iron inhibit calcium absorption.

[vanilla]

I drink one or two cups of weak coffee every day...though with mypast pregnancies, I've wanted to barf at the sight of it by a few weeks in :lol...we'll see. It's kind of a coping with the morning thing for me....getting 3 little kids dressed, nursed, fed, pottied, etc....I have a hard time not being kind of stressed. For some reason sipping on a hot coffee makes me feel calm :)

[Jish]

With all of my pregnancies I have continued to have about one caffenated diet soda a day (caffine and aspertame -- bad, I know but it's one vice I can't seem to give up -- the diet soda, not the caffine really.) My one craving is soda out of a fountain and few places have any without caffine. I can't switch to regular soda cause it's too sweet.

My sil cut out caffine totally when she was pregnant and the first time she had it after the baby was born she had a screaming baby all night. She couldn't figure out what her problem was and when I asked her if she had eaten or drank anything out of the norm it was like a lightbulb literally went on over her head. :lol

[otter]

if you are concerned about getting enough calcium, that would be a good reason to dump the caffeine. caffeine and iron inhibit calcium absorption.

I have decided to stop caffeine as I don't really "need" it anyway. I actually can do with out any coffee for the whole day. I just like a cup in the morning as part of my ritual I guess. Fix breakfast, pour coffee and check e-mail. Looks like herbal tea can take it's place nicely!