Those who haven't given up caffeine. How much do you drink?

MissyNWill

I was adamant about decaf at first. For the past few weeks, I've had 1 small mug of coffee and a large decaf at work. On weekends, I drink a bit more full caf. How about you? And what is your reason for not giving it up?

I don't really know why I started drinking caffeine again....mostly because it was a pain to brew 2 types

amdecker1016

A coke or two a day.

jennbaylor12

I drink a large decaf in the mornings, which had some degree of caffeine in it. I usually will have either tea or diet coke with lunch. Otherwise it's water or caffeine free diet coke the rest of the time.

AshleyO925

I drink an 8 oz regular coffee every morning or I suffer brutal caffeine headaches.

saisongbird

One 12-oz can of soda per day.

boardweasel

1 1/2 cups of reg coffee every morning. I have seen multiple docs and nutritionist during pregnancy and the all say stay under 2 cups and it does no harm.

MissyNWill

boardweasel said:

1 1/2 cups of reg coffee every morning. I have seen multiple docs and nutritionist during pregnancy and the all say stay under 2 cups and it does no harm.

What are the effects of drinking more?

SassyFlats

I currently drink one 8oz cup of coffee just about every day. Sometimes I do half caff instead. Other times I get a tall pumpkin spice latte. :P

During first tri, I couldn't stand coffee. Usually I love it, so that was odd but fine since I wanted to cut way down on caffeine until 2nd tri anyway. I did drink occasional black tea though. Much lower caffeine than coffee so I felt comfortable with that.

My OB insisted that one cup of regular coffee is perfectly safe, and she's way more comfortable with that than most herbal teas. She really hasn't ever steered me wrong and is very reasonable. Everything I've read also says one cup of coffee is fine. I don't see any reason to give it up since I enjoy it and the only people who have said I should avoid all caffeine are not doctors or midwives.

Plus, coffee helps me avoid constipation! ~O)

Babysaunders

1 diet mtn dew a day. My OB was impressed. Im a nurse in the operating room and need some sort of caffeine to get me through. I cut down from 3. I think I'm doing good with 1.

Grovecenter

I was pretty focused the first trimester on zero caffeine but after that I'll have two cups of coffee a day . Nap or not , I just get so tired w/o caffeine lol

twinlove314

I usually have one cup of coffee a day, otherwise I get a pretty bad headache. About halfway through my first trimester I couldn't stand coffee. That lasted a little over a month

MeganFrench120389

A coke or two a day

TDeneeS

I drink a Dr Pepper a day. Before pregnancy, I drank 3 or 4 a day.

carrieactually

One pod in my nespresso machine per day which is about 60mg.

NoelleZako

Maybe one or two cokes or dr peppers a day if I feel a headache coming on but that's really it. I accidentally had more than that and little man was kicking up a storm which made me feel bad.

kaking78

One cup of regular coffee every morning and one cup of chai tea or hot cocoa most afternoons.

Edit: I just realized that part of my first trimester fatigue *might* have been due to cutting my caffeine intake in half.  Hmm.

ErinE683

I did none first trimester, then eased back in. Now, I either make a latte at home with almond milk and two shots of espresso, or I drink a drink of green tea. It's the perfect amount for me, but I'm also looking forward to drinking a little more coffee again post-pregnancy!

jwls84

I usually have a medium steeped tea a day and maybe a Pepsi, but both combined are only 100mg of caffiene. I am not too worried I drank caffiene through my last pregnancy too and I just had an active baby

pepperedmoth

One to two cups of regular coffee a day, same as before I was pregnant. It was almost nothing in the first tri, though, 'cause it made me sick.

I didn't change my habits because I have seen no evidence anywhere that a moderate level of caffeine is harmful. My midwives agree.

jazzyexpo

I have a glass of soda with meals. Water just doesn't cut it sometimes.

Miliska

MissyNWill said:

1 1/2 cups of reg coffee every morning. I have seen multiple docs and nutritionist during pregnancy and the all say stay under 2 cups and it does no harm.

What are the effects of drinking more?

I read on the website of the Ministry of Health of my province that exceeding the recommended limit of cafeine is linked to more premature births. Also, coffee is diuretic, so it can dehydrate you.

Miliska

I drink a decaf latte almost every weekday. I drink a regular cup of coffee during weekends' mornings.

I was feeling super tired last Monday morning, so I decided to make myself a regular coffee at home to drink it on my way to work. I didn't realise my travel mug could take almost two cups of coffee. Holy banana, I was definitively feeling the cafeine on that day! I made sure I hadn't taken too much cafeine, but I had taken the limit dose. Since I was used to drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day before getting pregnant, I'm amazed by the impact cafeine has on my body now that I can compare!

aLsMay24

A soda or 2 a day. I was caffeine free my first pregnancy until the headaches got out of control and the only thing that helped was Tylenol and caffeine. I cut back on my caffeine but didnt cut it out when I got pregnant and no bad headaches this time! Plus I chase a 2 year old all day I would have to nap at naptime without it!

PerkyErky

I drink at least one cup of coffee a day. And on some days I have a soda in the afternoon if I need a pick me up. Soda only has something like 35mg of caffeine so hardly anything compared to coffee. I choose to drink caffeine this pregnancy because I cut it out completely last pregnancy and I lost my daughter anyway at 20w4d (I know my lack of caffeine was in no way related to my loss). I just feel like there are no definite links to regular "normal" caffeine consumption and detrimental harm to baby. There are no guarantees. And with all the other risks I am dealing with, my use of caffeine isn't even on the radar.  Plus people like me a lot better caffeinated

CactusGirl

I drink two cups of 1/2 caff coffee every single morning. I've splurged today and yesterday and also added in a can of dr pepper in the evening, but definitely not making a habit out if that.

KariB509

I allow myself no more than 2 cups a day. Most of the time that means one cup of coffee and a Dr Pepper. However, sometimes I only have one cup of coffee or just DP or neither. Depends on my mood.
Reason for not giving it up? Well, I like coffee and DP, I'm tired, and the #1 reason is because the vast majority of things I've read say no more than 200mg a day. An 8oz cup of coffee has about 95mg and a 12oz DP has 41mg. I tend to make fairly weak coffee so my guess is that the coffee I brew myself has less than 95mg. Anyway, I probably very, very rarely have more than 200mg in a day, if ever.

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angelsnight

Most days I have none, but some days I have one can of pepsi max....everyone now and then I have 2.  I couldn't care less about the caffeine, I don't drink it for the caffeine, but I cannot have regular pop due to my GD so I drink Max when I want a pepsi since it taste the closest to real pepsi.  I guess maybe they make caffeine free diet but like I said, max taste better than diet.  Even the days I drink 2 cans, it's still not close to the daily allowance so I'm not worried about it.

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luv2dnc89

I gave it up completely during 1st tri...and only really started drinking coffee again over the past month or so, maybe 2-3 times per week...I don't drink soda but I did have a Starbucks addiction pre-pregnancy...so now I just drink it in moderation.

bumpuser381983

I have one decaf or half caff coffee in the morning, and possibly a diet Coke at lunch or an Arnold Palmer.

Pre pregnancy I would have 1-2 cups half caff and a diet coke or two over the course of the day.

linzerd

I usually have 1 small iced coffee a day, on weekends I might have 2 cups of hot coffee. Today I had 1 cup of hot and a grande frappucino.

ProudMommy030614

About 16oz of coffee every morning than water all day. I miss my afternoon coffee but I can't sleep if I have it now

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maganonymous

I've pretty much given up on controlling my caffeine intake. I drink a cup of coffee in the morning, and sometimes 1-2 caffeinated drinks throughout the day. My doc says as long as I'm not beer bonging energy drinks that I should be fine

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mamamia866

About 4/7 days, I'll have one medium cup of reg coffee. Sometimes I'll have another half caff, and once a week I'll add a tall latte, whenever I meet my friend for a crochet date. It just depends on my mood. I love dd pumpkin and gingerbread coffees, so whenever I run out, I'll drink less. Other than that I just have water. I just like the taste of coffee. My OB said no more than 200 mg of caff a day.

maganonymous

LW78 said:

I've pretty much given up on controlling my caffeine intake. I drink a cup of coffee in the morning, and sometimes 1-2 caffeinated drinks throughout the day. My doc says as long as I'm not beer bonging energy drinks that I should be fine

I see a group of doctors. I saw one I haven't seen before, last time, and when I asked if I could have coffee before my glucose test, he swung his head around and was like, "YOU MEAN WITH CAFFEINE?".

It's so funny to me how different doctors have such drastically varying opinions on things like this. My doctor is very laid back. I like that about her

ETA: That being said, I have never drank an energy drink in my life. They freak me out. By caffeinated beverages, I mean soda or iced tea

BethRN1987

On days I work a grande pumpkin spice (3 days a week) and then a 20 oz dr pepper. Days I don't work maybe. 32 oz dr pepper or nothing. I don't count my chocolate in my caffeine intake

lopezalonso

I almost always drink decaf coffee. I think I can count the number of times I've had caffeinated coffee since I knew I was pregnant HOWEVER I cannot stop drinking soda. I only drink on can every few days though and yesterday my mom publicly berated me (yes, at thanksgiving) for consuming aspartame because I was drinking soda. She said it was practically poison. I was so humiliated and mad. 

*Naea*

My normal 2 cups of coffee a day. Sometimes a third if I make some before leaving house because I am dragging. I don't drink regular soda or tea so it's my only source.