Are you drinking coffee/caffeine this pregnancy?

grannysmith912

I *accidentally* weaned myself off caffeine while TTC! I used to drink several mugs of coffee daily, but after my first CP I decided to try to scale back, just to be extra safe. I started drinking what I thought was mint-flavored green tea in place of my usually coffee--but after several weeks of doing this, I looked more closely at the tea box and realized it was herbal tea, not green tea, meaning no caffeine at all!  I still drink decaf coffee once every week or two before church (and can seriously feel the effect when I do), but figured since I've learned to live without caffeine, might as well keep it up!

atcwag

I voted no. I'm not a big caffeine drinker as it is. 

pinnerk

I drink way too much pop. Luckily I have cut it out big time but I'll still get the odd craving for a Pepsi. 
Bf would run to the store to get me a bottle. Now I have decided if I crave it, a can would be fine. 
I drink black tea lemonades from Starbucks about 5 days a week so that's as much caffeine as I get.  

FinePlacentaPie

TheBorg7of9 said:

You can have up to 200-300 mg a day.  A can of diet coke has less than 50 mg, so I drink a cup of tea and 2-3 diet cokes a day. This is my fifth pregnancy.  I had two losses caused by chromosomal abnormalities, so honestly, I am not too worried about caffeine or deli meat or seafood or any of the things I hear people mention.

*lurking*

!!!! I missed your announcement! Congratulations, lady!

Thewizardofrhythm

Resurrecting this thread. Any other opinions since our pregnancies have progressed? I abstained last time around but with a toddler I am just so much more exhausted this pregnancy and I've been a having a small ice coffee a few morning a week. I'm not an anxious pregnant person in general but I am more so in the end of the first tri when the development really takes shape. And for that reason I'm feeling nervous about the coffee but I want it. I know what the recommendations are and that it is probably fine, but I'm curious how others feel. 

comealongponds

Still drinking tea...babies have decided they don't like coffee so it's out for now. I keep it under 200mg of caffeine a day so I'm not worried.

LikeICantEven

You know, I drank it throughout my last pregnancy, I'm drinking it now, OB's say it's fine in moderation for a reason. It's not like if you accidentally consume an amount over the max then you're going to have a baby with nervous system issues. Coffee is cultural, has been around a really long time. Skip energy drinks, go half/caf, don't go crazy on the weekends and you're fine. I have met with over 6 OBs this pregnancy and last and coffee has been fine with all of them. I hate that's it's become demonized along with hair dye. People are so quick to point out what they hear instead of researching it. (not you, just everyone has an opinion)

If I didn't have coffee right now? My one cup a day? I'd be suffering an enormous headache on top of the crippling MS and have nothing in the morning to jump start me. 

/rant

AmandaR417

Funny enough,  I'm not,  and anyone who knows me would find it totally bizarre.  The truth is,  when my DH and I were first dating,  he made an off-the-wall comment like,  "I would never let someone who was carrying my child drink coffee or do anything that could potentially cause harm" (I retorted something along the lines of,  "funny,  I'd never carry the child of a man who thought he could dictate what I do with my body" - - side note:This particular cover isn't typical of how my DH thinks/acts. He said something stupid and out of character). 

Anyways,  now that I'm KTFU,  that weird convo from 5 or 6 years ago keeps replaying in my mind.  I quit my 3-4 cup of coffee habit cold turkey (the headaches were killer,  but I made it through) and it's actually my DH who has been trying to get some caffeine iny system....my main concern was that I couldn't know exactly how much was in a cup of brewed coffee,  so he went out and bought some powdered cappuccino so that I could carefully measure and know precisely how much caffeine I'm drinking.  I've only had it a couple times,  but it makes me happy because 1. It's delicious 2. It's got some if that caffeine I'm missing and 3. DH cared enough to research and find it for me. 

BmcD2016

I just can't do without coffee. I was never a coffee drinker until maternity leave with my second, and now it's just become so routine. 

Back in December I probably would have 5-6 cups of coffee a day. Eek!! Cut it way back because that's just ridiculous. Now I'm at 2 cups regular and one cup decaf. Spread out over the day. 

zrain

I had two ounces of coffee last week and I think it contributed to a crazy all day tachycardia unpleasantness that made me have to leave work half way through the day. I'll be sticking to tea or soda from now on if I need caffeine.

whaat

So I said I wouldn't give it up but here I am, mostly because I'm getting grossed out by it now.

kg8006

I drink 8oz every morning diluted with a little of water so I feel like I'm getting more

MrsBinPA

I had 1/2 caf the first couple of days and, other than yesterday when I had to get up at 3:30 for an early work meeting, have only had decaf.

Hedgessm

@homeydontplaythat thank you! We freak out about so many tiny things. The human race has survived through so much more than what we put in our bodies now.

mrs_hoyahoo

whaat said:

So I said I wouldn't give it up but here I am, mostly because I'm getting grossed out by it now.

This was me starting at like 8 or 9 weeks with my last pregnancy. I'd occasionally have a cup in the afternoon, but I had no stomach for it in the morning. Made it easy to cut back!

MrsBigTime

Coffee is typically my BFF and I usually have 3 delicious cups a day. However, for some reason, when I'm pregnant I don't have any taste for my precious cup of joe, so no coffee for me

g8rmama_16

Anyone else pour a cup to just smell it but have no desire to drink it? No? Just me? 

I sniff my husbands beer too. Please tell me I am not alone.

ficbot

It is one of my aversions now but I used to drink it :-) Just not interested at the moment.

Hedgessm

@heyboohey I loved to smell hubby's beer last time around. I suspect I will smell all the hard cider this summer. 

jstinkz

Like a few others here I love my coffee but can't even stand the smell right now. Last pregnancy I got massive headaches and my doctor told me to try drinking coffee again. I found I could do iced coffee and not get sick. Haven't tried the iced coffee yet but I'm hoping I can go that route again. 

shevaCC

I don't like coffee, but haven't worried about caffeine consumption this pregnancy. My family doctor has gotten me onto the bandwagon of most things within reason are fine for most people most of the time. I stick by the moderation doctrine during pregnancy as well, unless there's very good evidence to completely avoid something.

MrsDramaK

HeyBooHey said:

Anyone else pour a cup to just smell it but have no desire to drink it? No? Just me? 

I sniff my husbands beer too. Please tell me I am not alone.

I have a coworker who's seriously into coffee, so I've been picking her up one every day just to get a nice wiff.  It's a problem.

aquasocks

I'm just gonna say it. 

No coffee = no poop. 

Therefore, coffee. 

lajoliedreamer

I drink a lot more herbal tea than coffee, but there are some mornings where I'm just not going to function without an americano. And if I splurge on a latte I'm going caffeinated. But it's only once every week or two. I see no reason in going cold turkey on caffeine if I don't overdo it - I refuse to be completely miserable because I'm pregnant (as much as I can avoid it)!

Sheybre

I drink a small cup of coffee in the morning. Sometimes I can't finish it but I always make myself a cup. I even indulge in ice tea from time to time. Living on the edge.

therealvday

I haven't had any coffee at all since the first of the year but I've had caffeine in the form of chocolate... No soft drinks though, or tea... Just chocolate. So not very high levels of caffeine.

MrsMaritime11

When I was TTC and then pregnant with my daughter, I had given up caffeine completely for about 3 years. Still drank decaf and herbal teas though. With a newborn, then crawling baby, then climbing toddler - caffeine was the only thing keeping me going most days! Once I entered this cycle I switched to decaf and it's still having a placebo effect. Plus, like @aquasockssaid above, definitely helps keep you regular regardless of caffeine or none, so definitely a bonus!

thatlauragirl

I quit caffeine completely but if I end up with bad headaches later down the road I'll definitely have a Coke if it helps with them. I had preeclampsia and pregnancy-related tachycardia with my last pregnancy so I'm just super cautious with anything that increases my pulse or bp. 

MrsDho11

I unintentionally gave it up as I haven't been interested in tea or coffee since I started feeling so sick.  I do consume little bits of chocolate, etc. some days, so it's not 100% caffeine free, but definitely under the limit.  I'm considering trying to force a cup of green tea into me in the mornings though to try to combat the exhaustion.

Thewizardofrhythm

HeyBooHey said:

I sniff my husbands beer too. Please tell me I am not alone.

I'm more of a "just a little sip?" Girl...

PinkTwin07

Only one cup when I'm extremely tired

laurenlalap

My husband and coworkers are much safer if I have my morning caffeine.

whaat

HeyBooHey said:

Anyone else pour a cup to just smell it but have no desire to drink it? No? Just me? 

I sniff my husbands beer too. Please tell me I am not alone.

I'm very much a craft beer snob (He was a little bit, but I got him into it a lot more) and I have to smell his beer whenever he has one. Sometimes I'll take a tiny sip. We also grow hops and brew beer and I'm thinking of making something specifically to celebrate the baby. I may as well do something complicated since I have so much time.

tjljsc

I'm in the better safe than sorry camp. We have so much time, money and emotion invested in this pregnancy that I just can't let myself risk it. If it's a particularly rough morning, I'll do a decaf latte, but am mostly drinking peppermint tea in the mornings and water the rest of the day. I got some yummy juices for the evenings to put in my wine glass since I was a glass of vino every night kind of girl. 5 weeks sober has been harder than caffeine. Ha.

lin0442

I get up very early for my job and sort of roll out of the house quickly. I used to drink coffee every morning, but stopped when I was trying to get pregnant.

Now I only have a mug on the weekends when I can enjoy the time with my husband rather than pounding the caffeine as I run for my bus. 

TwandaFTG

I never drink coffee but I will have an occasional caffeinated beverage.

LadyBugMe101

I would continue drinking at least 1 cup but I am off epilepsy meds and caffeine does not help the situation. I decided to eliminate it in all forms. I used to drink coffee very often but I have this little one growing inside me to worry about now too.

butterkup-2

Before I became pregnant, I would have 8 shots of espresso a day (quad espresso in AM, repeat early afternoon)... +/- a redbull. When I found out I was pregnant, I dropped caffeine completely for about 2 weeks. Now, I have a single half caf/half decaf espresso shot in the AM just to get the GI moving.  

Cclhill

I'm not! I would love to be, but I don't have the stomach for it still.