can i drink coffee?

[rabzz]

hello, i just wanted to ask whether ican drink tea or coffee while breastfeeding? most sources say that it is not advisable as caffeine goes into the milk. i am however a two cups tea a day or a coffee a day person and living without them is making me miserable! can i drink a cup of coffee a day and breastfeed my baby? I am in need of advice..

[HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs]

Are you already feeding? Or are you pregnant? I used to avoid coffee because it made it difficult to get DS to sleep.

[sleepyhead]

I drink coffee (more than you tbh) and haven't noticed it affect either ds2 who's 6 months, or ds1 who bf for over a year.

I cut down to 2 cups a day during pg, but was back up to about 4 with a newborn. Wouldn't have been able to survive the sleep deprivation otherwise!

[mrsspagbol]

Really sorry I dont have a link but I read thst more than 1 cup a day can cause wakefulness in a baby less than 3 months old. It does get into the milk but i calculated that my 1 cup of morning coffee a day was under the mg limit mentioned in the article I read. Sorry not v scientific.

I also have my coffee aftermy dd's big morning feed.

[ToddleWaddle]

I drink too much caffeine too. Have not noticed any effect on either of mine but do try and avoid from late afternoon onwards.
Could not function without!

[sleepyhead]

Oh and I think most cautious UK sources tend to base their food/drink advice for bf women on pg guidance

You don't have to completely avoid caffeine while pg, so a couple of cups a day would be fine when bf (unless you notice it affects your dc).

[Me2Me2]

I drank 3 strong large teas whilst bf and don't think it affected dd.

[flipchart]

I never gave it a second thought when I was feeding my two.
Lots of coffee got me through the day.

[waceystills]

I have two cups of real coffee in the morning, not sure I could function without it. Doesn't seem to affect DS - even drink a cup whilst expressing in the morning.

He has 4ozs of expressed milk before bed he sleeps like a dream at 6 weeks, waking just once.

[tiktok]

No need to be concerned. There is a small amount of research suggesting that large quantities of caffeine can make some babies restless and fussy. 2 cups of tea or coffee a day is a very small amount.

I don't know of any reputable sources truly saying it's not advisable - what have you been reading?

[tiktok]

sleepy, if any source of information is basing its breastfeeding advice on what is safe/advisable in pregnancy, then they can safely be ignored.

[BonaDea]

I have to have coffee and not weak instant either!

My DS is 7 mo and ebf. Compared to his peers I haven't noticed any difference in his sleep or activity levels than those whose mother drinks decaf or those who are ff.

Some mornings the thought of my cup of coffee is what enables me to get out of bed at 6 and face the day!!

[MistressofPemberley]

I honestly think that I would not be EBF DD if I had to obey hundreds of rules. Pregnancy is one thing, and that was hard at times due to dietary restraints.
I personally (and I choose to take everything Tiktok writes as gospel ) eat and drink what I want, including wine, beer, coffee, spicy foods etc. My baby seems happy and content and I know I'm enjoying her as I'm happy and content myself.
I seriously believe that all these alleged restrictions deter women from EBF for as long as they wanted. They are scared that they are damaging their baby so they turn to formula.
Breastfeeding simply has to fit in with life.

[NoisyBrain]

I wonder if it depends on your own sensitivity to caffeine? I can drink 4 cups of tea in a day but any more and I feel a bit wired. It only takes one cup of coffee shop coffee to produce the same effect. We're only talking a latte here and I only have one shot in it! I'm a total caffeine wuss lol.
If I drink a coffee I do find my 9 week old ds is harder to settle later on. Luckily he seems unaffected if I have a glass of wine

[VisualiseAHorse]

I drink at least fifteen million cups of tea a day, and didn't stop when I was pregnant or breastfeeding. I wouldn't have got through the BF if I hadn't been allowed tea!

[MysteryCat]

KellyMom has a good piece about this: kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/lifestyle/caffeine/

I'm bf my 8mo and have two cups of coffee each morning. I try to time it so that I have them after she's fed but even if I have them before she feeds it doesn't seem to make much difference - she still sleeps really well.

[sleepyhead]

I absolutely agree tiktok, and I do think it puts a lot of people off by making breastfeeding seem far more complicated and restricting than it needs to be.

[curlyclaz13]

Ds does not sleep well so I cut caffeine out, he slept just as poorly and I was like a grumpy zombie. I drink a cup or two a day and he still sleeps as poorly as ever but I feel better. This gets me through the day so can not be a bad thing.

[allbottledup]

Hear hear, MistressofPemberley!

[Chocolatestain]

I agree that there is a huge difference between what is acceptable in pregnancy and what is ok when bfing. In pregnancy your baby is exposed directly to whatever is in your bloodstream, be that caffeine, alcohol, drugs or whatever, when breastfeeding only trace amounts of theses will make it onto your milk. I pretty much eat/drink as normal and DS is extremely healthy.

[WillSingForCake]

I think it varies, so you'll just have to see if caffeine affects your baby. My DD always seemed unaffected if I drank tea, but was definitely more wakeful if I drank coke!