Coffee drinkers please advise!

[Ladyks]

Hi all! I just got my BFP this morning (yay!) it was a surprise to be honest, but we are very excited. I currently have an 11mo old so this will be our 2nd child, and I’m guessing that I’m about 4-6wks along.

I’d been drinking 3-4 cups of instant coffee (also with sweetener & milk) per day. My DS is not a great sleeper, & mama needs her coffee! I’d like to cut back to 2 cups per day maximum, but would it be ok to also have 2 cups decaf?

I guess my question is how much coffee do you feel comfortable drinking during pregnancy? Thanks!

[Birdy1991]

Congratulations, personally I just drink decaf but that’s a personal decision as I didn’t find out until 12 weeks and had drank god knows how much coffee in my first trimester. I would think 1 or 2 would be the maximum? I think the NHS website can tell you what the 200mg limit is equal to. 😊

[sleepismysuperpower1]

congratulations! the advice is to not exceed 200mg of caffeine in a day, so around 2 mugs of instant coffee or 1 mug of filter coffee. I would probably try and substitute herbal tea instead of decaf coffee, because instant decaf still has a little caffine in (around 2mg per mug), as does brewed decaf (2mg-5mg per mug). all the best x

[FlurryKnox]

I'm a fiend for coffee, but I gave up caffeine of all kinds entirely for the entire pregnancy, although it nearly killed me. In the final couple of months, I did drink a small amount of caffeinated tea, but no coffee at all -- the decaff kind is pretty poor.

[Elephantonascooter]

I have one real cup then decaff if I ha e anymore

[bluebell94]

I've stuck to one cup of instant coffee a day then decaf if I've wanted another. Though yet to find a nice decaf that hits the same spot!

[Crazymummyto3]

Congratulations! I switched to decaf when we started ttc, I suffered withdrawal headaches at first but am fine now. I usually have a couple of cups of decaf a day, plus a can of Coke as that's what I'm craving!

[Mybobowler]

This was a slightly arbitrary rule, I admit, but I allowed myself one cup of coffee or two cups of tea a day, and then the rest was decaf. I was so exhausted that I think I'd have slept straight through the entire pregnancy if I hadn't allowed myself a little bit of caffeine. Congrats, enjoy your pregnancy (and coffee)!

[sel2223]

I'm normally a big coffee drinker but cut down to 1 cup a day after finding out i was pregnant then stick to peppermint tea and decaf tea/coffee the rest of the time.

I actually went off coffee and tea completely from about 7-12 weeks but I'm 32 weeks now and back on my one a day

[Needingsupportplease]

I drank 2 cups maximum a day and then avoided coke, tea, chocolate that day if I wanted more I had decaf x

[NoMoreHandgel]

Just wean yourself off over a few days and swap one of the two cups of coffee to a tea. Of course decaf is fine. I look forward to my one cup of coffee (although I drink ground coffee rather than instant as I don't think instant is very good for you). The rest of the time things like Roibois tea with milk help fill the gap!

[edgeware]

If you look up max amounts of caffeine in pregnancy and google how much is in your coffee you can work it out. I stick with 1 cup of real coffee, any more genuinely makes me feel funny! You might find that there’s not that much in instant anyway.

[octobersky19]

I'm in the exact same situation as you, except my DS is 8mo... congratulations!!!!

I have two coffees and the rest decaf per day. Sometimes I'll just have decaf.

In my first pregnancy I had no caffeine at all, this time around I'm comfortable having x2 and my midwife has said this is okay

[Gin4thewin]

Prior to pregnancy i would of had a coffee iv line if i could. I switched to de caf when i got pregnant and had a cup of normal if i needed it (was still working nights and had a half hour drive home on the motorway) i went right off it when i was pregnant anyway, i had awful sickness with DD, only managed iced coffees once in a blue moon. Shes 6.5months now and i can probably count with one hand how many coffees ive had since then and not enjoyed them either. I had a craving for hot tea most of the time anyway

[dw23]

I drank one coffee every day when I was pregnant, admittedly it was exceptionally strong, like 4 teaspoons of instant coffee! I also drank one tea and sometimes coke 😬 my midwife said that was fine. My daughter was 8 lbs 3 so don't think it did any harm.

[Redcrayons]

I didn’t, but at the time it was on the banned list, or my midwife told me not to. I think there was a scare about it at the time.
Unfortunately for me, the constant nausea from morning sickness trumped the caffeine withdrawal symptoms, so I didn’t notice it.

Congratulations

[Thenextplateau]

I had 2 cups of weak instant coffee a day, or one coffee and one coke. I really didn't enjoy decaf so I just gave up and drank water or juice most of the time instead.

That first strong coffee after dds were born was like nectar of the gods. Seriously, I have never enjoyed a beverage so much in my life!

[EithneBlue]

I used to be a 3-5 cups a day of filter coffee person...
Now I have one filter coffee in the morning and decaf coffee or decaf tea for the rest of the day -- sometimes an additional can of Pepsi or some chocolate too :) The caffeine content in decaf is negligible so I wouldn't worry about that. Use the NHS calculator to help you if you're unsure :)

I had shocking caffeine withdrawal initially but it didn't take long to adjust :-)

[Superscientist]

I went down to one cup first thing in the morning for the first couple of days after getting my positive test so I didn't get the withdrawal headaches I sometimes get when I stop caffeine.
I switched to decaff but kept the same frequency (lots) and it upset my digestive system. I kept the decaf coffee but switched the decaf tea for rooibos which is naturally caffeine free and that helped. Then my pregnancy sickness kicked in and I couldn't stomach the smell of tea and coffee
After about 14 weeks I was able to reintroduce rooibos then decaf coffee and tea. I now have maybe 4-5 cups a day and no ill effects. I have had the occasional caffeinated tea or coffee and glass of coke.
Working from home and being away from the work coffee machine has definitely helped! I am also trying to use it to improve my coffee/caffeine habit afterwards because I probably was drinking more than was healthy before!

[Frazzlerock]

I gave up caffeine but I think that's just my paranoia as I've had so many MCs.

[fool11]

i used to drink 4-5 strong/double shot cups a day, when i got pregnant was nauseous and couldn't even have one..after 4m i slowly started to drink it again, i have 1 strong (double) in the morning and would have another small coffee in the afternoon..and there are days when i would have a decaf (third cup)..currently 34w. Congratulations on your pregnancy.

[BlueBlazerBlack]

During the first trimester I barely had any caffeine at all, just the occasional coke to help with really bad sickness.
I'm in my second trimester now and I usually have one proper coffee per day, usually a cappuccino, in the morning, then either one cup of tea, or a can of coke later in the day, if I'm particularly tired and lacking in energy. I don't even count the 1 cup of decaf after lunch and I don't really worry about the caffeine content in chocolate either.
I think the 200 mg limit is actually quite conservative, because in some countries it's 300, and I'm not aware of there being any evidence of particular issues associated with mild to moderate caffeine consumption. I personally feel like my own cup of coffee a day is my only luxury and it actually helps to keep me regular

[Ladyks]

Thank you all! Really helpful to hear what you all did / are doing regarding caffeine, so difficult with all the conflicting advice out there, but I’m sure I can cut back

[Prettylittlelady]

I’m currently 23 weeks and a coffee obsessive. My coffee machine hasn’t been touched since finding out I was pregnant and I’ve had a total of 3 decafs the whole time. I’d rather not risk anything while pregnant.

[prettypeonies]

Coffee wise I tried a few decaf's and they really weren't great, but have to say the nescafe azura is pretty good!!

[Gin4thewin]

I used to call my decaf coffee brown sadness water 🤣