Anyone noticed difference in DC sleep when you reduced caffeine intake (if breastfeeding)?

[LakeFlyPie]

DS1 took a long time (think he was over 12 mo) to crack the sleeping more than 3 hours pattern and DS2 appears to be the same.

The difference is he won't settle in the evening, tends to sleep for an hour when he goes down and is then up for 2-3 hours.

I do drink at least 3-4 fairly strong coffees (try to make afternoon and evening ones decaf) on an average day and wonder if it's affecting his sleep.
I have tried a couple of days of caffeine free teas instead and didn't notice any difference except my splitting withdrawal headache

Has cutting out caffeine made a positive difference to anyone's bf DC sleep?

TIA

[TheSnickeringFox]

No advice I'm afraid but have a poor sleeper and a caffeine addiction so watching with interest.

[TheSnickeringFox]

PS, I've noticed that this section seems to be filled with desperate mothers looking for help rather than anyone who has cracked it.

Perhaps worth also posting in bf'ing section!

[Rosemallow]

I don't notice any difference if I cut down on caffeine TBH.
I have a bigger caffeine addiction now I'm feeding DS than when I was feeding DD but she was a far worse sleeper.
I do try to limit myself and not drink any in the afternoon as I can't bloody sleep otherwise!

[Floopy21]

It makes a difference with my DD, only past 12pm though.

[jetgirl]

I kept off the caffeine during pg nd continued when bf. I remember when dd was a few months old deciding to have caffeinated tea and she was so grumpy afterwards that I went back to decaff. She was always a good sleeper. DS was (and still is) a poor sleeper even though I was off the caffeine though. The withdrawal headache passes in a day or two if you can bear it!

[LakeFlyPie]

Thanks for your replies and comments.

Will try and stick to decaf this afternoon although amazingly DS2 had a better night, only woke 3 times which is a relative improvement

The sleep deprivation / coffee fix situation is a bit of a Catch 22 (and I do love my coffee machine sooo much)

I suspect it isn't a big factor although I definitely have more coffee now than with DS1. I couldn't stomach it during pg with DS1 so hadn't built up to this level of coffee guzzling and also didn't have the cumulative sleep deprivation (3 yrs) to deal with.

[Gemjar]

I spotted this thread the other day and thought that I would try giving up caffeine to see if it made any difference to my 8 month old DS who has been waking every few hours at night.

Well, I didn't have any caffeine at all yesterday and he slept through! he fell asleep after a feed at about 8.30 so I put him into his cot and he did complain a bit just after I came to bed at about 11, but was fine as soon as I re-inserted his dummy and then he didn't wake up this morning until about 7.30! I actually went to go and check on him at about 7 to make sure he was ok as he has never slept until that late in his own cot before.

I know that it is only one day and him sleeping through may be for any number of reasons, but i'll stay off the caffeine for a while if it has this effect

[ninaprettyballerina]

Wow Gemjar, lucky you! Please let us know if it was a fluke.

[milkymilky]

I have been wondering this too for a while, so going to start today with cutting out the caffeine - although I feel I am clutching at straws again in an attempt to get a nights sleep!

[LakeFlyPie]

Wow Gemjar, just saw your post.
How was last night? Just as good I hope.

Must admit I'm still enjoying my daily espresso / latte ATM but may be inspired by your success.

Please let us know

[tifflins]

Not a coffee addict myself, but I definately believe other foodstuffs can affect our breastfed babes. If i ate too much garlic/onion/peppers or such like then my DS1 would really suffer (awful dirty nappies, colic etc). People who say a mothers diet has no affect on their bf children don't know what they're talking about!

[TheSnickeringFox]

Wow gemjar

Well, I had a long hard think about my caffeine intake as a result of this thread as if I'm entirely honest it had been creeping up and up (especially if you include all the chocolate )

I also spoke to a local bf'ing counsellor who made this face !

So I went down to one coffee and some choc yesterday and while ds did still wake several times in the night, he randomly slept in until 9am! As did I, even though the last hour or so was full of guilty dreams about being late for something :o

[TheSnickeringFox]

Oh and Lakeflypie,I totally agree about the catch 22 situation... My ds was such an AWFUL sleeper for the first 6 months. As in, I was stuck in the bedroom with him when he went to bed as if I so much as MOVED he woke up (co-sleeping). My coffee intake crept up as a survival mechanism!

He's a totally different baby in so many ways now that it's definitely worth a try!

Not going cold turkey though because I get bonkers withdrawal headaches :(