BFers - how much caffeine do you drink?

[ElphabaTheGreen]

Mainly just finding out how much I can get away with to obtain the optimum balance between perky mummy and wired baby! I'm treating myself to one cup of 'real' instant coffee a day, pushing it to two if it's been a particularly tough night. I avoid caffeine completely after midday, mainly for my sake, but I'm hoping it's for DS's sake too.

Well, my understanding is that caffeine, like alcohol, is in the milk with the same timing and proportion as it is in the blood, so diminishing with time following initial absorption. So, I drink coffee (one cup a day, some not all days, of proper filter coffee) shortly after feeding, so that by the next feed it has at least diminished, if not disappeared.

To be honest I don't give it a moment's thought - perhaps I should, but I wouldn't say In a big caffeine consumer. Tea is my tipple really and I have a mug first thing, then about 10, maybe one after lunch and usually one about 5pm. I sometimes have filter coffee at the weekend or a latte a couple of times a week when out. Maybe that's ok, maybe it's too much, but dd seems ok on it although actually she's not a great sleeper so perhaps I should give it a bit more thought

I always drank as much tea as I wanted and DD never noticed the difference, but once (was all it took) had a double latte in Caffe Nero and wow! was she she wired! Went decaff on 'proper' coffee after that. I don't drink instant.

I drink 3-4 cups of tea each day. It's either Earl or Lady Grey, so it's not very strong and I certainly don't feel 'wired', although if I drink espresso coffee I do.

Prob 2 lattes a day plus a diet coke and a couple of cups of tea plus a load of chocolate. Doesn't seem to affect dd- the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree

I drink loads!!! Doesn't seem to affect dd (5 months) from what I can see.

I don't drink much at all. Decaff ground coffee (I think there is still a tiny bit of caffeine in that) and Redbush (naturally decaff) tea.

With DS1 I had a filter coffee when he was 3 weeks old, and he was absolutely wired, like he'd been plugged into the mains, until about 3am, when he suddenly collapsed into the deepest sleep ever. Not doing that again.

And lottie - not sure it matters what time you drink the coffee. Surely your body is producing the milk gradually over the intervening period between feeds, not all at once before the next feed, so the caffeine will still be in the milk, whatever time the baby drinks it?

Zuleika I used to be an instant snob myself but my poor Gaggia has been languishing in the corner since DS made himself known [sob]

RichMan Wow...you give me hope as that sounds like my pre-baby level of consumption but like blushingmare my DS is a crap sleeper so I don't want to go jeopardising what little sleep I do get!

I had to go decaf because it made dd fuss at the breast which got v annoying. I went cold turkey for a couple years and forgot all about feeling groggy in the mornings etc. then I went back to work and neatly fell asleep driving so straight back on caffeine! Ah well. I will prob have to do the same with dd2. Bum

Bedhopper, I think that used to be the thinking on timing - that the caffeine or alcohol was 'locked in' to the milk produced straight after consumption. Thus people who express used to 'pump and dump' milk produced after they'd drunk alcohol. I understand that, in fact, the alcohol or caffeine breaks down in the milk at the same rate as it does in the blood, with which it remains in contact, so although milk is produced continuously, it's caffeine content diminishes over time and will be the same as your blood's at the time the milk is taken.

That's really interesting lottie, thank you.

I drink about 4 cups a day as well as about 2 cups of tea, it hasn't ever crossed my mind that it might be passing to DS

Oh dear. I drink a lot of tea...