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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

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Original poster

Booze, fags, espressos and sex

25 replies

30andMerkin · 14/07/2010 09:56

Or more likely: booze, tea, and occasional sex (and no fags).

Following on from the question of how much alcohol people are drinking whilst pregnant, I just wondered how much people who are TTCing would drink?

Are you massively reducing your consumption? Or only drinking after you've had the 'all-clear' each month? Or carrying on pretty much as normal until you've got a BFP?

I'm also fairly shocked to discover that we're supposed to be cutting out caffeine at this early stage. Frankly if I can't have a glass or wine OR a cup of tea, then I'm going to be such a grumpy cow my DH can forget about sex for the forseeable, but maybe that's just me!

So, share your thoughts ladies!

OP posts:

Loujalou · 14/07/2010 10:10

I don't drink tea, coffee etc but do have the occasional glass of coke. I don't drink very often but have been TTC for so long now that I won't deny myself a drink or three every so often if I go out and am not driving. But have never really been one to drink much at home.

Am trying to get TH to reduce his coke drinking as think that doesn't help his swimmers.

LankyLegs · 14/07/2010 10:28

30 I'm with you girl. Have been actively trying for 10 months now - first 3-4 months was very angelic - no caffeine, little to no booze etc etc. We don't smoke drink a HUGE amount normally - but I am prone to a glass of wine in the evening - so I did cut that out.

However as the months have progressed I have cared less and less and now have a coffee at the start of the day - drink the first half of my cycle (again not massively - maybe 3-5 glasses a week) and the second half of my cycle I will have a glass of wine if we are out for dinner but try and avoid it until I know I am getting my period. But if I am out with the girls and its the first half of the cycle I will most certainly have a few cocktails.

We both exercise, are healthy and have balanced diets etc and figure a few glasses of wine and coffee is not going to kill you. Just think of all the drunken chavs that get pregnant without even trying!!!

Don't feel guilty! Also -my GP said don't go mad and stop having a normal life - just everything in moderation.

Original poster

30andMerkin · 14/07/2010 10:35

See now, I know you're trying to make me feel better, but it's actually making me feel worse...

I work from home, and I drink A LOT of tea during the day. And I think I also drink more alcohol than average on MN, although I have to say I think it's less than average among my 30-something friends!

Now obviously I try not to over-do it during the 2 weeks post ovulation, but I'm starting to worry about how much I should be cutting down now.

OP posts:

LankyLegs · 14/07/2010 11:04

Ok - so what is a A LOT of tea?

How about substituting it for herbal tea? They say that caffeine can sometimes lead to miscarriage and hence suggesting not having too much - at least in the second half of your cycle.

With regards to alcohol - I used to drink shit loads as well - after work drinks and all my friends are big drinkers (none of them have kids yet) - we used to go out and consume 2-3 bottles of wine between 2 of us. Since TTC I have reigned in boozy sessions as I know that I can't help myself and try arrange more dinners out where I can pace my drinking.

At the end of the day I think it's up to you and everyone takes different approaches on drinking during TTC. You have to do what is right for you!

I stress again how many people just 'accidentally' get pregnant whilst drinking etc!

Karstan · 14/07/2010 11:09

I thought the caffeine guidelines were fairly generous, or have I got that wrong?

The only concession I've made is I've swapped my afternoon cup of tea for green tea. Still have morning cup and coffee (instant) at 11. I don't drink more than a glass of wine at one time, so no change there and I don't smoke.

I suspect the oh's coke habit (the drink not the powder!) is one area we could improve but I don't think that's going to happen until we've tried and failed a few times.

Original poster

30andMerkin · 14/07/2010 11:22

could easily be 4 cups a day...

Can't BEAR herbal or green teas. Can cope with decaff normal tea, so maybe will have to go for that.

OP posts:

Karstan · 14/07/2010 11:45

4 cups of tea a day is nothing, recommended limit is 200mg per day if ttc and from memory a cup of tea with milk is less than 50mg caffeine per cup.

My parents prob drink 4 cups of tea before leaving for work!

caramellokoalalover · 14/07/2010 12:06

30, I read also somewhere that if you drink a glass of water with each cuppa then that's a good thing - although don't quote me! now i see it in b&w it looks a tad ridiculous

4 cups a day sounds fine and, like you, i don't want to completely live like a nun when I'm not even pregnant yet...will have 9mths of that when/if i am! i am ashamed to say i have been eating loads of smelly cheeses and having the odd glass of wine when before i probably wouldn't have, just with the thought that i might not be able to do this down the track. is that bad?

also wondering, like you Karstan, if OH's caffeine consumption matters? He is down to 6-7 espressos a day but i don't think he'll go under that, or he'd be the grumpiest grump in the world and we wouldn't ttc anyway! do you think if i cut down that could make up for his guzzling???

Original poster

30andMerkin · 14/07/2010 12:16

See now I felt ridiculous 'confessing' to 6 4 cups of tea a day. But then you read on here and it seems like everyone else is cutting it out and getting pregnant, whilst I have tea, and er, no baby!

Right then.... wine?

I feel like I've had a really heavy summer, with parties and weddings and hen dos and festivals and and and......

I would never drink irresponsibly if I knew I was pregnant, but I don't know how much having fun now, when I am theoretically at my most footloose and fancy-free, is currently affecting my chances of conceiving. And all the advice to couples without kids seems to be to enjoy all the things you can't do once you have them - which surely includes long boozy lunches!

OP posts:

Karstan · 14/07/2010 12:30

I had to seriously cut down on drinking after a bad reaction to antibiotics which turned me yellow. Miss it most in the summer but find making drinks 'long' means I don't feel like I'm missing out so much. E.g. I'll always have shandy instead of beer and 'tinto de verano' (red wine and lemonade) . That way I can stretch out one glass of wine to 3 drinks. I find this works better than having one glass and then switching to soft drinks

mummyjo1 · 14/07/2010 12:57

When I fell with my DS my diet consisted of coffee (one after the other) fags (at least 15-20 a day) alcohol, couscous and chocolate. We only had sex at weekends, as I lived and worked in London and dh lived and worked in the country and some how I got pg without trying. Now however I have a healthy diet, don?t smoke, barely drink alcohol, only drink decaf tea or coffee and we are at it like rabbits (helps that we live together now) and guess what no luck with ttc #2 for two years and counting

absentbump · 14/07/2010 16:38

I think maybe if you drink tea/coffee/wine in excess then cut down but I think just have a bit of everything in moderation, I drink a couple of cups of tea a day and dont deny myself a glass of wine when i have friends round for dinner or am out with the girls just trying not to binge drink though have know many friends to be pregnant after weddings etc where they have drank loads ....I did used to drink a lot of diet coke so have limited myself to one a day of caffine free coke and why don't you change yoru tea to caffine free tea. You can have two cups of coffee when you are pregnant (and up to 4 small cups of tea) a day so I don't think it can do that much damage drinking the same whilst trying - as one of the girls said drink lots of water and it flushes it all through. Hope this helps x

absentbump · 14/07/2010 16:43

I also agree with Lankylegs...after 11 months of TTC at the end of the week or when I get that monthly AF I have to have a few wines to drown my sorrows.... not that alcohol is the answer of course but certainly makes you more relaxed after a week of addiction to MN's he he

stuffedmk · 14/07/2010 16:50

If 4 cups a day is classed as a lot I won't say how much I drink lol
However I have made myself used to decaff tea and have that most of the time during 2WW except for my first (and sometimes second cup of the day lol). The decaff isn't great so if I can't face it I go for herbal/fruit teas instead.

ViveLaFrak · 14/07/2010 16:59

My view is if after 2 years trying and a normal lifestyle it doesn't happen I'll look at cutting stuff out but at the moment it would be more counterproductive to stress myself out IMO.

MrsWajs · 15/07/2010 08:42

Is couscous a no-no?? Cus I practically live on it!!!!

I switched to de-caf Tetley a while ago (for no real reason) and I have to say after a while you don't even notice!! Can't drink caffeinated tea now as it makes me sick and dizzy! Never been one for fizzy drinks either so think I'm all good on that score.

As for alcohol, like many on here, I was super cautious for the first 6 months-ish but now since there's still no bun in the oven (11.5 months later) I am adopting a more 'cevil may care' attitude and pleasing myself. Obviously I'm not getting rat-arsed everynight but if I have a night out or wedding etc etc I just drink whatever I fancy, at the end of the day when it does eventually happen I'm gonna have 9 months of abstinence, so why waste the good times now!?

MrsWajs · 15/07/2010 08:44

or even a 'devil may care' attitude! Duh!

ViveLaFrak · 15/07/2010 09:59

Why is cous-cous wrong?!

And don't tell me chocolate's off the menu too cos some mornings that's the only thing I can tolerate to get my blood sugar up which makes the random morning nausea go away. And no, I'm not pregnant, I've just never been able to eat in the morning unlike DH who ate STEAK for breakfast yesterday

LankyLegs · 15/07/2010 11:09

WTF?!?! Cous-Cous?

Now I have heard it all.

Take some advice - eat,drink and be merry - at all times of the year whether it's christmas or shagging to produce kids.

emptyshell · 15/07/2010 12:36

We've been trying three years. By this point I've realized I can put my entire life on hold and live in limbo for something that, in all likelihood, really isn't going to happen now - or I can be sensible but not a nun and live in the present.

I've lived in the land of hopes and dreams and might be bright futures for too long. Now I'm going to live in the present, have the odd drink but try to confine it to before the great ovulation bonkathon and hopefully get my life back again, even if it is as an infertile woman since the NHS has abandoned me.

You can only live shaggathon > two week wait > red tide of doom for so long.

mummyjo1 · 15/07/2010 13:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

CaveMum · 15/07/2010 15:05

I must say that I had read (in What to Expect Before You're Expecting) that green tea can interfere with your absorbtion of folic acid and therefore they recommend that you don't drink it. In fact I stopped having my morning cup of green tea and have switched back to ordinary black tea.

That said I will drink 2 cups of tea at most on a normal day and very rarely drink coffee - maybe once every few weeks.

I've cut right back on alcohol as I just don't like the way it makes me feel the next day. Saying that I did over-indulge at the free bar at DH's Summer Ball last week

Karstan · 15/07/2010 16:00

Interesting about the green tea, did it say what was in it that specifically affected absorption? I know it's the tannins in tea that affect iron absorption but that's both sorts of tea. I make sure I take my tablets with fruit juice and don't have any tea or coffee for another 2 hours, but don't remember reading anything on my folic acid leaflet

Karstan · 15/07/2010 16:11

Just been reading about the green tea, it's now definitely on my one to avoid list!

takethatlady · 15/07/2010 16:43

30andmerkin haven't seen you for a while! I drink about 6 cups of tea a day with two sugars. I don't really drink during the week but I binge drink two or three weekends a month . I eat healthily, though, in general. I reckon the longer it takes me to get pg the more I will start to think I need to cut these things out. But I don't want to start off stressing and obsessing ... I've got time for that later on!

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