Are you still drinking tea and coffee?

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I am still pretty baffled by a lot of the many many rules regarding what foods are and aren't safe but the one that's bothering me the most is the caffeine one! I am only 6 weeks pg and so far I have stuck to no more than four cups of tea a day (would usually have more like six). But when I told a friend this she said she gave up hot drinks completely. And after much googling I keep finding conflicting into on how much caffeine is in as cup anyway. Just wondered what everyone else is doing?

I know! Lalala I can't hear you...
Tea is the elixir of life!

I definitely find caffeine harder to give up than alcohol! I just about limit myself to 3 mugs per day until i'm on night shifts, there is no way I could get through a 12 hour night shift on only 3 teas!

I have stuck to pretty much every other food rule so I'm trying not to worry too much about this one.

Couldn't manage without a cuppa tea first thing in the morning and before bed - I am drinking defcaf though, but then again I always have. It's the caffeine that's the problem I think - so why not just switch to decaf, tastes no different and u won't feel worried.

It does taste different though, that's the problem. I'm a real tea jinny, and take it strong. In two pregnancies I have not found a brand of decaff tea which tastes anything like normal, even Yorkshire which I was assured was as good as it gets. But then maybe I'm just odd. I can taste the difference between the different brands at the best of times and carry my own supply.

Some women choose to eat dodgy cheese or drink wine while pregnant, I choose to drink tea. I just wouldn't function without it.

I feel heachachy and sick if I don't drink tea, I'm finding it really hard to cut down on.

In the last month I've given up smoking,alcohol,cheese,sushi,shellfish and precription meds (weaned off properly with doc but still horrible side effects. :( )

I'm not sure I can handle losing caffiene aswell! I probably drink 2 mugs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and 2 in the evening. That is cut down from an average of 15 mugs a day!! I don't drink coke and it's very rare that I eat chocolate.

AllIwant 6 cups were the guideline when I was preg with dd. I drink about that (including cola, choc etc) I think its just common sense - I wouldnt drink strong expressos but a cup of tea is fine.

Decaff tea isnt the same. Interestingly though I prefer decaff coffee.

I can concur, Yorkshire tea decaff is the best! I have tried every other brand and they all taste like water! Also, Tesco do a decaff Earl Grey which is also really nice if you like Earl Grey. I think Coca Cola doesn't actually have as much caffeine in as tea and coffee. They have details on their website which I was suprised by. x

Starbucks decaf gingerbread latte doesn't taste the same, but it's better than nowt!

Rocks - I had a decaf gingerbread latte in Costa the other day and it was divine !

LilPud that's how my mum found out she was pregnant all three times. She's a massive expresso drinker!
madmomma I'll go for stinky cheese any time, right now even stinky cheese on sushi :(

I have a real coffee with breakfast, then decaf the rest of the day (maybe 3-4 cups of decaf). Not a big tea drinker, so dont count that, only have a cup every so often. Not much chocolate either really, though did just have overflowing nutella sarnies for my lunch!

I drink it tea in the same quantities as before falling pregnant. On a weekend, I don't drink any. During a working week (I'm a teacher) I have about 4 mugs (all at work not at home) but when my mother comes, well, that's a different story! I have a mug of tea just about every hour!!!

I did try the decaf variety but gave up!

I'm 33 weeks tomorrow and all is well with Peanut,

If baby doesn't want me to drink caffeine, she needs to stop kicking me awake at 4.30 every morning. She can't have it both ways!

(I'm 30 weeks though - was much stricter with myself, on all things, in the first trimester)

Totally agree madmomma! It's such a simple pleasure I just can't give up completely. Thank you to those who recommended Tetleys decaff though, got hold of some this weekend and it's not so bad. I'm still going to have two 'real' cups a day though.

I'm drinking decaf coffee, but normal tea - about 3 cups a day. I don't eat much chocolate or any colas. I can't drink decaf tea - it tastes like fishy water in my experience!

I was(and will be again) a HUGE coffee drinker (enjoyed with a Marlborough light mostly) since I got my pfb 16 weeks ago I have not touched any. I won't smoke again, but find that the decaff tea is ok. I only have one cup a day though, it'd deffo not my beloved fresh coffee! But it's only for a few months and I'm actually quiet proud of myself.

That goes for coca-cola aswell

Nope, I'm still having my morning strong cup of tea. I've only ever had 1 cup of tea a day. I'll have the odd cup of coffee every few days if there's a nice cake in the house. I've had coca cola cravings since the middle of the second trimester, so unfortunately probably have a high caffeine intake because of that.

Remember chocolate also counts as a source of caffeine, as do other foods/drinks, like red bull or fizzy drinks.

I looked into this and the general concensus seems to be that a few cups of tea a day won't do you any harm, so I wouldn't worry. As with many things in pregnancy people go a bit over board. Sometimes it feels like a sort of competitive preciousness .