Caffeine

[LucyAcue]

Did anyone go over their caffeine intake??

I switched to decaf as I’m a very heavy coffee drinker (10+ cups a day!) I did however break the rules Tuesday as I needed my baby to move for my gender rescan! I wouldn’t like to do it everyday though! Is switching to decaf an option?? It’s really not that bad. Going over every now and again wouldn’t hurt I’m sure? X

I thought I would, I used to drink 7 cuppas a day plus chocolate and coke. But then about week 6, I went off tea! Tried decaf and went off that too.

How many weeks are you? They say it can cause miscarriage but doesn't mean that it'll happen to you if you accidentally go over one day.

@Sleepyquest I'm 11 weeks! X

With my 1st pregnacy I was young and stupid knew nothing about caffine intake and was still drinking about 8 cups of double strength coffee until I was about 12 weeks pregnant when I qst saw my midwife. Shes now a ten year old that never stops moving 😊 if you can cut it down.

I think a day here and there is OK. I went cold turkey as soon as I found out I was pregnant - normally a 4-5 cups of filter coffee a day drinker, plus tea & chocolate - but it made the tiredness loads worse (!) so I went back to one cup a day & now down to 2-3 cups a week. Decaf the rest of the time.

Before I was pregnant I lived on coffee, energy drinks and coke and maybe gin
I actually went off it all when I first found out I was pregnant and it’s only been in the last 3-4 weeks I fancy it again (I’m 24+2). I just have one weak coffee in the morning now though. I miss coffee

I am a zero coke addict and am now drinking 2 cans a day and 1 or 2 cups of tea. I did go over one day and had a terrible headache from it. I actually couldn't stand the fizz at week 9 so I used to dilute it down. I'm sure a day over here and there is fine though.

I managed to cut down to one cup of coffee a day (and occasional chocolate bar) in my first pregnancy and I’ve stuck to that since. I think in the beginning I probably did go over the limit as I tried to cut down gradually.

I would highly recommend reading Expecting Better by Emily Oster to help you make these decisions. She’s an economist who presents the statistics and that can help you to make an informed choice, based on your appraisal of the risk. One of the things I remember from the chapter about caffeine, is that a lot of the evidence of caffeine causing any harm came from a study where most of the mothers were also abusing cocaine (I think - could be another drug).

It it’s a really level-headed book and I suggest you read it so that you can make these decisions with more information.

Maybe sometimes in my second pregnancy as my first was only a year old and I was knackered and working almost full time!

I remember being annoyed in Costa when they asked "decaf?" Gesturing to my bump. "No thank you, I need caffeine!" Is say gesturing to my toddler causing havoc...

The whole pregnancy was over caffeinated...only fluid I could keep down, alongside the solitary jelly pot per day.
Consultant told me not to worry as it was a blessing to keep anything down.
Baby born perfectly fine weighing 8lbs, full term.
Not necessarily advised, but nothing I would panic about.