Drinking coffee and feeling guilty… anyone else?

[toja555]

I am pregnant with DC2 14+5 days. My DC1 is 2yo, and he is quite hyperactive and very tempered boy. I used to have about 2-3 cups of weak coffee while I was pregnant with him. They say 3 cups of coffee or 6 cups of tea a day is fine. I usually have 1-2 cups of green tea and 1 cup of latte a day. I can?t resist it (I love smell, taste and pleasure of cup of coffee), and at the same time I feel very guilty giving my baby caffeine. I also would like a calmer baby than DC1 and afraid that it is going affect him/her somehow?

Anyone else here that cannot resist a cup of coffee?

I can't give up my daily can of Diet Coke (hangs head in shame).

I have carried on drinking coffee throughout this and my last pregnancy. like you I am too addicted not too!! I think there is some thought that it may increase risk of miscarriage but you are past main time for that anyway. One latte doesn't sound bad to me if it were 14 esspressos that may be more of a worry!!!

I cannot imagine that your coffee-drinking (at such a reasonable level) affected your son's behaviour significantly. I drank no coffee when pg with DD1 (completely went off it) then drank a latte a day when pg with DDs 2 and 3. If anything, DD1 is the most temperamental of them all! You've just got an energetic, busy little boy

As women I think we're programmed to feel guilt over the slightest thing. I wouldn't have thought your liking for coffee has affected your sons behaviour. Try not to worry, pregnancy is hard enough!

hi,im the same 12 weeks preganant with dc 3 and have a 14mnt dd at home and a 5yr ds old at school during day.

Im so tired!!!!

there is no way i could give up my 2cups of coffee a day. i just crnt function(belive me i tried up until 9 weeks) im was useless.

I find that having a cup b4 i even get out of bed REALLY helps!! And can usually last untill roughly bout 1ish.

dont feeel guilty,its only coffee,not crack!

You might find that once you get a bit later into your pregnancy you get a new lease of energy and not need coffee/or only one a day.

good luck x

My understanding is that the risk is if you drink more than 5 cups of coffee day you may increase the risk of miscarrying in the first trimester.

Assuming that that is right (and I am more than happy to be corrected), then, once again, the guilty/mother-as-baby-machine-only/can't-report-for toffee- brigade has struck again, by labelling any coffee at any point as bad.

So says TableFor 3, having just finished her morning latte (and only coffee for the day)

One or two cups of coffee a day is fine

I have 2 coffee's a day and then if am in need a couple of decaffs as well, tis exactly what i did last time and DD is fine. I tell myself that being pregnant is shitty enough and there are more important things to give up than coffee (like fags and alcohol) and we can't do it all. I do make sure that if I have a coffee when out that they only put 1 shot in it though.

I lived (almost literally) on black coffee with no sugar for the first 4 months of DS1's pregnancy......it was all we had/could afford

He's fine - so I carried on drinking "above average" cups of coffee through my other pg's as well

I drank loads and loads of coffee when pregnant with DC1 - that was 12 years ago though, obviously "guidelines" have changed now. FWIW DC1 is the most placid child ever despite my copious amounts of caffiene consumption.

I am now 31 weeks pregnant with DC3 - I am still drinking loads of coffee but have switched to decaff for the majority of times - purely because of what the books all say

Im not a coffee drinker, but im a big tea drinker, so i switched to decaf tea when i got pregnant with this pregnancy, but before i knew i was pregnant i was a big drinker of caffiene drinks (red bull etc), same both my previous pregnancies, and neither of my kids are hyper despite drinking large amounts of caffiene with DC2 (didnt find out i was pregnnat till really late) in the early stages.

like i said, im not a coffee drinker, but could you shop around for a decaf coffee that satisfies the taste your craving?

I've enjoyed my coffee when I've been able to drink it - my body was very insistent at one point that it would not tolerate it. I'm 29+6 and all is well.

With both DS and DD i went off coffee early on, but this time round I haven't, and enjoy the odd cup. it keeps me awake! I have to do it when dd (3.5) is not around, as she is the pregnancy police, and tells me off-
"you can't drink coffee, mummy, babies can't have coffee. Just milk" -said very earnestly and usually with hands on hips...
This is embarrassing in the middle of M and S cafe....

Yes and no. Yes - drinking some coffee in moderation (as did in last pregnancy), but no - not feeling guilty about it.

Oh dear, I found so much of reassurance here. I guess, guilt is worse than a cup of coffee!

give up the guilt! my midwife made me feel like a naughty child as I admitted to having a glass of wine occasionally- I mean 1 glass every 2 or 3 weeks FFS!
The food and drink recommendations during pregnancy are just that , recommendations. if a cup of coffee, or a jar of pickles or a whole cake is what floats your boat, have it, enjoy it and concentrate on loving yourself and your beautiful babies, most of what we are told is just the govenment coming over all nanny-tastic, if you eat well , try to sleep well and generally look after yourself your baby will be as bonny and bouncy as the last ( although hopefully a bit calmer ) enjoy, T x

if you knew how much black coffee and diet coke I am going through a day at the moment, you wouldn't feel guilty and would think you are a saint! As it is, I don't care, I'm 30 weeks pregnant and it is my only craving...apparently it can lead to low birth weight but my other two were whoppers so hey ho.

I am addicted to my daily Diet Coke, and have just swapped it for the caffeine free version, can't tell the difference. My DH brings me a cup of tea in bed (while he gets our 5 year old twins breakfast!) and then during the day I allow myself one other caff tea, and the rest decaf. My special treat is a Starbucks Caramel Latte, so when I have that now I have decaf, and can't tell the difference. I think the amount of sugar in the caramel syrup is probably more worrying!!

i drink, on average about 5-6 cups of coffee a day and have done through each of my 3 pregnancies
it isn't tha tbad all my kids are fairly laid back! .

It hasn't even occurred to me to feel guilty - I've cut down on the coffee consumption but would need good evidence to give it up altogether. I drink a couple of cups of the real stuff first thing in the morning and then switch to decaf for the rest of the day, unless I'm going out for a nice lunch in which case I have real coffee afterwards. So shoot me.

I have one coffee a day (occasionally 2 but that's usually out of desperation). Before pregnancy I'd have the odd diet coke, but now have stocked up on caffiene free diet coke at home. I take one into work with me but it's impossible to buy it in cafes, bars and shops (apart from supermarkets).

Can anyone actually recommend a decent caffiene free coffee? I did intend to give it up but all the one's I tried tasted horrible. I can't have sugary drinks cause I'm diabetic (this includes most juices which have a lot of sugar too) so if I gave up the coffee and the diet coke I'd be left with still or sparkling water - mmmmm exciting!

CafeDirect isn't too bad - I have the decaf instant coffee at work and the decaf ground coffee at home.