Caffeine and breast milk!

[noisymcqueen]

Did you drink caffeine at all when breastfeeding?
Did you notice a difference with baby (with sleep) when you did?

Baby is usually a really good sleeper. She's 7 weeks old and wakes every 3 hours or so. Sometimes every 4 hours in the night as it's increased over the last week or so.

Today I had a coffee (I normally have decaf) and then I expressed milk around 2 hours later which she drank this afternoon.

Anyway she's been awake crying for the last 3 hours and nothing seems to be settling her.

Could it be the caffeine?
I don't think it can be a total coincidence?
Back to decaf tomorrow!!!!

I drink a fuck ton of coffee. I really don’t think it works like that.

Hi OP. I drink mostly decaf and have been EBF my baby coffee 4 months. On the occasions I have a real coffee I haven't noticed a change, however I have spotted patterns with other things. My baby seems less settled/ takes the breast less if I've had spicy foods, for example.

So it could be that baby doesn't like the taste of something, OR I have just looked at my diary and my baby had a sleep regression around 7/8 weeks for a couple of nights.

The last thing I thought of is whether she usually has an expressed bottle when you gave her one? Baby's know the hormone or something that's active around midnight to 3am in us that increases milk supply if they're having a growth spurt (loose explanation, im tired- sorry!) and so can cluster during that time to increase milk supply. Could it be linked to this? My final thought is about wind- colic really kicks in months 2-4 I think doesn't it?

Sorry for the essay- I know how sad it can be when it feels like you just can't "reach" baby and help them.

I haven't been feeding her coffee, didn't check my post enough before pressing send 🤪🫠

Thanks @Redsharks
Yes I didn't imagine you'd been feeding your baby coffee for 4 months! 😂

I wonder if it could be a growth spurt as this happened a couple of weeks ago. But again I'd drank coffee on that day too so was worried. It lasted a couple of days where she cried so much and nothing would work.

We have infacol for colic etc. she seems she be burping ok and has had dirty nappies etc.
But she's been waking up crying every hour for the last 4 hours. It could be something I've eaten. I'm trying to think what I've had .. it'll come to me when I've had more sleep I'm sure!

How did the rest of your night go, OP?

Hi @Redsharks
She finally went to sleep about around 4am and then woke at 6.20am.
Very difficult night which we don't usually have really.
Will see how tonight goes. Usually she will sleep for 3 hour stretches.
Let's hope that happens tonight!! 🤞🏻

Hopefully it's a growth spurt/ transition period and things will feel settled over the next few days; we've had many of these and are knee deep in 4 month sleep regression at the moment! Is DC ok in themselves today?

I drank loads of tea and coffee and mine slept amazingly! I’ve not seen anywhere it says you can’t have coffee. If you’re allowed a glass of wine, I can’t see why you can’t have coffee?

I lived on coffee. It made zero difference.

I don’t like coffee so never drank it but drank loads of black tea while breastfeeding. I googled it with my first and you can see how much caffeine is in certain things relative to recommendations and even the amount I drank, which I worried was kids, was fine.

We've just been through a really difficult period of nap strikes, frequent night wakings and screaming in the evening due to overtiredness, baby was also 7 weeks old and we are coming out of it now after just over a week.
Seems to coincide with leap 2 on wonder weeks...