I love my coffee. I NEED my coffee. The only time I don't drink my coffee in the morning is if I'm sick or I've got the nastiest pregnancy heartburn in the world. My routine is: up by 6:30am or 7:00am (at the latest) and by 9:00am I usually have my usual 2 cups of coffee. Sometimes, if I really really need it to stay sane, I'll have a third cup before noon.
My dilemma is this:
I never liked coffee before. Not coffee that tasted like coffee anyway. I usually splurged on Starbucks every once in a while, but that was it. Never liked the taste. But over the past couple years....well, actually since Steve died, I've taken to not only liking coffee, but needing it. Now, having established my "history of drinking", I have recently been plagued with thoughts of having to quit. Why? I'm afraid it may affect the baby's sleep patterns, diet, etc because I plan on exclusively breastfeeding him. I never had this issue with either Hayden or Yvette.
I don't want to quit. But I will if necessary. My logic is this: I've been drinking it throughout this whole pregnancy. Why stop now? Would he go through "withdrawal" with me? If that is the case then it would be best to NOT quit, right?
Twisted logic, but needing some advice......
(sigh)
This Saturday’s Recipes by The Pioneer Woman
4 years ago
1 comment:
Hi Theresa!
I googled your question and this answer seems pretty informative! sounds like you're probably ok unless your little one indicates otherwise!
Kristin :-)
Question:
How long does it take for what you eat to affect your breastmilk? For instance, if I have a cup of caffeinated coffee in the morning, when will the caffeine enter my milk and how long before it is gone?
Answer:
It is impossible to make a general statement about how long specific foods take to enter your breastmilk. It varies with each individual food, and each mother absorbs, metabolizes and excretes substances at different levels.
This is true of caffeine as well, but it has been studied so thoroughly that we have more information about it than we do about some other substances. Generally speaking, caffeine will peak in your milk about an hour after ingestion. Its half life (the time it takes for one half of it to completely leave your milk) varies from 80 hours in a newborn to about 2 1/2 hours in a six month old. It takes four or five half-lives for a drug to be completely eliminated, so caffeine stays in the baby's system for quite a long time. As with all drugs, newborns and preemies take longer to eliminate caffeine from their body than older babies because their digestive systems are less mature.
The good news is that although caffeine gets into your milk quickly and takes a long time to excrete, it rarely causes problems for breastfed babies. Most studies have found the levels in newborns to be very small, and often undetectable. Each cup of coffee contains about 100-150 mg of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in five cups of coffee per day (less than 750 ml) has not been shown to cause problems for most mothers and babies. Mothers who consume 8 or 9 cups a day, or more than 750 ml have sometimes noticed that their babies are fussy and don't sleep well. If you think your baby is sensitive to caffeine, try cutting down over the course of a week by substituting caffeine free beverages for what you usually drink. Abrupt withdrawal from caffeine can cause headaches.
Caffeine in moderation rarely causes any problem for babies, but be more conservative if your baby is a newborn or is premature. If you are trying to limit your caffeine intake, remember that it can also be found in tea, soda, and certain medications such as pain relievers, stimulants, and weight control aids.
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