Good morning to you! How are you doing today? Things are going well over here so far. I just got home after teaching my usual 6 a.m. Tuesday morning spin class. I took the class through a sweaty workout and resisted the urge to use the entire Pitch Perfect soundtrack as the playlist for today’s workout. To say I’m pumped to see Pitch Perfect 2 when it comes out this weekend is a serious understatement. The a cappella music lover in me is a little too giddy about it!
After class, I drove to Madalyn’s for a decaf caramel almond milk latte. It’s been a while since I’ve popped into my favorite local coffee shop and I missed their deliciously creamy lattes! After trying my fair share of crappy decaf coffee, I was so happy to take a sip of their decaf a few months ago and love it.
For those who have asked whether or not I’m totally avoiding caffeine during pregnancy, my answer is that I am for the most part. Most things I’ve read say some caffeine is fine during pregnancy (up to 200 mg – about the equivalent of a 12-ounce cup of coffee), but caffeine has always affected me a lot.
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It makes me super alert and chatty (I suppose that is kind of the point, right!?) and before I got pregnant, I would try not to consume any caffeine after 1 p.m. because I truly felt like it impacted my sleep. So I guess I figured that if caffeine affects me that much, my little guy is probably better off without it. I’ll still have some caffeine every now and then, but it’s not a daily staple in my life right now.
Since I love the taste (and smell) and the comfort I get from a morning cup of coffee or tea, I am still sipping on my favorite hot beverages, but sticking to decaf for the time being.
I paired today’s decaf latte with a bowl of chocolate peanut butter egg white oatmeal.
I also had a small packet of granola bites before I made my oats since I needed a snack to take the edge off my hunger right when I arrived home after spinning.
That’ll do it! Off to shower and head back into the gym for work. Have a great Tuesday!
Question of the Morning
- Do you consume caffeine daily?
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I’ve noticed lately that caffeine can make me SUPER anxious– and that’s probably not a good thing!! I’ve been trying to stick to tea and smaller cups of coffee since that’s probably better for me 🙂
I love love love caffeine … but honestly there are times when I have decaff and it doesn’t matter I swear it is 99% mental when it comes to caffeine.
One interesting thing about Canada is that traditionally only brown drinks/sodas can have added caffeine so Mountain Dew isn’t a caffeine bomb.
Hope you are having a great day!
j
Yes! I have coffee everyday and I worked at Starbucks during my pregnancy so I had way more than the recommended dose. My little guy turned out perfectly fine but LOVES coffee at 2 years old haha (he has maybe 1/2 cup a week)
I am extremely sensitive to caffeine, but I usually have just half a cup of coffee each morning. I like to get a little boost in the morning. & I enjoy the ritual. I’m pregnant right now too.
I have a definite caffeine problem! I let it get a little out of hand recently and I am trying to scale way back, which for me still means 2 cups a day.
I didn’t want ANY coffe during my first trimester-the smell made me gag! But during my 2nd and 3rd trimesters I did usually have a cup in the morning. Whatever works for you, you know?
There is actually caffeine in decaf coffee. And the process by which the beans go through to become un-caffeinated involves chemicals. My doctor said to just steer clear of all coffee while preggo (but he is also way overly cautious about everything!).
I limited my caffeine intake during pregnancy and my OB actually advised that caffeinated coffee in moderation is better for you (and your baby) than decaf. Take a look at the chemical solvent method utilized to decaffeinate. Chemicals used quite disturbing. The Swiss water method is far less popular and difficult to find (I searched everywhere!), but by far the most natural form of decaf.
I used to be obsessed with soda but have never been a coffee person. I decided to give up drinking soda this year because I was just drinking way too much of it. Now the only time I have caffeine is when I eat chocolate!
Caffeine can affect me a lot, especially tea drunk too late in the day – tea has a longer after-effect. If I’m totally exhausted I can sometimes drink coffee in the evening (esp. if I’m planning on staying up late-ish) but I try not to drink it after 4pm.
When I have kids, I definitely plan on continuing to drink the same amount of coffee when I am pregnant though, if I am not so nauseated that I don’t feel like it – research strongly suggests that the correlation between avoiding caffeine and a healthy pregnancy is actually more due to a correlation between nausea and a healthy pregnancy (that is, nausea makes you not want to drink coffee).
I am really affected by caffeine as well but not in a good way – it doesn’t wake me up to perkiness but it DOES keep me from falling asleep, if that makes any sense. So I decided to not drink caffeine after 9am (meaning I rarely drink it other than an early morning iced coffee in summer if the place I go doesn’t have a decaf iced). I stick to decaf coffee instead. And lots of decaf tea! So many naturally decaf choices like rooibos.
After my daughter was born about a month ago, I’ve actually been back at the caffeine pretty hard! I shouldn’t, though, since I am breast feeding (or at least limit it to 200 mg a day). Definitely getting more decaf coffee this weekend.
I was like you during pregnancy – decaf only. Toward the end though I started having a cup of regular coffee because I was just so darn tired. Now that my daughter is almost 7 months old, I have a LOT of caffeine. I’m basically immune to it now, like I was in college lol.
I’m 20 wees pregnant with my 3rd baby. This pregnancy I feel like I’m more sensitive than usual to caffeine. Not sure why. If I try to have more than one cup a day, even if it’s decaf, I get supre nauseous. Bummer 🙁 Anyway, I am a severe caffeine addict and going down to 1 cup a day is pretty extreme for me. Yikes! I am sure I will go back to 2-3 cups a day when needed (i.e. when I have 3 kids running around the house at the same time.)
As far as safety of caffeine during pregnancy, I’ve been told the same thing as you – that it’s perfectly fine as long a you’re under 200 mg a day. Actually, I’ve heard that mainly for the 1st trimester as any more than that has been shown to increase the change of miscarriage. In the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, it’s generally ok to loosen up a bit if need be (as far as I’ve heard and been told anyway.)
I’ve been drinking a cup a day during pregnancy- I love my coffee and I’m happy I cut back before I got pregnant!
The Fresh Market does sell a chemical free decaf. I bought it during my first pregnancy and enjoyed it. I am 22 weeks pregnant now and still don’t really have a taste for coffee this pregnancy. I had WAY worse morning sickness this time around so maybe that is why.
I stopped drinking coffee and tea three years ago, but before that I could put down two or three pots of black coffee in any given day. I was pretty good about soda for a while, but pregnancy exhaustion got me drinking diet Dr Pepper again to make it through work. I’m trying to give it up again, but my 3 month old not sleeping through the night makes that hard… After having two kids almost back to back I almost can’t remember the last time I really slept through the night.
I have at least one cup of coffee a day, but it’s usually two. This is a real great post because I honestly never knew how much caffeine was in each of these drinks.
Caffeine doesn’t have too much of an affect on me – I could literally drink a cup of coffee, then take a nap.
I’m so glad to read this post and the comments! I’m 21 weeks pregnant with my first and avoided coffee/tea completely the first trimester. Now I drink maybe 1 latte a week (less caffeine than coffee), but I still feel guilty about it. So it’s nice to know that other people don’t cut it out completely, either. 🙂