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1654035 tn?1332425178

Coffee alternatives

As you can tell from my screen name I love coffee :)  during my first pregnancy I completely lost my taste for coffee and had no problem being without it throughout and even months past the birth. Well my craving for coffee has not gone away so far and I know I need to avoid caffeine and have been literally drinking 1/4 cup in the morning with a good amount of almost milk in it. Problem is I am literally dragging at this point, so tired all the time, and my drive to work is almost an hour, where I would usually enjoy my coffee. So what are good alternative beverages for the morning.
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615752 tn?1361867986
You can have a cup or too (depending how strong you make it). Or try decaf (yes it isn't the same but you can try), or black tea has small amounts of caffeine.

I drink decaf now as I got so turned off coffee (and I usually love it).
Helpful - 0
1330108 tn?1333677304
I was told up to 200mg of caffeine is safe I did that through pregnancy and now while breastfeeding. I usually do a half caff ice vanilla latte and on rough days a regular OCR vanilla latte (always grande). 1 Cup regular coffee is in the safe range for caffeine intake so is a grande latte.
Helpful - 0
1428239 tn?1333457053
I gave up coffee all together even though my doctor said the same thing anything less than 200 MG a day is fine...    Definitely a cup a day person before though alot of the I had tea but steeped strong....    The reality is that the first trimester is going to drag you down regardless of how much coffee you drink....  Like you, I have had huge cravings for coffee....  its so hard to resist ometimes... I actually frequently just take my husbands to smell at times... yeah its weird...

I found what I missed was the warmth of the beverage.. So I started drinking warm lemon water or honey water.. then that grossed me out and I started just drinking straight up warm water...  It was weird at first but now I really love it....  

Initially I didnt want to drink coffee because I didnt want to do anything to increase my risk of miscarriage even with doctors saying 200 mg is safe...  But then when I got really strong cravings and I would be standing in line to get one.. I ended up stopping myself because I realized that the real reason I dont drink coffee is not because of the caffeine crossing the placenta.  It is because caffeine eats up calcium stores and pregnancy alone requires alot of calcium in a daily...  Most prenatals only have around 200 mg and you need around 1200 MG..  Since I cant drink alot of milk as I have sensitivity to it, I just have a hard enough time getting my daily requirement of calcium and I take an extra supplement.

Either way, you do not need to give it up.. But if you chose to I can honestly say if you are strong will, after a week or so, you wont even find you need it..  Both times I have weaned myself off caffeine, I stopped having withdrawal symptom after 5-7 days..
Helpful - 0
287246 tn?1318570063
I agree w/ the others.  Nothing wrong w/ that morning cup of coffee.  If it makes you feel better, you can always try decaf or even half caff.    That won't help you with your fatigue though :) But one cup of coffee is not going to hurt your baby.
Helpful - 0
647911 tn?1373314647
try tea , I was always a huge fan of coeffe, prior to pregnancy I would drink it all day long, and love it once I became pregnant, I slowed up put just couldnt put it down So I was told that 300 mg maybe to excessive that would be like 5 pepsi's a day or 3 cups of coeffe, I started to use 50/50 coeffe, very gross at first and I didint notice that I had anykind of pickup with it so I went back to regular, I would have one cup a day or so, and then I would drink non caffeine pops for the rest of the day, sometimes I have a glass of sweet tea and that help a little, Im 36 weeks pregnant now and drink a 1/2  cup of coeffe a day, Ive jst tired to live with being tired all the time, Once I delievery i plan on going back to it 100%
Helpful - 0
589762 tn?1330207135
I am also a fellow coffee lover and still drink my morning cup of coffee every morning! My dr did also tell me it was safe to have up to 300mg of caffeine per day! Enjoy your coffee girl!
Helpful - 0
776572 tn?1360290739
hey liz! fellow coffee lover here, but due to m/s haven't been able to have it lately. i've read however that 200mg or less of caffeine a day is considered safe?

not sure what to recommend for an energy pick up other than eating a good nutritious breakfast with protein and plenty of anti-oxidants.... for coffee alternatives have you ever had red tea (rooibos)? it doesn't taste like coffee but its really enjoyable. you can even make a rooibos cappuccino with milk foam -- sooo good! for coffee substitutues i know there are ones made from chicory root that simulate the flavour -- think the name is caf-lib. have you tried decaf?

on the energy front i don't think there is much you can do except nap when you can and be sure to get a lot of rest. i'm in my 8th week and i've noticed that i'm less tired. perhaps i've adjusted to the hormones? i hope that happens for you too. :)

Helpful - 0
1577200 tn?1331725719
as Amy said you dont have to give up the coffe, my dr also told me i can have coffee as well , coke , i love coke :D
Helpful - 0
688845 tn?1325182236
Unless you've been told otherwise from your doctor, you don't need to avoid it. My doctor assured me I can have up to 300mg of caffeine per day. I drink a coffee everyday and have 1 coke. I am 27 weeks pregnant and all is well.
Helpful - 0
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