Coffee & Alcohol

[grace10209]

Hi All
congrats to all of you that are pregnant and over 35! I am 36 and ttc #1. I have had a loss and recently had my first iui - im praying that on Feb 1st when I go for my blood test that it will be positive.............

I wanted to ask you all quickly about coffee and alcohol.

While you were ttc, did you 100% cut out coffee and alcohol? right now I have one cup of coffee per day, maybe two but thats max, which I think is still ok? or what about tea? is tea ok during pregnancy?

I have completely cut out alcohol which I dont know if thats completely necessary??? I think during the 2ww I need to.

And then for everyone that is now pregnant, are you still drinking coffee? is one cup per day ok???
what about alcohol? my guess is no right, maybe a glass or two of wine once you hit 2nd trimester is ok? not sure.

just curious what everyone thinks and is doing. Thank you all and IM PRAYING I CAN JOIN YOU ALL SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Seity]

I wasn't ttc, so was drinking plenty of coffee and alcohol.
I still drink 1-2 cups of full caff coffee/tea a day. Usually 1, so if I feel like a soda or lots of chocolate later in the day, I'm still well below the recommended caffeine intake per day. I don't drink after I get my bfp (wasn't trying, so was drinking during '2 week wait') and while in the 1st trimester. Once I'm in 2nd trimester, I will have the occasional glass of wine or beer. Usually, I'll just sip on a half glass of something when the mood strikes.
This is my 2nd pregnancy. I did the same with my 1st pregnancy when I was 36. Not everyone is comfortable with caffeine or alcohol. If it's going to stress you out more to drink it, than don't. It's all about moderation for me.

 

[Garnet]

I only drink half cup of coffee and decaf if I have a craving for it

 

[AllieM]

I don't think there are any right answers. I drank coffee and alcohol while I was TTC, and continue with coffee now that I am pregnant, although I have cut out other sources of caffeine.

I think if you have been TTC, it doesn't hurt o try cutting these things out (if you want to) to see if it makes a difference.

 

[EverHopeful08]

Hi Grace10209, always a contentious subject I think, but I agree with Seity, everything in moderation IF you feel comfortable with that. I see a lot of ladies on here who completely abstain but unfortunately I was in Mexico at an All Inclusive hotel when I completely unexpectedly conceived so was drinking pina coladas around the pool without realising! I'm not beating myself up about it because I know a lot of women who drink without realising they're expecting. I of course stopped once I knew! I'm now in the second trimester and have a cup of coffee in the morning, and then decaff if I want more. At the weekends I have the odd glass of red wine - just slowly and with dinner.. At first, I was stressing out for the first 8-10 weeks about everything and was really unhappy.. Now I'm easing into this pregnancy and just being sensible. Eat healthily, get exercise, fresh air and take your vitamins - will make for a happy pregnancy.
Good luck with your TTC journey, hope it happens soon for you!

 

[grace10209]

Hi Guys
Thank you all for your responses. Its challenging when you are actively ttc, because you want to control everything and do everything you "CAN" to help things.

I agree with many and that there are hundreds of women that drank heavily (NOT KNOWING) that they were pregnant and everything turned out ok.

Hopefully I'll be able to join you all very shortly. thank you !

 

[Amberyll23]

Hi there Grace10209!

We suffered a MC back in September, 2010 after several years of trying for a little one. After that loss, I became rather obsessed with TTC, and pretty much recorded everything after that! So here is the rundown of what I did during the month when we conceived our DD:

1. Big glass of grapefruit juice every morning starting at CD10 through 4DPO. I really do believe this helped my CM a lot!
2. Temping and OPKs, and I got digital ones (the clear blue smiley face ones) this month to be sure of my O.
3. LOTS OF We had sex every day for 3 days prior to O, my day of O, and the day after O.
4. Caffeine freeze starting 10 dpo. I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that caffeine can cause issues with implantation, so I quit cold turkey as I got close to my O.

As you can see, I did do a caffeine freeze for implantation concerns. I did not record my alcohol consumption, but I can tell you that I did have an occasional drink up until I tested positive for that pregnancy. After that, aside from an occasional small sip of wine at a wedding, etc. I had zero alcohol, and I tried to limit my caffeine as the pregnancy guidelines say.

That being said, this third pregnancy was a surprise (a very happy one!!), we were not even TTC yet, and were just NTNP, so I didn't do ANY of the above! However, I was still BFing my daughter, so caffeine and alcohol consumption were at very low levels because I did not want anything to go over into my milk, so I was timing my consumption vs. when she would nurse or I would pump.

I hope this information helps you! Best wishes and hope to see you here soon!!

 

[grace10209]

Thank you amber I appreciAte all the info! And congrats on your pregnancy!

I never heard of the grapefruit juice thing?? Going to google now

 

[Amberyll23]

Yes, it is supposed to help with cervical mucus (CM) to aid in conception. Lots of women, including myself, have had good results with it. Others have not. I figured hey, couldn't hurt, haha, so I tried it and it definitely seemed to work for me!

 

[grace10209]

Yes, it is supposed to help with cervical mucus (CM) to aid in conception. Lots of women, including myself, have had good results with it. Others have not. I figured hey, couldn't hurt, haha, so I tried it and it definitely seemed to work for me!

Thats great to know. I will definitly try that for my next cycle. My beta is next week on Friday 2/1. So i'll either be pregnant (please god) or I'll start drinking my grapefruit juice! I have zero cm and we usually use preseed, but every bit helps right? So you are supposed to start it a few days before expected O?

 

[Amberyll23]

I have very long cycles (35 days), and I believe I O on CD 23 (If I remember correctly), so I started the grapefruit juice at CD 10 and through 4 dpo. So if you have normal cycles (28 days), you probably would want to start it sooner, basically when you are entering your "possibly fertile" stage and then keep it up through 4 dpo (since there is still a chance with sex a few days after you O to catch the egg!)

I will keep my fingers crossed for you that you get your good news on 2/1!!

 

[grace10209]

Thank you for all the tips and advice ladies.

 

[kcmichelle]

Interesting about the grapefruit juice and the cervical mucous. I have a similar story along those lines that I discovered by accident. With my first preganacy 13 years ago I had been TTC for almost a year. I came down with bronchitis and started taking Robitussin Expectorant. I got pregnant that month. Then 11 years later I was TTC over the age of 40. Tried for a year, and came down with bronchitis. Total coincidence but took Robitussin Expectorant for it, and got pregnant!! Well I wanted one more child. Was trying for about 15 months. I didn't have bronchitis but just for fun I took Robitussin that cycle. Whamo, pregnant again. My doctor said it thinned out the mucous and allowed the men to travel easier.

 

[grace10209]

Yup they say to take for cm! I have read it on a few sites!
Omg I just got my bfp yesterday, my beta was 269 at 14dpo and I am
Beyond thrilled!!!!! I knot it's early so I'm
Cautiously optimistic!! Wooohooo

Now, to confirm 1-2 cups max if coffee per day is ok? Or no? Maybe 1?

 

[Seity]

1-2 a day is fine. I usually stick with 1, but some days you just really need that second cup.

 

[grace10209]

1-2 a day is fine. I usually stick with 1, but some days you just really need that second cup.

OK thank you, i just found out yesterday so I dont want to do anything to mess this up! i am beyond thrilled. thank you!

 

[Amberyll23]

Congratulations Grace! I am so very happy for you!!!

Definitely try to stick to 1 cup of coffee per day if you can. That is what I try to do.

 

[binksmommy]

I was drinking like a fish the month I got my Bfp !

 

[grace10209]

So I bought some decaf coffee, silly question but can I then have
One cup decaf &
One cup regular each day?

Because decaf is decaf??

What a nervous mama I am

 

[Amberyll23]

1 cup decaf and 1 cup regular should be fine. I admit to sneaking in a cup of decaf on days where just one cup of joe won't cut it!

You just have to pay attention to the size of the regular coffee. For example a 16 oz starbucks has 330 mg of caffeine, 16 oz dunkin donuts coffee has 211mg, where as an 8 oz generic coffee can have anywhere from 95-200mg. Decaf has very little caffeine, so just watch what you are drinking and the size of your regular cup!