Coffee - Just Curious

This is an easy one to answer-- switch to decaf for a week, and see. Different people have different tolerances for caffeine. Maybe this baby (like me) has a very low tolerance for it.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I will tell you that my second baby was always really fussy and "wired" after I had chocolate, even just a tiny bit. (In fact, when she was a newborn, it actually made her spit up more.)
Maybe you could cut out the caffeine for a few weeks and see what happens?

Caffeine, if that is contributing to fussiness, usually works its way out of the system pretty quickly...Especially if you are also keeping yourself well-hydrated (to process caffeine, your body uses water - that's why it is such a well known diuretic). So, if your test was at least 24-48 hours w/o coffee and the fussiness remained, then caffeine probably wasn't the culprit. Ooooh....But then there is the caffeine detox. I know it takes me several days to get past the craving and headaches that come w/giving up coffee. Maybe try your no-coffee-test again and stick with it for 1 week?

You should feel pretty safe indulging in a cup of coffee. I would start focusing in on foods you're eating that might be the culprit. But to be honest, some kids are just "busy" nursers.

Update: I just read Barbilee's response and it sounded sooo delicious that I must make an emergency run to Starbucks = )

I also indulge in 1-2 caffeinated drinks and am breastfeeding my 7 month old son. I try to drink it right after pumping at work or in the evenings after he goes to sleep. I wondered, too, if his sleeplessness had anything to do with the caffeine but even when I went to caffeine free sodas and decaf coffee, it didn't change anything.

Just wanted you to know that you are not alone!

I also drank 1 caffeinated drink per day while preggers (after 3 months) and ate lunch meat (gasp!) and medium rare meats occasionally....

If you are not looking for a caffeine boost then why not switch to decaf? I gave up caffeine when I was pregnant and breastfeeding my first (who is now 7) and have avoided it since. (okay other than chocolate, hot cocoa, or a cola flavored Icees now and again) I figured if I have lived without it for this long then why bother reintroducing it.

Maybe it is just your son's personality. All kids are different and some are more 'high needs' than others.

I do enjoy a cup of decaf after dinner and on cold days. I even carry decaf instant coffee sticks in my purse for those places that serve regular coffee or hot water but no decaf coffee. If you want to switch it can be done.

Just wanted to say hi from one coffee drinker to another...

It sounds like you've done due dillegence already and asked your Peds and Ob about this. :-)

Unless you are a HUGE coffee drinker it is not an issue... I have drank 2 cups of coffee almost daily while preggers with all 4 of my kids and have had no issues with it or them... (Coffee is a natural laxative for me so Instead of taking a med to stay consistant I just drank a cup of coffee. )

The main reason they try to get you to avoid it in pregnancy is because it has L. to no nutrients in it.

I think you hit the nail on the head with the teething thing. I couldn't give up coffee completely when I was preggers (3x) or while nursing, even now (although I did switch to 1/2 caff)... maybe try having that afternoon cup of joe a L. earlier, and see if that changes his evening sleep attitude :)

yea thats a tough one, because I am a coffee addict however I never breastfed. Any thing you eat goes right to your baby! so i would think that the caffiene is agitating him and making him anxious. It will take a L. bit for any caffeine to run out of his system. give it one more try....

It may not be the coffee but is there anything else you eat quite often that could not be agreeing with him? Maybe keep a journal of all you eat/drink through out the day and see if any food/drinks are being consumed alot , then take that out of your diet and see if it helps.

Hi J.,
I agree with your docs that the caffiene is most likely not causing the fussiness. I had 3 children and drank a cup of coffee everyday during all the pregnancies and during breastfeeding and it never seemed to bother them at all.
I hope you find out the cause soon so you can get back to a peaceful routine!

Drink coffee just switch to decaf or half caf since you like the taste of it. I would say the teething thing can be nerve racking. You need to remember every kid is different. I would give him some of the hylands teething tablets,they dissolve in the mouth. I would also give him some baby tylenol along with it. The hylands teething tablets are natural. They seem to help with the pain and have a calming effect. Be careful of what you are eating. Make sure not to eat things that could cause gas and then cause fussiness. Broccoli or green peppers can cause gas and can be passed along in the breast milk. Good luck

Hi, J.:
Ask your local breast feeding consultant at La Leche League at
www.llli.org

Hope this helps.

Good luck.
D.

I drank 2 cups of coffee every morning when I was BFing my twins and I don't think it had any effect.

I have breastfed 3 children for collectively over 4 years and I can tell you yes, there is a connection.
What I do is have one (or two) SMALL cups of "half-caff" coffee (Folgers make a good one) in the morning, and NEVER after 12 pm. That is my own rule. If I break it, my L. one parties all night!
I can't remember the half-life of caffeine, but I am thinking it might take more than a few days to find out.
Have you tried eliminating other things from your diet (one at a time, for 4 or 5 days) to see if there is any other difference)? Maybe start with dairy...

p.s Chocolate will also keep my babies up...oh, the HUMANITY!

Hi, I am not much of a coffee drinker and I stopped all caffeine when I was nursing. One morning I had a cup of tea because I was soooooo tired... Anyway, that day my L. man (4 months at the time) was sooooooooooooooo fussy! It was so hard' and he had such a time napping that day. I am sure it was the caffeine. It was so hard with him crying I just never did it again. Hope that helps. You can always try to stop for a while longer... and see of that help? Best of luck! Take care, M.

I looked this info up to refresh my memory for another poster a couple of weeks ago. Personally I cut out caffeine for the most part. My son was one of those babies that would be fussier after I would have any, all the way up to a year. And since I didn't need it very much it was just easier. Some babies are more sensitive to it, just like adults. Especially if you didn't have any while pregnant. But this is the info I gave the other poster. The link has very good info about it:

In breastfeeding class they were telling us that newborns take about 96 hours to metabolize caffeine, so after 3 days they could have as much as a pot of coffee in their systems even if you only drink a L. a day. But that is for newborns. Kellymom says that by age 4-9 mos, the half life of caffeine is the same as for adults, so it is out of their systems in a few hours.

http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/caffeine.html

I think your pediatrician is the best source of information, and if they're telling you they think it's not the problem, I'd personally put a lot of weight into their opinion.

If it relaxes you, I'd continue with the coffee (even if it's decaffeinated). I drank diet coke while nursing my kids, and caffeine is quickly metabolized.

Good luck! Hope you find the source of the grumpiness soon.

I would also agree caffeine. The entire time I nursed my son, I avoided caffeine. I switched to half-caf and decaf. My son would get very very fussy if I had any.

While pregnant w/my 2nd, I mentioned 2 my OB/GYN about my 1st child being very colicy, she explained 2 me that many things can B absorbed by the baby while pregnant including caffeine (caffeine in decaf drinks & even chocolate) & that my 1st baby might have been colic from caffeine withdrawal. So no caffeine 4 me w/2nd pregnancy & 2nd child wasnt colic. Both of my sons did had stomache problems when born. I had 2 stop breastfeeding after only 2 months because of these stomache problems & experiment which formula they did best on. Keep in mind almost everything U eat w/get in2 the breast milk so U have 2 B careful. Actually any food, there can B a sensativity or an allergy to. So U might want 2 C if an allergy might B the case. Best thing 2 do is write a diary of when the fussiness occurs. Then maybe U can try 2 find a connection, whether it maybe related 2 feeding time or even maybe something medical. (ex: acid reflux, colic). I hope I helped some. Good Luck. Just remember on those crazy days...with time & patience it all works out.

I run the Cape Cod Breastfeeding moms and I think almost all of us drink coffee!!!

Teething can cause fussiness and gas.
Try Orajel and see if it gives him relief. And drink you coffee!

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I love chocolate. I enjoy hot chocolate at night, but I have noticed that my baby is fussier after I have chocolate (any time of the day). It helped my baby a lot for me to avoid chocolate as much as possible until she was about 1 yr old and began breastfeeding less often. (I say as much as possible because there is a certain time of the month that my cravings are super strong and I don't always conquer them.) Anyway, my point is that I did notice a difference in my baby's fussiness level with and without my chocolate consumption. It felt good to let go of the chocolate knowing that it made such a difference to her L. body. And a happier baby makes a happier entire household.

Some babies are more affected by things than others.

It could be teething which does really tweak a baby, it could be it is just his personality, it could be gas....
is your milk supply adequate?
Is he latching on properly?
If not, he will not be getting enough intake... hence, hungry all the time, hence fussing... (my friends' babies' were like that).
Are you feeding on demand?
Does he nurse well? Long enough to get to the hind milk?

Does he nap, regularly?

Or, try do an experiment: try not drinking coffee (if you can), and see what his reaction is?
Or, try drinking weaker coffee...

Next, has he always been this way? Or it could be normal regular developmental tweaks. Or maybe he is hitting a growth-spurt early... typically it occurs at 6 months.

All the best,
Susan