I know there is a limit to how much caffeine is safe during early pregnancy but I forget how much that is. When I Google I get answers ranging all over the board, some up to 200mg a day (Which seems like a lot to me). I left a message for my doctor to get her opinion, but in the mean time I was curious as to what you ladies think. So far I am limiting myself to 82mg (2 cans of Dr. Pepper a day). Does that seem like a decent amount?
Wild Woman - Great advice! I went cold turkey when I was pregnant with Oliver. I went from drinking an outrageous amount of Mountain Dew (I think something like 6 cans a DAY - Like I said, outrageous!), to drinking no soda at all overnight. Talk about headaches! Lol. Luckily though I never went back to drinking that much. My normal pre-pregnancy was maybe 3 cans a day, which is still a lot but not as much as I used to do. I cut back to 2 when I found out I was pregnant.
Better yet... drop the sodas completely...... it is empty calories, and you don't need it.
They may "say" there is a "safe" limit to caffeine... but do they REALLY know?
It is better to avoid it completely.... difficult, I know......
I don't think the caffeine in the soda is nearly as bad (if at all) compared to the Phosphoric Acid and other additives, such as lots of sugar.. whether pregnant or not, soda does seem to have a lot of "stuff" in it.. So in my case, I'd have to say yes, I do think two cans of soda is a lot.
whatever you do - do not quit drinking your usual stuff cold turkey. If 2 cans of DP is what you normally do - that should be fine. If you feel like you need to cut back - then drink the smaller cans or only drink half of one can.
If you go cold turkey - you will end up going into withdrawals and that's not fun. You can "wean" yourself off of it - slowly...like a half can a day until you no longer are drinking DP or at one per day...the "weaning" can take one to two weeks.
When I was pregnant, my dr told me to cut out ALL caffeine and a whole list of fish...like swordfish, etc...So, I did. But, many of my friends were told by their docs to have a cup of coffee a day. Even decaf has a trace of caffeine in it. I would be more concerned with consuming high fructose corn syrup that is in soda. It is not sugar. And corn is genetically engineered, if it's not organic. The USA is the richest, yet, sickest...alot of changes have taken place since the intro to gen engineered foods. Europeans don't allow high fructose cs in their foods. It is banned there or labeled!
See:
responsibletechnology.org AND click on "Dangers"
OR articles.mercola.com.
I never drank coffee with my first two. But with my third, my doctor was perfectly comfortable with me drinking one cup of regular strength coffee per day.
I second ditching the Dr. Pepper. You'd be better off drinking some caffeinated tea. The extra sugar in the soda is not good for you or baby. If you CAN go totally caffeine free, then that's the best. But is you MUST have something, I'd go with a tea or straight up coffee. Especially if you're out of your first trimester, it's perfectly safe.
One or two cups of coffee was approved by three of my doctors. (I moved three times during ist pregnancy). I don't know how soda compares to coffee-but about that much.
My dr said 12oz a day was ok. I quit drinking caffeine before I got pregnant & rarely drink it now.
Just ask your dr what they recommend.
My Dr. told me I can of soda a day, or a small cup of coffee. That was in all the pamphlets she gave me, too.
She said, of course it's healthier for the baby to have none...but if you think you have to...one is good. Empty calories and sugar content were just as much of a worry, according to her.
NONE! Not worth the risk; and they don't even know for sure what all the risks are yet!!!
Good luck!!
Honestly I would aim for none if possible.
I was told to try to keep it to one cup a day of a caffeinated beverage. You have to remember that one cup is 8 ounces, so I would think 2 cans of soda is over-doing it a bit. I do not drink coffee and we do not typically buy soda for the house, so when I did have soda, I would drink a little more than the allotted 8 ounce cup. You can always try to switch to a soda with less caffeine, the eventually go to a caffeine free type, and occasionally splurge on the 2 cans of Dr. Pepper!
When I was pregnant they said 2 cups of coffee per day was fine.
I didn't feel like it though.
Mostly I wanted herbal tea.
Minty tea was great and seemed to help settle my stomach (I had awful acid indigestion).
My midwife said 2 cups of coffee...so I would have two cups of tea and one diet pepsi. I did this with all three pregnancies.
I had 2 Dr Pepper's a day, my doctor said I could do that or 2 cups of coffee, but I don't drink coffee. My daughter is fine. Other people will tell you no caffeine at all (I had a friend who was very superior in attitude about how she even cut out chocolate) but, you know, moderation. I'm glad you're consulting your doctor as well as the internet, but I think even different doctors would say different things.
I've been given the 200mg rule. I drink one (lovely) cup of french pressed coffee every morning. I'll do the same breastfeeding.
I seriously love my cup of coffee. So much.
During both of my pregnancies, my doctor told me I could drink up to one soda or coffee a day. He also told me not to quit cold turkey because not only will you go through withdrawal, but your baby will be affected by it as well. Just think, you were drinking caffeine when you got pregnant. So for about 2 weeks, your baby was already getting caffeine. To take it away cold turkey would be hard for you and baby.
I have read things that go fom 150-300mg, so I think that sounds fine. I did one up of regular or two of 1/2 caff coffee daily and only had coke if I was out somewhere, I did not keep it in the house bc I thought I would drink too much and I knew I wasn't giving up coffee!! Congrats ;)
That is fine. During my pregnancies, I have one cup of coffee a day and sometimes a 4 oz Coke, no diet Coke. Not worth headaches!
I think you should be fine. I also think taking a sip and putting it in the fridge and coming back to it a couple of times could help. This way you may only drink half a can and throw out the rest because it is flat. Two cans of Dr. Pepper has about 82mg of caffeine.
Here is a good guide for caffeine (generally coffee has a lot more caffeine than soda):
http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database
This next question is a little off topic, but I am curious. I watched a show about how Mountain Dew is really bad for your teeth (I guess compared to coke). Did you get cavities when you drank it or are you having less dental issues now that you quit? For some reason I never see Mountain Dew and used to think it was just another soft drink, but the news (maybe 20/20 or dateline) made it sound so much different.
When I was pregnant my body automatically rejected caffeine, which is how I knew I was pregnant! Me, nauseated by coffee? Never!
Anyway, 2 cans of Dr. Pepper sounds just fine, but I think you made the right "call" in contacting your doc.
The Internet can drive you mad with its gazillion results. (Then again so can Mamapedia!).
I say listen to your doc and your gut! And your baby will take care of the rest!
Congrats and good luck!
I'll raise a glass of Sprite to you!
