Sharing a Room and Quick Breastfeeding Question

I drank soda through both my pregnancies (my doc asked me to limit it to 2 sodas a day, which I did). I didn't breast feed for very long, but I drank my 2 sodas a day then too and it was fine. I could not quit caffeine altogether either. I wouldn't be able to stay awake without it.

Wow that was kind of a harsh response. Having children yes you have to give up a little of yourself but not all of you. If I'm correct the in my breastfeeding class she told us that a moderate amount of coffee would not affect the baby. When she said moderate I thought she was going to say like two cups but I want to say it was like 4 to 5 cups. She was certified through la leache check their website. I breastfeed and drink caffeine all the time. It does not affect my baby at all. I'm not a coffee person, but I can't go without mountain dew or A. occasional red bull. also I ask my doctor lots and lots of questions because I'm on mediciene they always say the amount of any thing the mother takes in is so minuscule that it will not hurt the baby but some side effects may be noticed such as drowsy or hyperactive so I would just drink your normal amount and if you notice your baby not sleeping well or any other kind of symptom cut back. Hope this helps :) but ask your doctor sense you are pregnant at this time., when I was pregnant I craved fountain drinks all the time, so I drank them, my baby is just fine.

Here is a link for you to browse! KellyMom is a wealth of breastfeeding knowledge! Good for you for breastfeeding your wee ones! AND enjoy your coffee!
http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/caffeine.html

I don't think it's a bad idea for siblings to sleep in the same room, plenty of siblings do it without any adverse effects. :-)
How well does your 13 mo old sleep through the night right now? Based on the answer to that question, I'd just play it by ear.

May is just around the corner!! Good luck and congrats, your sweet babe will be here before you know it!! WooHoo!

I drink 1 cup of coffee and did through both pregnancies and nursing. I think 2 to 3 is a lot. I find that on days I need a second cup, I will have decaf and it does the trick...if only as a placebo. I would really recommend cutting down.

If having a cup of coffee makes you a better mother, have your coffee. Just be cautious, keep A. eye on baby to see if he is sensitive to it by being fussy or wakeful. If he is, you will need to cut back more. If not, some caffeine is fine. Here is a link to kellymom's website that explains how caffeine metabolizes in good detail and how much is safe:

http://www.mamapedia.com/outbound_link/redirect?link=http...

When they are newborns it takes about 90 hours for coffee to metabolize in their systems, and the caffeine is cumulative. So daily intake of coffee will add up after several days in their systems. Your breastmilk will have the most caffeine in it A. hour after you drink it, so if you can drink it while you are nursing or just before, it will help reduce how much caffeine your baby takes in. And the limits on how much you should drink a day vary, but a conservative safe estimate is about 2 cups a day. When baby is 3-5 mos, you can start having more.

My son was one of those that did seem sensitive, so I rarely had any caffeine. But I did have it when I needed it, and I also ate chocolate. I'm curious how many women who freak out about coffee actually cut out chocolate too. I have actually seen people respond that you should quit breastfeeding if you want to drink coffee. As if formula is healthier than a little bit of caffeine. I doubt that. Drink your coffee and breastfeed your new baby, just be aware of the effects, if any.

I can't answer the sleeping question- my toddler would never be able to share a room with a baby without waking up a million times. Good luck!

i won't beat you up. there are worse things than coffee. that being said, it's not a good thing and i do hope you can give it up, or at least cut way back.
i used to be addicted until i did the master cleanse and quit cold turkey. i thought i'd die on day 2. i've rarely been so sick. decided then that anything that affects me that harshly is not something i want around. now, i have a cup at my elbow even as i type, but i only drink it now on weekends and very occasionally during the week. could you possibly cut back to one cup per day, just enough to stave off the head agony? it is NOT helping with your exhaustion and may be contributing to it.
as for the room-sharing, i'll bet you'll be fine. sequestering a baby in its own room is a relatively modern idea. if they don't adjust to each other's sleeping and waking sounds and movements you can always add a white noise machine, but i think it's good for kids to learn to sleep through some commotion. makes your ongoing life MUCH easier, especially if you're in close quarters to start with.
good luck!
khairete
S.

Coffee is fine for the breastfeeding mom, as long as you don't overdo it (as I drink my coffee right now and nurse my boob-a-holic son).

2, medium / large coffee's a day should be fine, but don't jump in immediately. I would maybe start with a small cup when the baby is 3 weeks old and work your way up. If the baby seems fussy, cut it down again.

Remember too that coffee is a diuretic (makes you lose water) so you are going to water to drink plenty of fluid (water and juice) to make up for the coffee.

I remember a very cool La Leche leader I knew and she was asked that sames question about coffee - she was like "my brain wouldn't function without Starbucks!"

So, yes coffee is fine. I WOULD however, only drink a small amount initially. Don't go past 2 large cups a day. I suspect your baby will be fine with it since you drank while PG as well (which is not a cardinal sin by the way) :)

I drank coffee with both my pregnancies (more during my second pregnancy than my first) and both of my children are fine. My 9 week old is already sleeping through the night (he slept until 7 this morning). I seriously wouldn't worry too much about it. Remember that information out there is not always reliable and doesn't apply to everyone. A bad effect could have been found on 10 children and suddenly its bad for everyone. If you are seriously concerned about it talk with your OB and your pediatrician. Don't go by what the mainstream media tells you. They are biased and fueled by their money making agendas. My OB suggested to me to limit my caffeine intake as much as possible, just in case. Also if you're going to drink coffee its better to do it right after a feeding session instead of right before. This will give your body time to metabolize the caffeine and remove it from your system. If you're seriously concerned about it express your breastmilk about A. hour after drinking coffe and get rid of it, then the feeding your child does take will have a lesser concentration of caffeine. These were just some of the suggestions I was given. I wouldn't sweat it. Do what works best for you and don't stress over it.

Honestly, I may get a lot of criticism for this, but I drink coffee every day and I'm breastfeeding. I also drank it during my pregancy. My son sleeps great, he takes 2 long naps during the day and at night he sleeps from 8pm to 4am. I have not noticed it affecting him at all, although I have always drank about the same amount (2-3 cups) so I guess he doesn't know life without it. He's very happy and doesn't fuss much at all. I also have a 2 year old. It can be exhausting with or without your caffeine, but you will manage. And its not quite as bad as pregnancy exhaustion. I was the same way, I had to take a nap every day with my daughter when I was pregnant.

Your kids may be fine in the same room. If your son is a good sleeper he will probably not even wake up to the baby's noises, especially if you get the baby before he's screaming. My daughter and nephew shared a room for a couple nights and she woke up screaming her head off one night, he tossed a little and went right back to sleep.

I think there really is no way of answering this question because children always seem to amaze me. The simple things we expect them to handle sometimes they don't, and the things we seem to stress about they handle with flying colors. I think I would try it before you automatically sleep in the living room.. If it does disturb your 13 month old then I would move the baby but try it first. I know my son could sleep through anything, but my daughter was such a light sleeper she would pick her little head up if I walked into the room. I think it is always best to try to get children used to the noise and have them adjust then to try to adjust everything to suit them. As far as drinking coffee while breastfeeding sorry I have no answer I didn't breastfeed. Geese it's not like your a crack addict. I am sure as long as you time your coffee drinking around nursing and limit your intake the baby should be fine. If I didn't have my coffee I would not be able to function so I completely understand where you are coming from. Good luck on your growing family!!

I would not drink any caffiene while breastfeeding. What you ingest goes to the baby too. I admire you for wanting to give your baby the best milk. You don't want to contaminate it. What picks you up in a minor way may be major to the baby. Find out why you are so tired. Are you getting enough sleep at night? Are you eating plenty of fruits and vegetables? Are you exercising outdoors everyday? These things can boost your immune system and give you more energy without using caffiene. Give it a try. AF

While drinking caffeine does have risks it usually only bothers the baby when it is first born and its digestion is sensitive. By the time the baby is 3 months old his digestion will be much more mature. If you drink caffeine in the morning before any food it will only take about 3 - 4 hours to get into baby's system. So it would probably take effect in the afternoon in his system. If you drank caffeine later and after food it could take longer to get into your breastmilk, as much as 12 hours, which could mess up your schedule.

Its not so much that the caffeine affects the baby during pregnancy, but what they've found is that babies whos moms drank caffeine during pregnancy have a much higher risk for high blood pressure, ADD and heart attacks later in life.

I know this sounds harsh, but if you weren't willing or able to give up caffeine, maybe you shouldn't have gotten pregnant in the first place. Having a baby is about giving things up for the betterment of the child. Its not about you anymore.

Unfortunately you won't know how your son will adjust until he is in the situation. I have one son who can sleep through anything and another who wakes up with every little noise. Hopefully it won't take long though.

You've already had a lot of advice on the caffeine. As long as you're not overdoing it, I don't see a problem. I have heard that anyone who drinks caffeine should make sure they are consuming enough water to help eliminate it from the body.

I think it's time for your fiancee to consider moving his office somewhere else. It's hard enough having one baby in the room, let alone 2 (and I'm and avid co-sleeper!) My oldest was 2.5 when our baby was born and she still slept in our bed occasionally. I co-sleep with the baby. The baby would wake her up, then I'd have two kids thinking the middle of the night was party time! Not so fun for Mommy. If your oldest is a heavy sleeper then it might be fine.

I drank caffeine during both of my pregnancies and while I nursed both babies. Neither of them show any signs of ADHD or sleeplessness. There are no studies that directly link caffeine to either of those. My OB told me my coffee addiction was fine. (I average about 4 cups a day) Just don't drink it all day every day, ya know? Everything in moderation. And I make sure my coffee is the only caffeine I get. I drink water or decaf tea the rest of the day.

Congrats on your baby! :)

Not sure about the sharing the room part of your question - but I am a fellow caffeine addict who is pregnant and due in June with baby #2. My first will be 2 in May so I can certainly understand how exhausting it all is.
With both my first pregnancy and this pregnancy I drink one huge cup of coffee in the morning which is roughly two cups of decaf and one cup of regular full strength. Then at lunch time I usually have a coke or pepsi for a little afternoon pick me up. I think, where caffeine is concerned, the magic number is 300 mg per day - stay under that and most agree that everything will be fine. Regular brew at home coffee is generally about 120-150 mg per cup and sodas are about 35 mg per can. When my daughter was born she was a great sleeper and I did drink more caffeine when I was breastfeeding than I did when I was pregnant. Although soda is not good for you it is probably better to get a little caffeine fix from it rather than from coffee (stay away from diet sodas though!). Oh - and when I was not pregnant I would usually drink at least 2 venti cups of coffee from starbucks just to get going in the morning so when I find out I am pregnant there is definately a week or so of withdraw but then it is not so bad. Take care of yourself and try to get enough rest (although I know how hard that is at the end of pregnancy) and congratulations!

Hi. I'm due May 13th and we have a boy who's almost 3. If we didn't have a bedroom for her, we would either try to co-sleep in our big bed or move her crib out into the living room and I'd take the couch. I hope the baby won't wake our toddler in the next room. I would not make them share with the baby crying throughout the night for the first 3-6 months. Once she gets her days & nights right and can go 5-6 hours through the night, I'd consider having them share. No judgement here, my suggestion just seems easier to me. If my son were woken up every night, he's be pretty crabby during the day. Then again, maybe he'd take a couple naps while baby & I napped..

I don't think 2-3 cups of coffee is too bad, other than it might keep you up. I'm getting uncomfortable so that's making it hard for me to sleep well. I have 1-2 cups of half calf or milky coffee, but no caffiene after 1pm. I think it's up to you and what gets you through the day - that amount shouldn't harm your baby. It's not like smoking, alcohol or other drugs which are proven to be more harmful. You could start mixing your coffee for half the caf or making smaller cups with more milk to start weaning yourself down on the caffiene. Once you have the baby and start BFing, you may produce more milk since caffiene can dehydrate you a bit. Or else just drink a couple cups of water for every cup of joe.

Don't be too hard on yourself with the caffeine thing. There are sooooo many worse vices out there. I am a caffeine addict too (my drink of choice is Diet Mt. Dew!) I drank it through 2 pregnancies and breastfeeding, but I did try to limit it to one can of soda a day. Like you, I could not function without it. I had to weigh the pros and cons, and I decided that a more awake and happy mom was worth any little affect the kids might get from the caffeine. My girls are now 8 and 6 and as healthy as can be :) Good luck with a 14 month old and a newborn!!!

I don't normally respond to questions because everyone always beats me to it but I have to chime in on this one. First let me address the caffeine issue- obviously since you are asking the question you know caffeine is not "the best" for your baby. It's all fine and good for people to say that you should just exercise, eat healthy, get plenty of rest etc. That sounds great but the reality is when you have two little ones many times it just isn't possible.
I have a 21 month old and a 6 month old. With my first one I didn't drink caffeine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. This child has yet to sleep through the night, and he has been through the sleeping programs too! When pregnant with my second child I had to drink some because I was tired from being pregnant and from being up every couple hours with my other child. I talked to my doctor about it and he said it was fine in moderation. Once the baby was born I continued to need it because now I had 2 children that weren't sleeping at night and I was crazy busy during the day. I talked to the pediatrician about it and he told me some of the signs to look for to know if the baby was getting too much caffeine. I would encourage you to ask your doctor for the same info. Just to let you know, my second baby is completely healthy and a great sleeper despite the consumption of caffeine during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
About sharing a room-we live in a two bedroom house so my kids had to share a room or else keep the baby in my room. If we had another bedroom I would separate them but I don't think you should move to the living room with the baby. If your first child is a good sleeper you may be reluctant to mess up a good habit but eventually they will have to get used to each other sleeping in the same room. Not so long ago, it wasn't uncommon to have 4 kids in the same room so it is possible! For myself, I decided to put them in the same room with the baby was 4 weeks old. I figured that if the baby disturbed my son's sleeping it would be easier to handle since I would be up a lot nursing anyway. I will be honest and say there were some rough months but it seems to be smoothing out now. My baby is a great sleeper and now that my 21 month old has adapted to her being in the room he seems to sleep better than ever. So basically I think it is easier to get over that hump sooner rather than later. Good luck!