caffeinated prego

The other day on Facebook, a friend said something about drinking her morning coffee. (Actually, as I write this, I'm surprised it wasn't my friend Tony that said that--his status usually has to do with drinking coffee or how many more days he has to work, or has til he has to go back to work. No imagination, that one. :) ) I responded, "I can't wait until I crave coffee again." Her response to my comment--"It's a good thing you don't now!"--made me think that she may have the same misconception I had about pregnancy and caffeine when I first got pregnant. Thank God I was wrong (and I really do mean that).

I used to think that pregnant women couldn't have caffeine. Period. Just like alcohol, caffeine was bad, bad, bad and off limit to the pregnant. Which was bad news for me, since I'll openly admit that I'm addicted to this legal drug and tend to get massive withdrawal migraines without it (I get migraines with it, too, but thankfully those haven't been much of a problem during my pregnancy). And since the only "cure" (read: the only thing that turns my migraines into slightly less painful, okay I can live with this headaches) for my migraines has proven to be ibuprofen, which I tend to take in large (over the RDA) doses for migraines that can last several days at a time. My doctor said one or two ibuprofen every once in a while wouldn't hurt, but acetaminophen is much more acceptable. Unfortunately, acetaminophen doesn't touch my migraines.

Anyway. I got off on a tangent there. The good news is that many sources agree that pregnant women can safely consume up to 300 mg of caffeine a day--the equivalent of two cups of regular coffee (not those espresso-laden venti blah blah blah drinks from Starbucks). You'll see different numbers pop up, of course, because experts rarely all agree on everything (I've seen 150 mg, 200 mg, etc.), but I've stuck with what I heard/read first, in Your Pregnancy, Week by Week. And since I haven't wanted coffee (which I only started drinking on a daily basis the year before I got pregnant, anyway), I'm in luck: soda typically has much less caffeine than coffee, and even with my normal (non-pregnant) daily intake of soda, I never reach 300 mg in one day.

There was one drawback for me: I typically drink diet soda loaded with aspartame. Now (and you can Google this for yourself), many sources say aspartame in limited quantities is okay for pregos, just like caffeine. But many other sources (and doctors) say that since we're not even quite sure what it does to our own bodies (look at the former cancer-causing calorie-free sweeteners they thought were fine for years) it's best not to overload our unborn children with it. And since I'm trying to be a good mommy, I've been choking down the full sugar version of different sodas instead of drinking my Diet Pepsi (although I will admit to having snuck a few sporadically during my pregnancy). And I'll still have to limit my intake when the baby's born since I'll be breastfeeding (at least, that's the plan). The main point is that the soda I do drink is caffeinated. Fewer headaches, taste satisfaction, etc. This, of course, is in addition to the water, orange juice, and skim milk that I've been consuming in large amounts. Don't want to dehydrate myself or my baby completely!

Oh, and for those of you from my area of the midwest, I started saying "soda" instead of "pop" when I moved out of state for my doctorate. It just seems slightly more universal. But don't worry--I still refer to it as "pop" quite often. :)