I don’t drink or smoke, so giving up caffeine was one of the hardest adjustments during pregnancy and now breastfeeding. Since I work a full time, corporate job (and go in really early), drinking coffee is (was) one of the only things to help get me through my days. Having to give up caffeine was harder than I thought it would be (I am a huge coffee fan). I also love the taste of coffee, so I still had to get my decaf fix on (thanks to decaf coffee).
What’s a girl to do when she can’t have caffeine? You just have to suck it up and limit and/or cut it out of your diet. It is obviously best to do whatever you can to protect your baby and provide the best nutrition for them. At the end of the day, it isn’t ‘that’ bad.
I am not going to lie though, during your pregnancy and then after baby, you are the most exhausted you will ever be in your life – it can be tough to get through your day without caffeine. I can imagine for the mommas who like to smoke and drink it would be a similar comparison to have to give those up.
We all do what we have to do. We are moms. If you’re a good one, you try to do what is best for your baby – regardless if you can have caffeine or not. 😉
What foods / drinks / things have you found to be the most challenging to give up during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding?