I am nursing my one week old and am exhausted. I have a one year old to take care of too. Can I drink coffee?

Question

Is coffee okay to drink while nursing? I just don't have the energy to take care of my newborn and one year old and take care of the house work and other responsibilities. I am alone for 10 hours a day and will use any help I can get.
Thanks.

Answer 1

It's okay to drink it in moderation.

Find every shortcut you can right now. You have to give your attention to your two young children, but there is nothing wrong with using paper plates so that you cut down on your dishwashing, or in occasionally ordering take-out or having really really easy-to-make dinners.

Do you have ANYONE who lives around where you do who you can call on for help?

My sister and I are 14 months apart, so when I had my two sons 20 months apart, my mom's advice was to put the one-year-old in a Mother's Day Out program. He went twice a week, and I was able to get some shut-eye and/or a shower (totally more important than your housekeeping responsibilities).

Answer 2

You can pump inbetween feedings, and supplement a feeding with pumped breast milk. Then when you drink your coffee you will need to pump what would have been the newborns current feeding and toss it out. I promise you... you'll be MORE exhausted if you have a newborn hopped up on caffiene. It's really hard on a newborn, and even harder on you! Been there, done that! Maybe you could try taking Centrum's new daily multivitamin that has energy supplements in it (with a check with the Dr. to make sure it's ok for breastfeeding moms)? If what you're asking is will caffiene pass thru breast milk? Then your answer is YUP! Maybe call someone to come watch the kids (or at least the older one) for a few hours while you sleep. I feel for you, I've been there! Good luck!

Answer 3

I nursed and drank coffee. I also have babies one year apart and it is very hard to keep up. I limited the amount and never drink late in the day and nurse because your baby will get caffeine and will be up all night. Try not to over do it but a little coffee will be OK

Answer 4

i have nursed my 2 DD and drank a moderate amount of coffee...always in the morning, sometimes in the early afternoon. i nurse, then drink coffee, then wait a few hours to nurse again, at least until they got a little older( 6 mos. or so), then i wasn't quite as particular. you need to be good to yourself... get rest whenever you can, drink lots of water and eat healthy meals and snacks. remember this moment will not last forever...

Answer 5

The amount of coffee that you would need to drink in order to have the level of energy you would like would be too much for your newborn. While it won't necessarily hurt him, it will cause him to become jittery and have a difficult time relaxing and sleeping.

Only do those chores that are necessary. Keep your one year old with you and put the newborn down when the one year old naps. Then you nap too.

Answer 6

this is funny because i was nursing my 7mo. daughter and my husband used to work graveyards. so for him to wake up, was to make some coffee. i really never was affected by drinking coffee ( i just like the taste) but all of a sudden my daughter was antsy and she wouldnt lay still... i didnt know what got into her. i thought it was her diaper. i thought it was her clothes or blanket. it was none of this. i sat there drinking my coffee wondering whats wrong with her? then HELLO! i realized i was giving it to her thru me! i expressed all the milk i had into the sink and drank lots of water. finally i was "clean" and she slept after i fed her. i knew never to do that again. it was horrible. she was too fussy and antsy. i just thought it was funny because i dont " wake up" after drinking coffee but it made her crazy, my poor baby girl.

its best not to drink it or any harmful drinks. you think alittle wont hurt but it does affect a baby thats a fraction of your weight. a good mother would have to deal with it for now. i did and by the time they're big enough to sleep longer you will feel good to know you did it.

i have 4 babies and i really plan on having ..... NO MORE!

good luck and best wishes!

Answer 7

Drink a cup or two of coffee, and see if it affects your baby's sleep, irritability etc. It defiantly won't harm your baby, and will do you some good. But each child is different, coffee had no affect on my baby, but my friends baby got cranky every time she drank caffeine. What you don't need on top of being exhausted is a cranky baby, lol.
I feel for you!!!!

Answer 8

You sound like me!! LOL....I have a cup (just one) every morning. I also have kids close together (I have a 3 year old an 18 month old and a 3 month old) and im alone from 5am to 540pm...without that morning cup I dont know how I would awaken enough to function properly!!! So go ahead, have that cup of coffee just limit yourself.

Answer 9

yea you can drink coffee but not too much because coffee does give you that extra boast but if you drink too much it can make you tired and the worst thing you can do is fall asleep when your children are up or fall asleep and not hear your children when they are crying!! good luck hope i hope i was a help.

Answer 10

Generally, while nursing, avoid caffiene as much as possible...

Think about it - pumping caffiene directly into your nursing newborn. Any drugs you take (and caffiene is a narcotic) will end up in your newborn.

Unless you are a single mom, TELL your sperm donor (aka: husband/significant other/etc) to either start helping-out ALOT more at home, or hire a nanny to help-out. In either case, you can likely find a cleaning service to come in and help-out once a week for about $50-100.