Will Caffeine Kill Liam?

When I fell pregnant I basically cut all the wonderful things that I took for granted out of my diet. Gone was the McDonalds, toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, soft cheeses and booze. The thing that I suffered the most without though would have to have been my friend caffeine.

I’m not a hard core coffee drinker. When I was working I’d usually grab a 600mL diet Iced Coffee from the “Tucka Truck” in the morning to wake me up, and have a can of Diet Coke with my afternoon snack to get me through 3.30-itis. My decision to sacrifice my one saving grace at work was not on the advice of doctors – he didn’t mention anything to me about caffeine intake – but rather it was influenced by various baby websites which put caffeine drinkers in the same category as smokers.

I wish I could tell you that my no caffeine vigilance lasted, but it didn’t. At the start of my second trimester I started craving tea. Mmm, delicious! I’d have one with my brekky every morning. When summer really took grip I switched from cups of tea to a pint of home made Iced Coffee with my lunch. Ah, refreshing! Then, my husband came back from Malaysia with the most amazing coffee I’ve ever tasted in my life. My caffeine habits switched again to a cup of Indocafe in the morning with my brekky and a glass of diet coke in the afternoon, depending on whether or not my heartburn was behaving.

Since none of the 50 million doctors, specialists and midwives I have seen so far have mentioned anything about caffeine intake, I thought I’d better do some research! As I suspected, Caffeine during pregancy boosts miscarriage risk, so I’m very glad I gave it up at the start! Its also been linked to low birthweight amongst babies which is something I don’t have to worry about. At 32 weeks little Liam is already measuring 5lb 2oz. There are a whole bunch of other claims floating around out there, but I couldn’t find any credible studies to back them up.

Only now has the issue of caffeine come up when I visit my doctor. When I told her I had a cup of coffee in the morning she screwed up her face and asked me how I could do it. Not because I was poisoning my child, but rather because when she was pregnant coffee tasted like metal to her. I was chastised more for the Diet Coke than the coffee – and even then it was because I’m a Diabetic and not because I’m a horrible person who was turning my son into a mutant.

As with all things pregnancy and parenting related, we have to trust that we know whats best for our babies. I try to limit my intake of caffeine to under 200mg. I read somewhere (Do you think I can find the link now that I actually need it? No!) that if you’re going to drink caffeine, then try to keep it under that. Its the equivelant of two cups of instant coffee, or one proper coffee.

In case Liam actually is already a raging caffeine addict at the tender age of 0, I’ve decided to cut out the coffee in the morning. I really miss my Indocafe, but I would miss Liam more should something happen to him. Caffeine is the least of our worries; he already has his fair share of complications and I don’t want to add “addict” to that list! I won’t be losing any sleep over my past coffee indulgences though, I feel that I was within the limits and that my little soldier will be just fine.

Gestational Diabetes – Snack Ideas

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has days when you’re just so hungry! There have been times when I can eat what feels like a three course meal and thenfind myself absolutely ravenous two hours later. A question that alot of women diagnosed with GD ask is whether or not they can include snacks between meals, and the answer is yes, you can! Which is good, because if I couldn’t snack I might fade away to a small block of flats.

As with your main meals, you need to choose your snacks wisely. Snacks should be low in fat (particularly saturated fats) and high in fibre (Fibre helps ease a certain side effect that you can experience if you’re taking iron supplements. I’m sure you know what one I’m talking about!). Its also important to note that many low fat foods can have a significant kilojoule conent, so try to snack in moderation.

Anyhow, here is a list of sweet and savoury snack ideas as well as a short list on what is safe to drink. These ideas are taken from the “Healthy Snacks” fact sheet written by DiabetesWA:

Sweet Snacks

• Slice of Raisin toast
• Snack Right Fruit Slice or Spicy Fruit Roll biscuits
• Frozen fruit cut into pieces
• Small handful of dried fruit such as apricots, sultanas, apple or prunes mixed with nuts
• Low fat/diet fruit yoghurt or Fruche Light
• Light Cadbury or Nestle Mousse
• Pikelets or Wholemeal Crumpets (Wholemeal crumpets tend to send my sugars through the roof, but its on the DiabetesWA Snack list, so I may just be special. Wholemeal bread has the same effect)
• Fruit or Wholemeal scones with fruit spread
• Fruit or Bran Muffin
• Mother Earth Wholemeal fruit bars
• Low fat fruit cake

Savoury Snacks

• Pretzels, low fat corn chips or rice chips
• Low fat noodles
• Rice crackers
• English Muffin topped with tomato slices and low fat cheese (English muffins destroy my sugar levels as well, but once again, its on the DiabetesWA list)
• Low fat Cup a Soup varieties
• Low fat crackers or vegetable sticks
• Light microwave popcorn
• Vita-Weats with 9 grains topped with your favourite topping (These things are great! I live off them some days)
• Savoury muffins
• Celery boats

Drinks

• Any type of coffee, as long as its made with skim milk*
• So Natural Soy Banana smoothie
• Fruit Smoothies
• Diet Cool Drinks*
• Water
• Light Fruit Juices

^{* Its important to note that these things may contain artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, which you may be trying to avoid during your pregnancy.}

These are of course, just some ideas of what you can eat and may not work for you specifically. Like I mentioned next to some of the ideas, I’ve found that some of the snack foods can be terrible for my BSL’s. It really is trial and error to see what does and doesn’t work for you. So far the only two things that I’ve found that have randomly upset the balance of my diet are wholemeal breads and Hi Lo milk. For other people, it could be the Cuppa Soups or sultanas. Its all about finding out what works best for you.

Why Do Mums Judge Other Mums So Harshly?

After reading The Case Against Breastfeeding: Is it Anti-Feminist? over at PhD in Parenting and then being verbally chastised in public yesterday about my choice in sleeping arrangements for when baby Liam arrives, I realised something quite alarming. Where Mums should be banding together to support one another, they’re some of the worst critics a new mother will encounter. So, why do mums judge other mums so harshly?

I’ll admit, I’ve been guilty of being judgemental of other mums. I have a friend who pretty much exclusively feeds her child chicken nuggets. I have another friend who doesn’t believe that children should have a set bedtime or be encouraged to sit at the table when eating meals. I look at some of their methods of parenting and I’m horrified. They’re basically my guide on what not to do when raising kids. Why do I do it though? If my friends feel that Nuggets and no structure in the family home are whats best for their kids, then what business is it of mine? They’re not related to me, I don’t have any personal investment in those children and I’m not the one who’s going to have to deal with any problems it may cause down the track.

The same goes for breastfeeding. Why do other mums feel that what works for them should work for everyone? What works for one family isn’t necessarily going to work for someone elses. I plan to breastfeed, but I understand that things may conspire against me and it may not play out that way. Just like how I want to have a natural birth, or I want Liam to be the next Einstein. Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we want it, and other mums should understand that. So why is it, for example, breastfeeding Mums look at Mums who use formula like they’re feeding their child Sulfuric Acid?

I was raised on formula food; not because my mum was lazy and hated me, but rather because due to a medical condition she had no choice. She wanted to breastfeed so bad, and she tried her darned hardest to get it to work, but it just wasn’t meant to be. I like to think that even though she fed me toxic waste formula, I turned out okay. At last look I could hold conversation with other people and I only drool when I’m alseep. We have the health benefits rammed down our throats about breastfeeding, so people who choose not to do it have their reasons and its not our place to judge.

Mum has been an amazing help through this pregnancy, and I love asking her for her advice on all things baby. Afterall, I happen to think she did a bloody good job raising me! So now, because I’ve taken her advice, it feeels like I’m the only Mum in the universe who has a bassinett and plans to use cloth nappies over disposables. I mentioned to one of our friends who has a 5 month old baby that I brought a bassinett so Liam could sleep in our bedroom for the first few months and was quite agressively told that I was “wrong to do that and that he should only be in our room for the first few weeks”. Um, okay. So, are you saying my mother was wrong? That is, afterall, how she raised me.

While I appreciate people offering their opinions, I do take issue with being judged needlessly. I am going to do things my way regardless of whether you think its right or wrong. I have my reasons for wanting him in with us for the first few months, one of them being that he has a congenital deformity in his right kidney. I shouldn’t need to justify my decision, least of all to a person who doesn’t live in our house, understand the dynamics of my relationships, or know the source of my information. Also, while I say that I want Liam in our bedroom for the first few months, it may not work out that way. If he doesn’t fit in the bassinett, then he’ll be in the nursery sleeping in the cot and I’ll have the baby monitor glued to my ear. Ironically though, should I put Liam in the cot with a baby monitor, my Mum will think that I’m the worst parent in the world. There is no winning!

New mothers have so many challenges to face when their baby comes into the world, and it really is sad that people who could offer help and guidance instead choose to criticise and judge. I have a feeling that the phrase, “What is right me and my family may not necessarily be right for yours.” will be one I say alot during the next 18 years.