My Colicky Baby… or My Need for Caffeine?

Okay, obviously theres no contest my baby comes first and if my beloved caffeinated beverages are giving him a tummy ache (thanks to breastfeeding) Ill learn to survive without it. But wow, its HARD when youre not getting enough sleep and are trying to keep tabs on a toddler and a baby all day and night.

Its particularly hard this morning. Isaac awakened every hour last night needing either a feeding or burping or just wanting to be awake. At 3:30 a.m. it took me an hour and a half to get him back to sleep by rocking him in our glider. So this morning I feel like Im barely making it.

And boy would a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha SO hit the spot right now!

But alas, it seems that coffee and my little ones stomach do not agree.

*DEEP SIGH*

And isnt it a cruel trick that Starbucks JUST sent me a postcard good for one free drink because its my birthday?

No, you cant have it.Ill get a non-caffeinated something later 😉

Anyway, after trying three or four times to make sure that coffee really was the culprit making Isaac fussy and inconsolable, I quit drinking it. I even tried watering the coffee WAY down and adding creamer so that it was just very weak, but it still bothered him.

Next I decided to try black tea as a substitute less caffeine, ya know. But unfortunately, he was fussy afterward.

Next I tried Pepsi. That bothers him, too.

What else can I possibly try? Will I have to give up on all forms of caffeine while breastfeeding? It did seem that there were a couple of times I drank a caffeinated beverage and it didnt hurt him so Im wondering what I did differently. Maybe eating something with it? I dont know

Now I know that being addicted to caffeine isnt a good thing anyway the high and low you get from being a caffeine junkie is bad for your body. But saying goodbye to something youve looked forward to every morning for years is tough. And now I tend to worry about everything Im eating hurting Isaac so that makes it all that much harder.

What I want to do is find a substitute maybe a yogurt drink in the morning? If that doesnt hurt him, of course. Maybe iced green tea I love that during the summer.

What did you do if your caffeine habit gave your baby colic?

A friend suggested I go with decaf coffee but Im not actually sure its the caffeine so much as the acid in the coffee. I would still like to try it, though. What do you think?