Tea.. anyone?

Pregnancy brings out a different ME! Well, I am not a tea lover, not really my cuppa.. I am more of a coffee person... or shall I say, used to be one... I was label as a Coffee-Queen in my previous workplace, coz apart of plain water, coffee is in my next list.. I could just have 5-6 coffee during working hours.. Havent counted the ones after dinner, before going to bed...

The blurry image above, taken just a minute ago via my trouble-making N80... my sabah tea in the black MMI mug, in front of my HP 22" LCD screen... (hmmm... showing off huh? hahahaha).. Nah, just testing my phone's camera after a fix from the Nokia Service Centre...

oh.. back to the topic.. I drink tea.. hmmm.. for now.. I read a lot of articles about Tea/Coffee & Pregnancy dont really mix... but for this pregnant lady's taste bud, TEA is just the ultimatum!! hhmmm...

Oh, why Tea? Not sure... With lil C in me, I cut down caffeine... No Coffee, No Tea... My fav drinks were Soya Bean and Ice Milo, which were never in my lists before that! And now, tea.. I just cant stand the horrible (how can I say that?) Coffee smell, what more the 3-in-1 Nescafe smell.. Ewwwhh!! Sorry, but they are just just so ewwwhhhh!!! Smelling tea is like .. like, shall I put it this way.. heaven, so addictive!!! Giving me that relaxation sensational feeling, like I am in Cloud9...! hahahah!!!! But seriously... that isnt the real me... that is the prego lady who just love to look for excuses to eat & drink whatever she likes..

One article stated that:

...the fact is, if you are trying to conceive, it may be a good time to cut down on caffeine. Even more importantly, when you become pregnant, eliminating caffeinated beverages altogether would be a great idea, as caffeine may be connected to increasing certain risks of prenatal health problems. Coffee specifically, in high dosage, has also been associated with an increased chance of miscarriage. ( Mama: Was that the cause of my miscarriage in my first pregnancy? I just couldnt get over the guilt thought, the fact that I did drink 5-6 coffee a day ...)Though smoking and drinking should be the first habits to go (even when you are trying to conceive), caffeine and pregnancy do not mix that well either.

During pregnancy, caffeine is believed to pose some risk to fetal health - and caffeine will pass from the mother's system through the placental barrier to your developing baby. As most of us know from experience, caffeine causes an increase in heart rate, and when pregnant, this results in increasing your baby's heart rate as well (not a good thing). Yes, you may need that jolt in the morning to get going, but your baby certainly does not. As noted above, caffeine is also a diuretic and can cause mild dehydration/frequent urination; another effect is that it can prevent the nutritional absorption of foods (vitamins and minerals) - a deficit that is passed on to your developing baby.

Another article stated:

You can still enjoy your favorite caffeinated drinks as long as you don't overdo it. After years of controversy over the issue, most researchers now believe that, although caffeine does cross the placenta, moderate amounts (less than 300 milligrams a day) won't harm your baby.

See, wont harm baby.... moderate amounts... okay.. I had a cuppa after brunch this morning and another cup now.. :-) Not so accessive.. I am not overdoing it!! :-)

So, tea...anyone??