Breastfeeding and your period

[onthefly]

So, we stopped night feeds not long ago and I just got my first period today. bummer. It took a couple of months last time (from night weaning). Anyway, she's still waking up - if I were to restart night feeds, would my period go away again? Has anyone tried that?

[blessedatlast]

Oh bummer! So glad i don't have mine back yet.. I heard at the ABA the other day that if your baby cuts night feeds, is over 6 months and your period still doesn't return, there's a chance there's something else going on, so that's probably why I haven't got mine back....?? I don't have an answer to your question, but I doubt they would go away again..

[Liz]

If she's still waking up, you can always try it! Would be interested to see if they go away again.

As for me, I get mine back early regardless of nightfeeds LOL. Around 3 1/2 months for us, and yet night feeds are still going at nearly 15 months.

[Charlotte91]

DS is 9 weeks and I'm spotting and crampy.
I bled for 7 weeks PP.

But, he feeds every 2ish hours during the day, but sleeps (usually) around 7 hours overnight.

[Lily Dust]

Yep, I gave that try. I was one of those unlucky ones to get my period back at about 3 months. I tried feeding more regularly (despite her not being keen) at 2 months because I started spotting, it didnt stop AF returning but it did hold it off an extra month.

[onthefly]

How longs it been since night feeds BAL? Sometimes it takes several months for them to kick in.

I am fortunate that the feeding has a payoff in long periods of amenorrhoea (i should learn how to spell that).

I'm reluctant to restart without a reasonable hope that it'd work.... will have to look around

[Arcadia]

Oh I'm not sure. ds is almost 18 months and still feeds 3times a night. I haven't had any sign of fertility yet, but I am about to night wean, so I will be watching carefully.

I wouldn't start feeding overnight again if I'd night weaned, but then I've never had a period post kids (not since march 2008 anyway...I conceived ds without bleeding first).

[blessedatlast]

Well technically I stopped night feeding (expressing) fairly early on.. Less than 3 months I'd say.. I needed my sleep and I struggled to wake in th middle of the night to express. I can't remember now, but I used to have 7 hours overnight between expressions.. It was a good 2 months before DS started to BF overnight, but that was only for 6 weeks. Then I started tube feeding him so it was back to about 7 hurs overnight. Occasionally DS will wake but it's normally early morning so I never have any shorter than 5 hours between feeds/expressions overnight and haven't for a long time..

[Phteven]

I rather have the sleep myself
I can't see it working. For most of us, once we start ovulating our bodies generally seem pretty determined to continue to do so.

I've found the mirena to be quite efficient at keeping menstruation away. The first one got rid of it completely. My period consisted of a bad mood, some cramping and yellowish discharge. The second one is less efficient because I still get a light period.

[blessedatlast]

Progesterone contraception does the opposite to me. I don't stop bleeding. I'd be too scared to get a mirena.

[~clover~]

I fed DS night & day for over 23 months. AF returned at 9 months every 8 weeks. Then at about 19/20 months it started every 2 weeks! It was when I got a 3 week gap I had suspisions of being UTD, but honestly though my body was starting to get back to normal

DD was feeding night & day when it returned at 13 months. I think it started about 7 - 8 weeks apart. I had a few 3 weeks apart. Been using the depo since then, so I have no idea where it would be now.

AF never changed when the kids changed feeding patterns. They were both generally 2 hour feeders, days & the majority of nights too. There was no real cchange in their feeding patterns when AF returned either, so I'm not so sure you could control it by picking up more feeds once its back IYKWIM.

[Eenee]

Not sure with DD I fed her 2hrly or more around the clock and still got my period from 6weeks every 26-28days!

Would be good if it did work.

I thought I got AF back this time but have retained products so yet to find that out.

[onthefly]

I'm not getting sleep - she's still waking up! But in 6 months or so I'm going to be in lots of pain.
My ovaries don't work properly so I'm not sure I want to fiddle around with hormonal contraceptives.... but maybe I'll look into it.

It's the consistent 8+ hour gap that does it for me

There are some women who just don't get cycles till they've weaned completely. Or so I've heard.

[luna moth]

I have done it. DD started sleeping 8+ hour stretches at about 9 months, when we moved her into her own room. Three weeks later, AF arrived, we went on holiday, and with the different surroundings, DD started night feeding again. We moved house not long after, so the night feeds continued for ages. That first cycle was long, 8 weeks, but I still got another period, and then we were regular from there.

[Amity]

I didn't get my period after Ds1 until I'd weaned him completely, even though he'd stopped night feeds some months before.

With DS2 I had the implanon in at my 6 week checkup and didn't have a period until I had it out when he was 6.5 years old.

[Novella]

With dd1 and dd2 I got it back early as they slept through from 8 and 9 weeks. DD3 slept through from 10 weeks until about 18 weeks and I got AF while she was sleeping but she has been waking and feeding at least once over night for the last two months and now AF. I realise she is younger than your dd and only starting solids now but for me reccommencing night feeds has banished AF for a little while

[Barb Glare]

Once your period is back...it's back. Night feeding won. 't make it go away, but it might mean you get some sleep. Anyway, she 's 18 mnths old - chances are your period would have returned anyway

[onthefly]

bugger. thanks barb