BF, no AF and TTC!!!

[misty]

GRRRRRR...

How am I supposed to TTC when I don't even know if or when I am ovulating!!! I don't want to have to give up breastfeeding just yet to see if af returns, I cann't afford to fork out $$$$ for ovulation tests as I may go through heaps wihout seeing any result AND I never before thought I would miss the TTW, but at least then there is a clear end in sight where I can test and move on to the next cycle with a plan of attack. As it is I can do little more the DTD every chance I get JIC I'm ovulating and do a HPT once a month JIC I got lucky. It is so heartbreaking seeing that BFP, and feeling no hope that anything is going to change until I stop breastfeeding and get af back!


GRRRRR... sorry I think this is a vent more then anything, I know alot of people have worse problems then I do. It is just so frustrating never having had any problems with falling pregnant the first two times, and yet this time... I don't doubt that I will fall pregnant eventually I just worry that I may have to give up bf first, and I don't want to have to give that up until november at least - if not longer.

[Ginger]

hi misty
just wanted to give you a glimmer of hope! ive only had 2 af since ds was born and they were around 4 and 5 months after he was born. he still bf heaps, and we are now pg again. so it can happen!
we had no idea when i was ovulating or anything. we basically just stopped using protection when we dtd.
fingers crossed it will happen soon for you too
oh, and im still bfing now

[PinkPalace]

i had to stop BFing COMPLETELY to get AF back, and got a BFP 2 weeks after weaning.... still no af lol

[MantaRay]

Did you bf your first? If so, how long was it before AF returned then? That can be an indication of what will happen this time. For me, AF returned at 7 months with DS1 and 6 months with DS2.

If you are wanting to TTC, reducing or stopping bfs in the night can bring on AF. It is no guarantee, but generally feeding overnight is more likely to keep AF away. Just a thought.

All the best hun. Hopefully it will be soon for you.

PP - wow, that BFP didn't take long after you weaned. You would expect it to take at least 2 weeks to ovulate after weaning, so it might be that you were already ovulating, or would have ovulated that cycle anyway. Or maybe your body just responded quickly LOL!

[PinkPalace]

i have no idea MR! lol. i had a 3 day bleed and though.. ok here is AF and then it stopped, i felt nauseated - took a test and BFP - turned out to be an implantation bleed.
I had stopped Night feeds for over 3 months at that stage and i guess my body was gearing up to ov, but never had AF

[Junglemum]

Misty- Another glimmer of hope here. I only had one AF (which was a few months before we concieved). I was still BF'ing 5 times in 24hrs, and managed to fall preg.
Can you tell if your o'ing from other signs, eg, mucous? mood? temp? i can generally tell just from my mucous. And the fact that i get horny!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Well I'm one who can't say it has been easy since AF did return... as mine came back at 5-6 weeks post partum and still nothing... which is annoying seeing as DS1 was a pill baby.
Good Luck, I hope it all happens for you soon.

[misty]

Last time I breastfeed DD until 10mths, She self weened then. My period returned about a month after stopping b/f, and I only had 2 af before I fell pregnant again.

This time DS is already 10mths and still demand fed, I haven't had any kind of period since before I got pregnant with him and he certainly has no intention of self-weaning.

I guess I'll just have to learn patience.

[PinkPalace]

I thought i would add that i didnt take ANY contraception after DD's birth (no mini pill etc).

[happymum24]

I was in exactly the same boat!!!! I just did a BIG google search and found all the 'signs' of fertility so started checking my CM (gross really). I found it soooo frustrating but I was determined to catch the first egg....once DS was 9mnths and AF still hadn't come back i started to wean and cut down feeds. Once I was down to 3 feeds AF returned and I bought some OPK's to pinpoint EXACTLY when I was Oing and got pregnant that cycle!!!

I've since found out its HIGHLY unlikely (but not impossible) to get PG before your first AF...so best to wait until it comes back or start to wean to get it back and then start charting your CM and using OPK's to pinpoint exactly when you O to try again!!!

Second time round, I'm still BF DS2 and got my AF back at 9months without starting to wean....and am charting again...but to avoid PG. I've found this time round that my LP is still too short for conception (I think) and apparently that can happen when you're BF....Goodluck!!!!

[mbear]

to get PG before your first AF...

....well we did. I fell pregnant with DD#3 when DD#2 qwas 9.5 months old....i was breastfeeding, on mini pill and no AF post partum. We caught the egg and whammo got pregnant. Looking back now, i did have an increase in CM around that time. All in all though i think it was more of a fluke, we DTD like twice that month !!

Dont be too disheartened....it can happen, my DD#2 was still on about 4-5 breastfeeds a day too....

[misty]

thanks for all the replies.

You have all got me thinking that maybe I could try just reducing the number of feeds DS has during the day rather then wean completely. As I mentioned earlier he is demand fed, and usually has around 6 feeds thoughout the day as well as one or two throughout the night. I definitely wouldn't mind giving up the night feeds. It couldn't hurt to try anyway.

[PinkPalace]

Misty - i thnk if you DS is 10 months he is definately fine to give up night feeds.
DD stopped night feeds at 4 months and did this transition well (took about 2 weeks).