I'm interested in responses too as we would like to start ttc #2 as soon as possible and would like to be ready when #1 is around 6 months but I don't want to stop BF'ing #1 either. Apparently acupuncture is great for getting your cycle back on track as it's your hormones that will determine whether you ovulate and whether you get AF which is also why you can ovulate without getting AF and you can get AF without ovulating... so yeah that is what I will be doing to get my hormones balanced as soon as possible after the birth so that I am hopefully ready down stairs to conceive when the time comes.
natty, bfing is a very effective contraceptive for the first 6 months as long as you are exclusively bfing (that is no formula or solids), feed at least once through the night, and don't have AF back yet. After 6 months when solids are introduced and the amount of breastmilk reduces, fertility can start to return - but the timings are different for everyone. The average time to get AF back is about 14 months, but many of us have seen her earlier - with my boys it was 7 months first time and 6 months the second.
A lot of it is just luck but not feeding during the night, especially between about 1am and 5am can help some women to become fertile earlier. Also remember that after the 6 month mark, it becomes more common each month for you to ovulate before your first AF, so your feeling that things were right could certainly be spot on. Now that you are ttc, it is a good idea to remember that you could be pg at any time now and you might not recognise it as easily. When I fell pg with DS1 I knew, just knew, I was pg before I even POAS on my due date. However with DS2 I had no idea at all - I think bfing masked some of the signs until a bit later. Luckily I was showing by 3 weeks so my DH knew and finally convinced me to POAS.
ETA - and also your cycles might not be regular for a while when they first return so if don't ovulate just when you expect to, don't worry, it doesn't mean you won't.
Awesome MantaRay! That is precisely what I wanted to hear lol... Im so excited to see if I am ovulating. DH is away for 5 weeks soon so Ill have plenty of time to test and take temps to see if I am without getting all "science experiment" on him
Heather DH would surely be onto me if I did that lol (not that hes not aware, but it just gets so clinical when I have maybe babies and thermometers and all that going on...kinda used to make him feel like a performing monkey last time) bahaha
I got AF back when DS was 11 months, but then didn't get AF again for a couple of months. I have also noticed since getting AF back that my cycles are a bit harder to decipher. I used to know exactly when I was o'ing just by CM, but now I am never quite sure.
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Heather DH would surely be onto me if I did that lol (not that hes not aware, but it just gets so clinical when I have maybe babies and thermometers and all that going on...kinda used to make him feel like a performing monkey last time) bahaha
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