spotting while breastfeeding a 6 wk old

I have some questions about periods (spotting and ovulation) and possible pregnancy.

Here is my situation, i am very familiar with my body and its signs. i am breastfeeding my now 8wk old exclusively. when she was 5wks old i noticed very obvious fertile cm and had my usual midcycle pain aswell. I was horrified! as my partner and i made love the day before i noticed the ewm and im definatly not ready to be pregnant again just yet!

so i just waited to see what would happen....af or pregnant! but neither has happened. at 10 dpo i had slight spotting for two days (barely needed a pad), which made me think implantation bleed (i had that with my dd#1). so i did a hpt at 14dpo it was neg and then tested again 17dpo, again neg. so i have sighed with relief, but now i am wondering what's going on with my body!

has anyone had an ovulation or ewm and then no af without getting pregnant while breastfeeding? (complicated question i know!)

has anyone had ovulation symptoms but no af while breastfeeding?

i realise i could stll be pregnant but im just waiting till 6 wks is up (next thurs) to see if i get any obvious pregnancy symptoms.

i have also read that spotting while breastfeeding can be quite normal. Im curious to know how often this happens for women and if it is a precurser for af starting again. This is my third babe and with the past two i have not got my periods back until around 1 year and no spotting at all.

Thanks for you help.

Cant help with the spotting but i did have all the ovulation signs whilst not having AF and breastfeeding. I ended up getting back AF bout 2 weeks ago (DS will be 6 months next week) So i guess you can most definately ovulate and breastfeed without getting pregnant lol what a mouth full :p

Hi,

Breastfeeding is one of the world's most effective forms of contraception - demonstrated to be 97-98% effective in preventing pregnancy. So, if your baby is under 6mnths old, fully breastfed, with no other foods or formula and your period has not returned then it is unlikely that you would be pregnant (I doubt the spotting you had would have been a period)
However, if you don't meet these conditions - then all bets are off.
Under 6mths you are unlikely to to ovulate before your first period (after 6mnths it becomes increasingly more likely you may ovulate before your first period)
A good article can be found on the kellymom website kellymom.com :: Breastfeeding and Fertility