TTC while bf, no AF to speak of

Im just wondering if anyone has any tips/tricks to getting UTD while still BF (2 feeds one morning and one night) and havent had AF yet? I really dont want to wean dd as I looove BFing her but its getting close to when DH and I imagined we would be pg again and no AF at all.

Im sure I had favourable conditions downstairs lol the other day and DTD. I have a maybe baby and have ordered some O test strips from ebay and will also do temps but how did you go about it if you have done the same? I have never charted temps or used the strips before but I guess first thing I have to see if Im Oing true?

Any advice or tips would be welcome, Im so excited to start ttcing in earnest again!!!

Thanks! :)

Well honestly bf doesn't change it all that much. After your baby is about 3 months the hormone thats meant to be a 'contraception' drops and you can fall pg. Mind you everybody is different;) Clearly as you are still to get af;)

I got my af back when dd2 was 6 weeks old and had a postive pg test when she was 5 months old, then got a heavy af, so who knows what happened there:dunno:

well u know my story still no af either and dont start to o until 5 months after i stop bf....but good luck hunny cant wait til u get a bfp

My ds partially weaned around 8 months- we had just opened our cafe and i was working full time, having him there with us, but my supply started to drop so i started to supplement him with formula and he was probably fully formula fed from 10 months, and i had one af when he was around 7 months. We were deciding to start ttc again when i thought i was feeling a bit wierd, poas and was utd already! ds was 8 months!
So i guess time will tell!
all the best natty, have fun practising!
x madame x

Sorry no advice but I am interested in hearing the responses. My DS is almost one & only having one breastfeed a day. I am yet to get AF back & it's frustrating as I'm ready for baby #2!

Thanks girls for your responses Ill keep you posted. Im going to try not to turn into a TTC monster like last time so Ill keep all my crazy talk for in here and let dh think Im just crazy for his manliness lol :)

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.

Hmm Cherished I might look into the acupuncture too. Thanks :)

Day 1 of taking temp not gooing so well, the thermometer is still in the packet doh!

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.

Best of luck hun.

MantaRay has given excellent adivce..

You could just DTD every second day or every day and see how you go :)

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 :)

:rofl: 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

UPDATE!!! AF has arrived, I knew I o'd at least now I can TTC properly...

Thanks for your advice :)

Woohoo! That's great nattyfred :).

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.

Good luck with ttc nattyfred.

I am also TTC while Bf'ing! I am clucky alot sooner than we thought we would start trying for another!

DS is 10months old and i am still Bf'ing 4 times a day. Ive had AF once in the past 3 months, and no sign of anything since!

We had trouble TTC last time, Clomid did the trick 1st time around. With the absence of AF, what is the best time frame before going and seeing the DR again?

Its amazing what hormones can do, i was as sick as a dog the WHOLE pregnancy with DS, and its crazy that my body has forgotten how sick i was!