Getting Frustrated with Ovulation!!!

Hi everyone :)

Just wanted to express my frustration with my irregular cycle atm!!!

I'm still b/f my dd (only 2 feeds a day now) and was fortunate enough to go 7 whole months without a visit from AF! So for the last 4 months i've been gettin AF -cycles range from 31 - 37 days (which i can live with cause i've never had a regular cycle) but what i'm finding the most annoying is the fact that i'm ovulating at completely random times!

DH and i would like to begin TTC in the next few months for bub #2 so i've started charting again. Last month i o'd on CD 13 and had a cycle length of 35 days...and i'm on CD 23 now on this cycle and so far no ovulation (but i'm getting all other fertile signs like EWCM, low temps, ferning).

Just wondering if this is normal since i'm only newly getting AF after it's absence for a while or if it's the b/f affecting things :confused: ???? It's not something i'm completely stressed about atm but would just like to understand what's going on with my body so that i can be ready to TTC again in the near future.

Thanks in advance :hello:

I'm afraid I'll be no help, but I wanted to say that I understand your frustration! My body doesnt' seem to have gone back to normal after coming off the pill, and I just want to understand what's happening. So frustrating!

I'd say it is the b/f that is upsetting things. I think prolactin suppresses ovulation. Even if you start getting AF again, high levels of prolactin can stop conception.

Hope that helps a bit.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa. So until i stop b/f i may not ov or it'll at least be unpredicatable. i'm only making minimal milk though for morning and night feed - she's primarily on solids...does that not matter?

I'm really not interested in stopping b/f for a while longer - will this mean i won't be able to conceive at all - or that it will just take a bit longer???? Sorry this is all new to me cause we were very fortunate to conceive first try with dd.

I think that your best bet would be to keep charting and see what happens. At best I think you'll find that you will have very irregular cycles. From what I understand, it is the prolactin which produces milk and the prolactin, in the amounts required to produce the milk is what can suppress ovulation or make it very irregular.

I don't think it is that you can't conceive AT ALL, I think it is more that you may find it more difficult whilst still b/f - even just a little bit. Unfortunately hormones are hormones and whilst they are effective at doing what they're supposed to do, they can also be problematical if they don't fit in with our plans.

Remember that b/f was supposed to have been a form of contraception and natural spacing between offspring invented by Mother Nature so as to make things easier on the female body. If you keep that in mind, your difficulty might make more sense.

And of course, a disclaimer. I'm not a doctor so you should probably run it by your GP when you see him/her next just to be sure I haven't led you up the garden path.

Lisa
PS. Google is great too!! :)

Thanks heaps 4 the advice Lisa - it does make sense! I'll look into it some more and maybe i'll feel a bit more at ease. I'm just glad i've started charting and stuff now so i'm a bit more prepared.

Well finally o'd this month!!!!!!!! Still feeling a bit confused and stressed but heaps of gals have said they fell preg while b/f - so i'll stay positive and keep charting. Then i'll just do some serious :bd: and hope for the best :)

Yay Rae! Now you're well on the way to making a little bro or sis for Ella :)

Well done! As I said, I don't think the problem is that you wouldn't ovulate at all, but more that you'd find your cycles to be irregular. Keep charting and keep bding when the time is right and you have just as much chance as any of us to get a BFP!

Lisa