Bf and periods????????????????????

[stretchmarkqueen]

Isn't exclusive bf supposed to hold off periods?? Ds is 9 weeks and i have just had my period. Really painful too! He feeds on demand, sometimes going 4 hours between feeds in the daytime, but at night, usually feeds at 10pm then goes until 4am. Just wondering if i am not feeding him enough, and that's why my period has returned? Midwife said i need to feed at night to keep my milk(???) but........ he sleeps! Thanks

[mankyscotslass]

Ignore mw! My period returned after 8 weeks with my older two, mainly I think because they slept through from early on. As long as baby is still gaining regularly and is doing lots of wee/poos, you will be making enough milk. If his weight drops or his urine input does, you may need to look at a dream feed or something similar, but if not, enjoy!

[LackaDAISYcal]

Mine did this at 9 weeks as well SMQ.....about two weeks after DD dropped a night feed, so sounds similar.

From what I've read on here it can vary wildly from woman to woman and even baby to baby.

I'm sure he is getting enough food, especially if he is gaining weight and weeing and pooing fine; if he wasn't he would wake for another night feed between 10 and 4. Provided all is OK with weight gain etc, just enjoy the period of unbroken sleep

oh, and midwife is sort of right......prolactin is stimulated more at night so baby feeding in the night will help to boost your supply; however I'm pretty sure that if the baby is naturally dropping a night feed, and provided he is feeding lots in the day then your milk supply will be fine.

[scorpio1]

i got mine back at 6 weeks as Millie started sleeping through. My milk has been fine; she is 12 weeks now and still exc bf.

Does period return make you as fertile as before you were pg, even if bfing??

[solo]

Mine at 6 weeks both times too...we are all different. Yes, you can sooo get pg whilst BFing, my friend did years ago!

[weblette]

I've never dared find out scorpio

I started back exactly 4 weeks after ds3 was born, with all the others it was 6 weeks and all were exclusively breastfed. Seems rather a cheat if you ask me!

[LackaDAISYcal]

afaik scorpio, some women get periods without ovulating and I think my first few were like this as I didn't get any of the usual OV signs and they were pretty erratic as well, every 7-8 weeks, but come 8 months my cycle and fertitily were slap bang back to normal; whcih is why my DC3 will only be 17 months younger than DD

[PinkTulips]

my period returned both time when the baby started going through the night without a feed, with dd that was 9 months (and i never got the period as i managed to get knocked up first!) and with ds that was 12 months.

i've heard women gettting them anything from 6 weeks to 2 years after the birth when they're bf-ing and it does really seem to depend whether you get a stretch at night with no feeding.

[chloemegjess]

Hello. Mine returned after 6 weeks, and I was demand feeding, and doing several night feeds and at the time, DD was gaining loads of weight. I would think you are fine.

[stretchmarkqueen]

Thanks all! Yes, mw mentioned prolactin. Not sure what it was though! He feeds quite well in the day, long feeds, but at night he's a bit lazier IYSWIM. He does feed continuously from 4-7am. Not too worried about pregnancy as i'm on the mini pill. Poo's are fine etc..
The sleep is pretty good, feel quite lucky!!

[stretchmarkqueen]

lol at "managing to get knocked up!" I don't think i'm ovulating cos no pmt etc.. It's just frustrating when I hear people say they don't have periods for months!! But I suppose i'd prefer the sleep!!

[LackaDAISYcal]

enjoy the extra sleep while you can then SMQ

He will probably get a bit fussy again and feed more around 12 and then 16 weeks as these are growth spurt times.

[ShowOfHands]

My dd fed every couple of hours day and night until she was 7 months and my periods returned when she was 4 months. I was robbed.

I wasn't fertile though as my luteal phase was about 5 days for a few months and gradually increased. At about 10 months they settled down.

[slalomsuki]

The night feed thing was a bit of a red herring in my case. DS1 fed every 1.5 hours through the night and mine returned at 6 weeks, ds2 fed every 2 hours for 9 weeks and mine were back at 4 weeks. Both ds's were prem. dd fed every 3 hours through the night and it was back at 4 weeks

[solo]

I was always very irregular before Ds...I'd go anywhere from 23 days to 42 days. From my first period at 6 weeks with Ds, bfing exclusively, I went to a 28 day cycle!
Who knows!?

[elmoandella]

i never got any periods. turns out i was pg again!!! lol not recommended. the shock nearly killed me.

[Balthamos]

My DD 12 months and my period returned last week. She feeds morning noon and (all the way through) the night! She's ace though

[splishsplosh]

I bled for 2 weeks after having dd, had 2 weeks off, then period, and were every 28 days regular as clockwork from then on, even though dd was exclusively bf and fed all the time including frequently though the night. I was looking forward to more time without periods, so felt very cheated!

Also got pg whilst bf, though that was when down to about 4 feeds a day