Looking for other nursing mums who didn't get their period for 12+ months!

[Kelvinator]

Hi my son is nearly 15 months old and I am keen to get started on trying for another baby but I still haven't had my period yet.

I have been back at work for 3 months now, so for 4 days a week I don't feed him at all for 12 hours in a row. I had thought that this would have been the trigger for my period, but no signs at all yet.

He still does feed at night every 4 hours roughly (once before bed and then usually twice at night and I am reluctant to stop this as he has digestive issues and is dairy intolerant so I worry about him losing this additional nutrition).

On the days I am home with him I try and distract him from feeding as much as possible, but he is still having about 1 daytime feed on these days.

Those of you who took a while getting their's back- do you know what your trigger was? Everyone I know personally just got it back around 6-8 months or earlier if the baby did a random night sleep through. I would have thought that my 12 hour stretches would be enough!

[Jacksmania]

I went 16 months without a period [bliss].
I think my body tried at 15 months but there wasn't enough to get it going. Same symptoms a month later, and whammo, AF was back the bloody bitch.

I was still feeding DS a few times a day. Definitely morning and evening feed but also random comfort nursing during the day. So god knows what the trigger was.
Sorry, not much help, am I.

[runningforme]

My dd2 is 23 months and still breastfeeding and I've not had a period yet. But I'm done adding to the Earth's population and I like not having one, so haven't done anything about it...

[Jacksmania]

running I'm so envious.

[humblebumble]

Mine came back after DS1 turned 1 and it also coincided with him sleeping through the night.

[HiHowAreYou]

I went away for a night, so went a day, a night, and a day without feeding.

[Kelvinator]

From what I've read it is not so much the 'sleeping through the night' as so much as the gaps between feeds, which is why I thought 12 hour gaps should trigger it.

Forgot to add that the only change I've noticed is that I don't get any engorgement at all now (haven't since I started back at work 3 months ago) and my breasts have gone back to their pre-baby size, shape and feel (have even gone back to wearing my old normal underwire bras!

[Kelvinator]

I really don't want to actively address the night wake ups by night weaning.

What happens now is that he feeds for a quick 10 mins and then I put him back in his cot wide awake and he plays with his teddy and sings to himself a bit and then goes to sleep happily.

I don't want to change this and deal with crying, screaming etc which is what happened when we tried to night wean him at 12 months

[Kelvinator]

Maybe that is what I need to do hihow go away for 24 hours and get dh to look after him in this time. Thanks

[MigGril]

both times mine have returned around 13 months. No change in feeding pattern and still feeding in the night to at this age. So just they way i'm profaned I guess.

Don't forget you get ovulate before you get your period back. so maybe chatting would be worth a go to see what is happening.

[LMCG]

Mine didn't come back untill 6wks after I stopped feeding altogether with all of mine.

[cheapandchic]

Mine didnt come back until about 3 weeks after stopping breastfeeding altogether, with both my children.

Sorry but I dont think there is anything you can do. All bodies are different and for me, I need to stop breastfeeding to get a period.

[Binky55]

A feeding specialist told me that generally it starts up again when you've stopped feeding through the night.

[5madthings]

mine didnt come back properly until nearer 18mths and then i got pregnant again straight away!

[halloweeneyqueeney]

mine didn't come back till he was having one feed every 2 days (so pretty much right before he weaned, at about 13 months). Prior to that some days I was barely feeding at all because I was working and he'ld have formula on those days but on my days off he'ld make up for it a bit.

He slept through from a few months so that wasn't it

[SuperSesame]

My AF came back when DS was 13 months old. Why?
Well, our New Year resolution was to get him sleeping in his own bed. We co-slept until then where he fed maybe once or twice through night.
On Jan 4th he slept in his own bed through the night. My AF appeared on Jan 7th.
Coincidence, I think not!
I continued to BF once or twice (in day time only!) up until 15 months.

Another pattern I've noticed from talking to people, although this is entirely my own opinion so I don't know if there's any truth in it is
those that have AF come back the earliest have been the heaviest mothers.
I'm quite slight and didn't see AF until 13 months. My friends who would be overweight saw AF very soon after birth. Maybe its related to the available resourses in our bodies to produce AF or its a very tenious link!

[halloweeneyqueeney]

"On Jan 4th he slept in his own bed through the night. My AF appeared on Jan 7th.
Coincidence, I think not!"

it couldn't be that unless you ovulate 3 days before your period

[NightLark]

Mine is back (as of yesterday, tmi) and DD2 is 15 months. She has been feeding a bit less, but not a lot less. She still feeds a couple of times in the night. So who knows. Tis the period from hell as well, I could do without it

[RedKites]

Mine took just over 12m to come back, when DS was still feeding twice a night on average. However, a couple of weeks before I'd left some EBM and run off to the spare room for a night, and DH had dealt with the night wakings instead. This may have been a coincidence, but maybe not, and might be something you could try, even if you're not wanting to night wean at this point.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

18 months both times but you don't need them back to get pregnant, hence having 2 DC .