Ttc and still breastfeeding? Thread #3: Pull up a chair for some support from others on the journey!

Good news everyone :) I have everything crossed for all of you for this month. And I sympathise with those trying to wean - I'm halfarsedly trying (because I'm knackered and have no willpower, but really want to wean!!!) and it's so hard. Lots of good tips there peardrop.

I have ridiculously irregular and long cycles of 29-40 days, ave 35, and wasnt doing ovulation testing so no idea where I am on this one :( by average dates I reckon I'm 3dpo, which tallies with the symptoms I had last week...want to POAS now! Why can't it hurry up? And it's impossible to even know when to test with my stupid cycles!

Well done everyone, good news all round

Just to add to the positivity radiating from this thread, my temps continue to increase nicely and my first day of eating healthily/calorie control has gone much better than expected. Just goes to show I didn't 'need' all the extra calories I kept telling myself I did since DD stopped relying on my milk as her only source of nutrition... Hmm, should probably have got myself into this frame of mind 18 months ago oh well! it's been an awesome ride while it lasted x

Ruth - yay for longer LPs!!

I'm loving all this positivity!! ????

Lea - yay for AF approaching! Although she sucks she's also very helpful

Aww thank you ladies

Mumofone - I hope Dd surprises you. I haven't got any tips because our dc are all so different. I can only share how my ds reacted. I too thought there would be many days of meltdowns. Day 1 - did the usual bath routine and then instead of sitting him down for a feed I told him that we were going to have cuddles. I held him close supporting his head and slowly paced the room a couple of times. He did not like this idea and kicked his legs a couple of times in fury. I just whispered shhh now it's sleepy time. Held him tight and he soon got the message. I said he would have milk in the morning. Eventually but without tears he gave in and we cuddled standing up for about 15-20 minutes before I put him down. Day 2 - I just sat and cuddled him in the usual bf seat and when he quickly didn't like that I paced the room before putting him down. Again no tears. Day 3 - I sat down on the seat and this time told him he could go in the cot or we could sit and cuddle. His choice. Obviously he chose cuddles. I did this because I didn't want pacing the room to be a new thing. Now 2 months later we continue to sit and cuddle. He now points to his cot when he's ready which is usually about 5-10 minutes. I think what helped us is keeping things very similar but minus the milk. Oh of coarse I did offer a beaker at the start but he only drank a bit and by the end of the week he said no to all cows milk. I also tried giving him a beaker when he was distracted drying his hair, that helped him drink more but then he lost interest. I was astounded how easy it was but like I said I kept things the same so it wasn't too much of a shock and it was such a gradual process. He never wants DH to put him down to sleep and I get that. I sit in the same place to show him that he still has his mummy time. Giving him that choice also helped. Cot or cuddles. Good luck

Good luck with the cows milk tonight Mumo! Hopefully your DD will enjoy it and not notice her missing BF. I want to start giving DS cows milk to drink soon but he's not quite 1 yet so he's been having the follow on milk.

Good luck Pear, 13day LP is perfect!

Fx for you too Ruth, when will you be testing?

Ive been a hormonal mess all weekend, crying over nothing and really moody, I'm thinking AF must be just around the corner as been getting cramps too. At least this forever lasting cycle may soon be coming to an end!!

Aww thank you Mumofone

Well done pear! I've got everything crossed for you

Thank you Ava I won't be far behind now...come on get your bfp ??

Trying very hard not to stress but after lying down for 30 minutes everything has fallen out More than usual

Oh, Pear, so pleased for you!!!

I'm going to have a 13 day LP!! This is just too exciting for words

I really really feel I deserve a bfp this month. Just spent the last hour and a bit trying to persuade DH to get jiggy when I would have much preferred to be sleeping and now dangling legs whilst praying that DS does not hear DH in the shower and wake up!!! I need at least 15 minutes!!

Drum roll please... PEAK!!!!! So I'm the 40% that gets a peak on flashing smiley 0-4 days! Guess what my cbfm says? Peak!!! What a load of rubbish that machine is. We were suspicious that it wasn't working properly. It totally missed all my high days!

Ava don't leave me!!

Good luck with the healthy eating, Mary.

Ava hope the 2ww goes quickly for you.

Pear I'm expecting her to scream & not settle when she realises she won't have her usual feed

Ugh, no Mary, sorry, I miscalculated, I'm only almost 4dpo (at midnight) I did say this 2ww was dragging, didn't I?!

Mary, I'm almost 5dpo... it's dragging this month tbh

Right, my new healthy eating plan commenced tonight. I've been psyching myself up for this health kick for a while now. I made myself weigh today and I've put on 6lbs! I knew the weight had slowly crept up on me as my clothes have been feeling a little 'snug' since DD stopped feeding quite so much. I was still eating whatever I wanted but the weight is sadly, no longer falling off Also, I've been concerned that my sugar intake may be hampering things ttc-wise.

It's going to be depressing limiting calories, not being able to indulge in goodies, and not being able to polish off DDs scrummy leftovers any more BUT it's far more depressing to continually get bfn's

So, my motivation is ttc and the fact that I have a big family long weekend away planned for my sister's 30th birthday in 8 weeks time for which I want to look good better. Come mid-July I'm really hoping that I'm half a stone lighter, and with a bfp under my belt

In the meantime, please bear with me as I may be scarce and/or a little cranky haha

Mumofone - how are you expecting her to react?

Ok tomorrow night I think I'm going to give cow's milk in a sippy cup instead of her usual BF. Tips please as I'm really nervous about doing it!

Thanks for the warm welcomes! We have started weaning but im reluctant to stop breast feeding even though it is hampering our chances! Its like a vicious circle, i love breast feeding dd and dont want to give it up but the sooner my periods are back the sooner i can get pregnant again! I have absolutely no idea when i could ovulate or anything about cycles, we are just going to keep dtd with no birth control and see what happens!

Thanks Ava, where abouts are you this cycle?

Good luck, Mary, fx for you x

Welcome talulah & Lucy, sorry about af mumo

Pear we're still doing just the morning feed. DD managed all of last week with me putting her to bed without a bf. Dh is working early shifts this coming week though so I don't think we'll manage to drop her morning feed until his shifts change again.

AF due in 7 days: time to start getting obsessed again . Didn't dtd enough/ at the right times this month so I'm pretty sure I'm out anyway.

Sorry af got you mum. Ds is 13.5 months. I've replaced his bedtime bf with water because he is still bf 2x a day and loves yogurt so I think he's having enough dairy. He woke up ever hour last night until I gave in at 12.30 and fed him. He then slept through until 7.45 this morning though so I feel like I've made some progress!

glam I use amazon cheapy opks. They're not as easy to read as the more expensive clearblue digis but they're reliable and more economical if you enjoy frequent poas .

Hi everyone waves.
I'm still feeding DD who is currently 20 months old and NO return of AF yet. We successfully night weaned a month ago and I'm trying to be consistent with my temp charting but between DS and DD both being in bed with us, I struggle to get 3hrs straight sleep before temping in the morning. Someone always inevitably stirs and wakens me. Anyway, I'm keeping am eye on my CM and I'm definitely moving in the right direction but my question is about OPK's - does everyone use them and what are decent (but not too expensive) ones to buy?
TIA - baby good luck vibes to you all.