TTC whilst breastfeeding. Tips, advice and support

Hi @Billyv 😊
Are you doing anything specific (SMEP, tracking etc..) or just seeing how it goes?

Hello! I bumped into @A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 on another thread and wondered if I could join? 🙂I'm 37, have a 15m old breastfeeding DS and have just come off the pill to TTC no2. Have had a read of this thread, some interesting stuff! And congratulations to those with BFPs!

Thank you @Porridgeaddiction @Mc3209, it was a bit of a shock how quickly it happened actually as first time round we took 6 goes and we had used BBT to measure. FWIW i went 14 months without a period and down to two feeds a day (to sleep and in the morning)

@Sneezymcsneezy congratulations!! 🎉 Fantastic news! So happy for you 🥰
Your post gives me hope. Before DS, I also had a cycle like clockwork. Fingers crossed I will follow in your footsteps.

So after my first ever bleed at the end of August, I'm now pregnant! My periods were really regular before I had my son, every 28 days on the dot, so we just got down to business on day 11 and 13 after first day of pregnancy and then voila! Breastfeeding is really painful at the moment and hoping he will stop by the time baby number 2 comes. Good luck to you all ❤️

@Porridgeaddiction ah that's pants. There is nothing like a smell of a warm, starting to cook cabbage in one's bra 😬 Hope your boobs will feel better soon.

Oh no @Porridgeaddiction I'm so sorry you had to stop. That really really sucks. I hope at the least that you get some relief from the soreness quickly. Is the thyroid problem an aftereffect of pregnancy and likely to be temporary, or is it possibly permanent?

@justwantobeamum I'm so sorry that must have been horrible to get your hopes up like that. Your period might well resume shortly as it sounds like you caught the first egg. Hope you're okay.

@Golaz yep mine is about that short too. So that's probably 5 days if it's six days after a positive opk? From googling it seems like we are 'sub-fertile' while breastfeeding after cycles come back.

Oh thank you @Golaz that is interesting and reassuring. I was starting to think what if it’s all just left inside me then messes up hormones even more. I think that perhaps I ovulated as like a blip I don’t think my periods are showing any signs of returning and I’m guessing my hormones also stopped it implanting properly and progressing. We are still very much BFing day and night and I don’t see that changing soon 😂 week 1 of weaning though and I think I will try to power on with that and hopefully he will cut down some feeds 😂

So I finally had another bleed- but only 6 days after a positive OPK 🤦🏼‍♀️. Anyone else have a luteal phase that short?

Hi @justwantobeamum poor you, that sounds confusing 😕. I’m by no means an expert, but I think if it’s v v v early it’s possible for the egg just to be re-absorbed back into the body , and not necessarily result in a bleed. Def call the EPU for a second opinion if you are anxious though. Don’t worry about bf- 6 months is still really early, and it sounds like you are already ovulating , even if your hormones aren’t quite at a level to sustain a pregnancy yet. I’m sure if you keep DTD regularly you will get another bfp in no time ☺️Xox

Jumping on here as I really now want to start thinking about TTC no2. I want quite a close age gap but worrying now that I might not get that with BFing. My boy is 6 months. No period yet however 2 weeks ago I was randomly sick and then got a BFP (on multiple brands so defo was real). It then turned negative pretty quickly so I’m certain I’m no longer pregnant but now that’s 2 weeks and still no bleed?! I phoned gp and he said oh I don’t know I’ll need to check. Then phoned me back and said I spoke to someone else and we’ll do a blood test in 2 weeks and as long as there’s no hcg your fine? But I’m now questioning this like surely if I got a BFP I ovulated so that released egg and my uterine lining will be in there so needs to come out with a bleed?! I’m considering phoning EPU to ask for a second opinion… when I got the positive it was a huge shock but I then got over the shock and came round to the idea and now I’ve imagined it I really want it so I want to try TTC.

@Mc3209 oh wow is it really that high 🙀 I have twins in the family. Gosh. Yep it would be a worry, especially carrying them and all the associated extra risks.

I'm CD4 so yes we are pretty aligned! Tbh feeling like it's not going to happen for us while I'm feeding as intensively as I am - my luteal phase is surely so short nothing can implant. Going to try to introduce a couple of feeds of formula to see if it improves things

@Orangio yeah, something to do with hormones. Even worse if twins in the family, then it goes up from 6% to 11% chance. I think my DH would have a coronary if I got pregnant with twins 🤣
Yep, it's my first one since pregnancy! Now that I've seen it, I want it to go finish quickly 🙈

Holy moly, is that true? Why on earth would that be the case, when resources are low when BF? You'd think it would be most likely to conceive a singleton girl!
I guess I'd be okay with twins (although insanely hard work for the first few years) but I'd worry about carrying successfully to term, and having healthy babies.

Remind me @Mc3209 , is this your first period? If so, hooray!

And @A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 and @PinkDucks both near the start of their cycles too - you're all quite in sync!

The last molar, Pinkducks, lucky you! We only have six teeth so far 🙄 Do you still have canines to come? I've heard they're the worst - I hope it's not true!

How does everyone feel about potentially catching with twins?! Apparently the risk is higher if breastfeeding 😬

It's finally, FINALLY, CD1 here 🎉 only took 2 years.. and still breastfeeding, which is a positive, I seriously though I would need to stop completely. Now onto some proper TTCing. I might do ovulation tests, I haven't decided yet.

Oooh I've got some catching up to do!

Congrats @northerngal20!

Ah @Porridgeaddiction you must be disappointed! It's good you've got a diagnosis now and it can be managed to hopefully put you in a good position for ttc.

@Orangio another one here with a grumpy teething baby! The last molar is coming through and 🥴 it's not been fun. I only had to look at her yesterday and she cried she just didn't know what to do with herself. Thankfully she seems a bit better today and it's currently nap time so everything is calm and peaceful 😂🙌🏼 but sending sympathies and solidarity.

We're out this month. AF arrived last week so onto the next cycle. The months are whizzing by with a toddler and being back at work 🤯

@Orangio no entertainment here. Was 5 days late, now on heavy period 🙄 Also packing to move - yay - have so much stuff when I thought it'd take no time at all! Still haven't exchanged yet.
Teething over here also, and a baby that woke every hour last night.

Anyone else have any fun stuff?

How's everyone doing?

No updates here. Just looking out at the rain, trying to summon up the enthusiasm to go for a walk.... not tempting! The dog is giving me baleful looks though so I'll probably crack. We all go a bit stir crazy if we don't walk every day. DS was very grumpy yesterday (teething) so I'm losing my mind a bit! Talk to me and entertain me?

Sorry to hear that @Porridgeaddiction hope it gets corrected quickly so you can get on with TTC 🤞

@Porridgeaddiction I'm so sorry, but so glad you've figured it out and can treat it. And as you said, once it's corrected, it may well trigger your period quite quickly