Unsure whether to stop breastfeeding to improve chances of ttc

@Fagin99 really sorry for your loss I’m sure that was devastating, and even more so after waiting so long. And I’m sure the 8 month wait inbetween was also awful for you!

congratulations on your little boy 💙 and well done for keeping going 🥰 it takes real grit to get through all you have!

thank you so much for replying!

I decided to wean after posting this…..we did the “booby moon” method on Saturday which has worked unbelievably well! Apart from being teary at the time (which I was too!) she has barely even asked me for it since 🤷‍♀️I’m sad that this chapter is over, but just had a feeling that I needed to do this to be able to conceive again.

So we’ll just have to wait and see now….

The doctors said I could book an appointment to discuss my fertility after the 2 test results, but I was confident they would just tell me to come back after I’d weaned. So think I’ll give it maybe 3 months and book back in if nothing happens!

Thank you, and congratulations again! 💙💙

Hi are there any updates from
anyone on this post 😊 I’m in a very similar position - ttc no.2, DD is 2 years 3 months. Breastfeeding 2-3 times per day including feeding to sleep (night weaned a couple of months ago). I didn’t get my period back properly until she was 23 months so I think I’m perhaps more sensitive to prolactin. I have a 27 day cycle, but only an 11 day luteal phase and I’ve had my progesterone tested the last 2 cycles and it’s low on both (27.2 nmol and 21.7 nmol - which I believe confirms ovulation, but it is a weak result and potentially insufficient)

i think I’ve decided to wean this month - I don’t want to, we both love it, she’s not going to be happy 😅, but I’m 37 and I think my AMH is quite low too so just feeling that ticking clock!!!

if anyone has any updates that might help….. 💕 thank you! x

Just a little update from me. Decided I'm going to do my last feed this weekend. We've been going 2.5 years so it's the right time. I've bought the Clearblue Fertility Monitor as I'm determined this month! From what I've read it can take a while for it to get to know your cycles but will give it a go and see where we get to! Feels like a positive step. How are you doing @Fagin99 ?

I was in a similar situation. I was 36 when I had my first, and was keen to become pregnant again quickly. However, I didn't want to give up breastfeeding.

As soon as my periods started I checked whether I was ovulating, which I was, so I decided there was no point in stopping.

I think the main problem for me was that my daughter didn't sleep well. I had broken nights and was completely exhausted. At 18 months she started sleeping through the night and I almost immediately became pregnant.

Good luck!

Ah that's ok! Just need to throw everything at it this cycle. Waiting for this period to finish and then we go again. Very worthwhile point about fertility increasing more and more each month too.

I'm not ready but I think my mind's made up - I just need advice on how to go about cutting out these final few feeds really. And I guess someone experienced to listen as it's going to be a tough transition. I'm so proud we've made it to nearly 2.5 years though and it'll all be worth it if we can give her a little sibling.

Wishing you all the luck and baby dust on this TWW! Please keep us posted x

Good luck for this 2ww OP!

Thanks so much for asking. 😊

I got my period at the weekend as expected. A 26 day cycle so still very regular if nothing else! Felt very down but also knew we hadn't tried much so wasn't expecting it to happen. Decided to take some positive action though and booked a consultation with an IBCLC I've known for a few years to discuss weaning fully. I just think with my age and history I have to accept I may be one of those women who has to stop. I started reading a weaning book with my daughter and ended up sobbing. Tbh I really wish we didn't have to stop and I'm not ready but I think I've reached a point the desire to have another baby outweighs that. I was also wondering about having the 21 day progesterone test this cycle to confirm whether I'm actually ovulating. I'm just trying to do all I can to maximise my chances.

How about you? X

This
Several PPs have successfully conceived while breastfeeding but that doesn’t mean it isn’t affecting your chances.
If you have breast fed your first child to 15 months then providing you are happy to do so you could easily drop the breastfeeds now providing you are happy to do so. Check whether you would be upset if you stop feeding but still don’t get pregnant within the next few months. Would you regret it or would you feel it’s about time anyway ?
Drop morning feed first, then evening one a few days later. Possibly substitute a cup of milk instead.
At the end of the day you can’t breastfeed forever and have to stop sometime.
Good luck with conceiving your next baby.

My daughter has 3 boys age 18 16 and 15.. only 14 months between two youngest. She breast fed fully with all 3 for a year each ... so she got pregnant with 3rd while fully breast feeding and only had a two month break from feeding one then the other.

.

I got pregnant at 38 still feeding a 2 year old and having very infrequent sex. It’s very difficult deciding to stop bf for whatever reason and I say that as someone who is feeding a 3 year old

I got pregnant at 42 while breastfeeding my 18m old very regularly, my periods had come back about six months before, when I dropped one feed . OP if you are having periods then you are almost certainly ovulating .

How are you doing? I'm 8DPO and just waiting for AF to arrive like clockwork next weekend (or for a miracle this month)!

I'm thinking of trying out to Proov confirm PDG tests if it doesn't happen this month. Think it's meant to be a reliable way of confirming whether ovulation definitely happened if you're not into temping. I've also added a couple more supplements in the last few days (Coq10 and Omega 3). Just want to try a few things before making the difficult decision to wean. 🥺

Hi OP, I wouldn’t stop in your circumstances (eg having periods since 10 months and ovulating regularly and feeling like you are not ready to stop). Even if you are having periods, Breastfeeding hormones can make you “sub fertile” for a while and TTC can certainly take a bit longer, but it usually will happen sooner or later, especially if you are ovulating regularly. Have you been tracking the length of your luteal phase? That is really key to indicating how fertile your hormone balance is currently.

I conceived twice while breastfeeding DD1 and DD2, and both times it took a little longer than expected. With DD1 I didn’t understand the effects of breastfeeding (I thought if my period was back that was fine) so at the time I was getting very stressed about not conceiving, but after about 6 months I did get pregnant.

With DD2 I was much more aware so I was carefully tracking cycles. It took the same amount of time, if not a bit longer with DD2 , but I noticed that things were changing as she grew, so at first my period came back but was irregular, then I started tracking ovulation and realised that my luteal phase was v short at first, but each month it was getting slowly longer. I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s not a binary you can get pregnant or not, each month changes and you become more and more fertile as your baby grows and becomes less dependent on milk. It’s a natural process. Btw , I was feeding wayy more than twice a day with both girls and night feeding too…
in sum if you are not ready to stop breastfeeding, I wouldn’t just to ttc, there’s no guarantees and breastfeeding is unlikely to prevent you conceiving if you are ovulating , even if it takes a little longer. X

I stopped breastfeeding at 18 months after a year failed ttc. It didn’t help, and I regretted stopping as neither me nor my child were ready - and it was something I loved that I never got to do again.

The problem was my eggs. If you are late thirties that is probably the same for you. My doctor told me that women release their best eggs first, ie my best chances for conception went down the toilet at age 13, and although I still ovulate I’m releasing the dregs basically. My specialist recommended donor eggs, which have a high success rate, I don’t know if that’s something you’d consider.

The NHS is appalling at fertility treatment and will not take you seriously until you’ve done two years of slow investigations. That’s time you don’t have. Get yourself to a top clinic like the Lister, ARGC or Zita Weat and have blood tests and scans to see what is really happening.

That's really helpful thank you. My LO is nearly 2y, 5 months so a similar ish age. I find feeds around ovulation/periods excruciatingly painful as my nipples become so sensitive. So I have had to stop feeding after a certain amount of time and then finish by cuddling her to sleep. She doesn't like it but does understand it hurts mummy. I'll see what happens this month. But with textbook 28 day cycles and ovulating halfway through I think I need to accept I may just need to wean. I'm 36 so definitely not getting any younger!

No because she was very sure it was the breast feeding.

I imagine a GP would only do tests if you stopped breast feeding but then a year down the line (as a guess) you still hadn’t conceived.

My son was 2yr 9m when I stopped breast feeding him and although I did feel a little bit guilty I still stopped as I didn’t want a large sibling age gap and I was also 33 years old and so I didn’t want to take any risks with my age either.

The upside was that my son wasn’t breast fed to sleep so I didn’t have that battle to contend with and it was just a case day-weaning. Also, due to his age it was easier to reason with him as he was able to understand when I told him there was no milk left. It took about a week before he stopped asking for feeds but generally the process was smoother than I’d been worried it would be.

Thanks so much for sharing. I've got a feeling I'll be one of those women too. It's so hard though as my LO gets so much comfort from breastfeeding still. I'd feel guilty stopping before she's ready (even though she coped much better than i expected with nightweaning and reducing to 2 feeds). I also have no idea how I'll get her to sleep without. I'm wondering if it doesn't happen this cycle whether it'd be worth having some tests. Or whether it'd be pointless getting my hormones checked while still feeding? Did your GP run any tests if you don't mind me asking?

When I was trying to conceive my second son I was still breast feeding my first.

I was having regular periods, and had been for well over a year at that point, but pregnancy just wasn’t happening.

After 11 months of trying I went and spoke to my GP and explained the situation to her. She told me that the hormones that are involved in breast feeding can affect the chances of pregnancy in some women.

She told me that the breast feeding hormones can prevent the endometrium wall from building up enough, or being of a good enough quality to sustain a pregnancy.

She said that technically my husband’s
sperm may have fertilised my egg every single month for the last year, but the inhospitable endometrium wall would have meant the fertilised egg couldn’t have embedded itself and therefore it would not have progressed to a pregnancy.

I stopped breast feeding my son a few days after that (because of what the doctor had said) and I then conceived on my next cycle.