Extended breastfeeders - Longest period of lactational amenorrhea?

[LittleBoPeeps]

16 months and counting here. Would desperately love to get pregnant again but not sure how keen I am to restrict feeds to try in the hope that this might happen.

DS feeds morning and evening on the days when I work, and also before his midday nap on the days when I don't. We co-sleep so he feeds at least once, but more often twice (or more!) overnight too. [yawn emoticon]

I know everyone is different but just wondered what the longest anyone had waited for AF to return? And did this happen without any action [e.g. cutting down] on your part?

12m each time with me.I was feeding more often that you are,but I found that one less feed was kick for my periods to restart.I didn't choose to cut down,but my dds did stop a feed naturally at that point.

31 months and counting!

My friend who has 5 dc conceived each one around 2.5 years apart and it only happened once she stopped feeding altogether!!!!

Your ds is still feeding fairly frequently tbh.

31 months . Is that including the 9 months of pregnancy or is your DC 2 and a half ensure ? How frequently are you feeding?

Thanks helly and CarGirl for your responses. Maybe I'll try to knock out a feed and see if that makes a difference. Ideally I just feed at bedtime but DS seems quite attached still.

16 months with dd1. We were ttc and only fell pregnant when she dropped down to 2 feeds a day, she then self weaned when I was 6wks pregnant-she was 2yrs 8months.
16 months with dd2.....was really hoping I'd get even longer off this time but no such luck.
Good luck TTC-it will happen. I had accupucture to encourage me to ovulate and also charted my temperature because I really didn't want to stop feeding dd1 just to try to concieve...but it is hard.

I got my period back at around 8-9 months each time despite feeing several times a day (less than you at night though). I have a friend who got pregnant (accidentally!) while breastfeeding at about 13 months after her dc#3 without getting a period at all

I started ttc #4 while still feeding #3, but only managed to get pregnant after stopping feeding (fed #3 until 22 months, got pregnant 4 months after stopping)

13 months here, despite dd taking her time to really get into solids and nursing a lot both day and night (and for a loooong time still after that)

For what it's worth.... Some figures from a - possibly rather dated - study re ''ecological'' breastfeeding (i.e. bf on demand/no bottles or dummy/solids not before 5/6mths):

^Women who practice ecological breastfeeding average 14.6 months of amenorrhea.
7% experience a return of their menses in the first six months following childbirth.
37% get their periods back during months seven to twelve.
48% get their periods back sometime during the second year after childbirth.
8% go longer than two years without periods. Despite the variability in the return of menses, there is not as much variation in the return of fertility as might appear.^
^www.loveyourbaby.com/fertility-while-breast-feeding.html^

Kellymom website often has good info/links:
www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html#fertilitylinks

DS was 10 months and down to one "feed" per day when I stopped . I say "feed" because he used to mess lots and I don't think he was really taking much which is why I stopped. My AF returned 3 days after the last feed. So it seems for me even that small amount of stimulation was enough to keep AF away. I know 10 months isn't extended but I feel if I had kelt that one feed up longer my periods would have stayed away longer.
As the above post shows there is much variation just as there is variation to the amount and frequency of bleeding in those on hormonal contraception. Therefore you may need to stop bf altogether to get your periods back which I get the impression is not what you want to do. You can still be fertile even if you aren't having periods. Thus I wouldn't drop feeds for this reason. You may still not get your AF back.

I think it's the nighttime feeding while co-sleeping that's the problem if you'd like to ttc. You need the 8 hours without bfing or some long stretch to disrupt the bfing hormones and allow the fertility hormones to gain traction (highly scientific terms there..). I would keep up the daytime feeds but try to do something about the night (not the easiest). Don't forget your folic acid.

I did ecological bfing and in general went only a few cycles before getting pg again each time, with babies on average just under three years apart.

22 months I had to completely stop bf and they still took three/four months to return. I stopped feeding at night at 13 months and DS dropped his morning feed at the same time so really only one to two feeds a day.

DS BF constantly, day and night for about a year, with night co-sleeping, and I still bloody got it back when he was 6 months. Sigh.

8 months both times. But both DS were sleeping through the night by 7 months so basically my period returned shortly after giving up night feeds.

16m, came back when we stopped co-sleeping. Still bfing.

(that shld say both DDs!)

13 months - stopped feeding a month ago and still no sign!

18 months here, then was pg by 20 months

LittleBo, she is two and a half. She feeds say, twice a day, and three times at night.
DH and I would like to start ttc this year I think, so may have to stop those night feeds soon!

17 mo. It was when he dropped his morning feed - so was just having an evening feed.

Was worried about getting preg as it had taken me over a year to get preg with DS. But started trying when he was 23mo and up the duff 3mo later while still feeding.

Thanks all for your messages - really interesting range of results.

For me, lack of AF was a big plus of bf to start with so it seems odd now I am desperate for my periods to return (and then of course go away swiftly again!).

I think I will try to discourage the daytime feeds to start with which will be easier now the weather is improving and we can do naptime in the buggy and then look to knock out the nightfeeds around 18months if no change by then.

It seems from the info posted on Kellymom that the later AF returns post-partum the less likely cycles are to be annovulatory so that gives me hope that we might conceive quickly when AF comes

[though I am stupidly hopeful of getting pregnant even before then by catching the first egg!]

I just want to ask the people on this thread a question (sorry to hijack, LittleBoPeeps, but it is related!)

When you got your periods back, were they regular?

I have had my first period since 2006 (3 children in that time, all bf). It came in December, and since then nothing.

I am not pregnant (have already checked), it just seems to be skipping some cycles. Is this normal after bf?

LittleBoPeeps, come join us on the TTC while breastfeeding thread in conception, we're all having the same issue!

I am nearly at 18 months, only had one period but I put it down to being in hospital and not feeding DS for 5 days in December.

I wonder if that is common too, getting one period and then not getting another until feeding stops?

Well alexpolismum, con only post my experience, but as I said earlier, my period came back when DS was 6 months, even though he was still BFing day and night at that point.

As soon as it came back, it was regular as clockwork, same as it had been before I got pg.

I had a similar experience to Talalola with dd - constant ebf, and my periods started before 6 months, before weaning and when 'sleeping through' was a dim haze on the horizon. Straight into a 28 day cycle as they had been when I got pg.

Ds, less frantic feeder but even more CRAP sleeper for longer, my period came back just after 6 months but with erratic cycle from 26-35 days. He's now 20 months and I can count the times he's slept through on one hand.

So, 'tis a bit of a mystery tbh.

With DS1 it came back at about 12 months, with DS2 after only 2! Stupid thing, what is weird is that DS2 is an insane boob monster and fed/feeds way more than DS1!

Very annoying as far as I was concerned it was a bloody perk of BFing.