return of period suddenly while still breastfeeding? am i weird???

[yummytummy]

hiya, just wondered if this has happened to anyone. dd is 4 months and i have been pretty much exclusively breastfeeding. she has had a few bottles of expressed breastmilk when i have gone to the gym. also once last week she had a top up of formula at bedtime. (failed attempt to try sleeping bit longer but thats another story!) apart from that all feeds are from me.

i thought that while bf u didnt get periods? but suddenly after nothing since the lochia i am having what is for me like a normal period. is this anything to worry about? does it just mean af is back and will arrive as usual next month?

am confused as am taking minipill, could this be just causing random bleeding?

just wondered what others experiences were. not keen to bother gp with such a minor niggle.

any thoughts?

af returns when nipple stimulation drops below a certain threshold. The threshold varies from woman to woman. Mine came back at 9m. I think it is often when solids/formula/dummy are introduced. But one ff a week ago wouldn't make sense in relation to that. Maybe you are just unlucky...sorry! I don't know about minipill though...

I had one at 6 weeks when I was very definitely exclusively breastfeeding almost constantly, and then they came back properly at 7 months when ds started sleeping longer at night. Am still bfing at 11 months though and it hasn't made a difference.

Rita am i right in thinking you introduced a dummy? Apparently that can make a difference. Sorry if i've mixed you up with someone else.

Yes, at about 3 or 4 weeks - I'm not sure how much impact it had though as that was an odd one off period. Don't know if it was actually my cycle restarting or just some weird hormonal thing?

Funnily enough I had no periods between 8-18 weeks when ds was going 8 hours between feeds at night, but at 7 months he started going 10+ hours suddenly and that obviously tipped the balance!

Mine came back at 16 months for dd1, 12 months for dd2, 5 months for ds1 and 7 weeks for ds2 - I was exclusively bf both the boys at the time.. it does vary and there are no rules

Mini-pill makes a difference. It could be artificial hormone related bleeding, not a period.

My came back at three months with both my DC's, exclusively breastfed them both.

I thought it was mainly about feeds during the night, dropping/cutting back makes your period come back.

I think it's just gaps generally, and longer gaps tend to be at night. For some women a gap of a couple of hours might do it though.

Old wives tale that periods don't return whilst breastfeeding. Hence very dangerous owt that you can't get pregnant while bf.

My period came back at around four months too. DS EBF then so no dummies/ formula/ solids and def. not sleeping through the night!

It's been regular ever since (DS 11mo now).

It's not an old wives tale as such - breastfeeding is an effective contraceptive if your periods haven't returned (and you ebf on demand with no dummies or bottles, food or water, and your baby is under 6 months). Not 100% though so not one to rely on if you really don't want another baby.

I understand that traditional on-demand bfing where the baby is constantly carried by the mother and has unlimited breast access often means the baby feeds several times an hour, which is quite a different prospect to feeding every 2/3/4 hours.

6 months for me (Christmas Eve night and not a tampon in the place - had to improvise with a nappy )! I'd exclusively BF until 5 months when solids were introduced. BF for another 18 months after that.

9 weeks with DD1 (exclusive BF, co-sleeping, no dummy), same with DD2 and I'm tandem feeding this time. Am that some people get 6 months. My GP told me I was 'just unlucky'. Hmph.

I am ebf and on mini pill and have had breakthrough bleeding every 2 weeks (DD 5 months) since she was 10 weeks... I'm going to have to change contraception me thinks

Can someone explain the theory with using dummies? I've EBFd all three, and used dummies to get them to sleep but had no return of period until I dropped right down.

I breastfed DD exclusively til 5.5months and had periods from 8 weeks after the birth.
Lochia finished at 7 weeks, and then 1 week later I had a period.

Don't forget that the fertile time is 10-14 days before your period, so precautions need to be taken if you don't want to get pregnant.

Flubba, I think it's just that sucking on a dummy replaces some sucking at the breast and so might create gaps between feeds that trigger the return of your periods. As Moonface says, though, it's not an exact science and the threshold is different for everybody.

Booja I am in awe of your creativity!

My period came back early with both of my kids, within 6-8 weeks of giving birth. lochia 2 week holiday and then boom. Breast fed on demand, no bottles, no dummies and and overflow of milk, some of us are just unlucky