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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Torn between bf and wanting another baby: when did your AF return?

41 replies

sweetjane · 04/05/2007 13:52

My ds is 4 months old now and I am exclusively breastfeeding very happily after a shaky start! He feeds about every 3 hours during the day and wakes up for one feed at night at about 3 or 4am, so it's not like I'm feeding him all that frequently, but AF has not returned! Dh and I decided a while back that we wanted to have 2 babies close together, for various reasons (including financial reasons), so when can I expect AF to return?? I really don't want to put ds on formula when I start weaning him but am starting to think I might have to if I want to become pg again. Does this make sense? Am I being really selfish?

OP posts:
USAUKMum · 04/05/2007 14:46

I think it varies. I got my AF back at around 10 mths both times. But have friends who got it back a lot sooner (4 -5 mths) even with exclusive bfeeding.

LilRedWG · 04/05/2007 14:48

My doctor was keen to remind me when I was BFing that it is not a contraception and you can still conceive even if your AF hasn't returned yet.

lemonaid · 04/05/2007 14:51

Mine came back at 9 months (when he more or less night-weaned himself).

lyrabelacqua · 04/05/2007 14:54

My AF returned exactly four weeks to the day after the birth so not much help there. I think you can still bf while pg, but i think you have to stop just before the birth to let the new baby's first milk form (can't remember what it's called ).

lyrabelacqua · 04/05/2007 14:55

Sorry, misunderstood the question. ignore me.

katherinez · 04/05/2007 14:55

Mine came back after three months and I was exclusively breast feeding.

Original poster
sweetjane · 04/05/2007 15:29

LilRed, excuse my ignorance (sheltered upbringing!) but how can you get pg without periods?

OP posts:
lyrabelacqua · 04/05/2007 15:32

Didn't Jamie oliver's wife get pg while bf (thought she was safe because of no af but got pg anyway).

Original poster
sweetjane · 04/05/2007 16:31

Did she? I should have known that cos have read her book! So can you ovulate but not get AF? Oooh... v confused now.. should have paid more attention in class

OP posts:
belgo · 04/05/2007 16:34

You ovulate first, then get AF a couple of weeks afterwards.

The problem is you don't know you've ovulated until you get AF, so you could become pregnant.

WriggleJiggle · 04/05/2007 20:08

d? was conceived when dd was 9 months old. I was still b/f exclusively. We did try from dd being 6 months, but I think my body was obviously not ready for it.

Such an individual thing, and b/f is definately not a good form of contraception, so who knows. In the same way as you, whilst we wanted our children close together, I personally didn't want to put dd on formula just for that reason although I did consider giving formula at night and b/d during the day.

WriggleJiggle · 04/05/2007 20:10

Forgot to say, you can definately get pg without having AF - I haven't had AF since probably about 21 months ago . Its great!

chirpygirl · 04/05/2007 20:10

I got pregnant when DD was 11 months and still excl BF, and I didn't have even a whiff of a period after she was born, so it can happen!

whomovedmychocolate · 04/05/2007 20:14

DD is nearly seven months. No AF but definitely having some sort of hormonal cycle - lots of cervical mucus then crampy two weeks later, so I reckon I'm fertile.

I was the same as you at month four. But am now too knackered to have sex .

My mum conceived me two weeks post partum which I think has to be some sort of record and she was breastfeeding. . Oh how she laughed when the doctor told her that she wasn't suffering from PND but was in fact up the duff for the fourth time!

yaddayah · 04/05/2007 20:19

2 weeks ? Crikey !

bf ds1 until he was 18 months (no af the whole time) Just started to slack off ad was down to 1 nighttime feed had 1 af then found out pg with dd (was a bit freaked as had problems concieving ds)

Spidermama · 04/05/2007 20:25

I have 15 months between my first two so I guess dd1 was 6 months when ds2 was conceived. I was still exclusively bf-ing and continued to do so throughout pregnancy then to tandem feed for months after ds was born. It was fab.

I wouldn't give up bf-ing if I were you. You've worked hard to get it going and it gets better and easier all the time.

Scanner · 04/05/2007 20:28

There is 11 months between dd2 and ds and I didn't have any af - I also continued to bf dd2 for a bit while pg with ds.

percypig · 04/05/2007 20:31

I bfed exclusively till 6 months, then bfed alongside BLW. My periods started when ds was about 7/8 months old. We started 'trying' for baby no 2 when ds was about 10/11 months - got pregnant a few weeks after his first birthday, he had completely self weaned 1 week after his birthday.

Original poster
sweetjane · 04/05/2007 21:11

Spidermama - wow that's amazing! Am in awe!
Should possibly point out that I do realise that in order to get pg, you do have to have sex first... erm... will have to work on that one...
Am quite surprised so many of you seem to have managed to get pg whilst bf, and quite cheered up! My Mum stopped bf when my eldest sister was 2 months so that she could get pg again with my other sister and she really regrets it now.

OP posts:
hana · 04/05/2007 21:13

witih first 2 my periods didn't return until about 6 months. dd3 is almost 7 months and nothing yet - I'm also bfding, and she was late to have solids, about 6.5 months
hth

VeniVidiVickiQV · 04/05/2007 21:16

Mine came back after 12 months and I was still b/feeding, but, some folk start theirs within weeks of giving birth.

maxbear · 04/05/2007 21:57

If you are exclusively bf with no periods and your baby is under 6 months old then the likelyhood of you getting pregnant is about 2 - 3 %. However I am still not quite happy with those odds to actually use it as contraception because we all know someone who it has happened to!

Tangfastic · 04/05/2007 22:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

IdrisTheDragon · 04/05/2007 22:07

With DS, my periods started again exactly 4 weeks after I last bf him (last bf at just over 9 months, and quite sporadic towards the end).

With DD, my periods started again before I stopped bf, maybe around 8 months.

IdrisTheDragon · 04/05/2007 22:08

I hadn't bf DS at night for ages, either.

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