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Infant feeding

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

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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:

PestoMonster · 04/05/2007 22:11

I breastfed my dd1 until she was 22 months old. Admittedly though, for the last few months she was only having one feed at bedtimes. I was pregnant with dd2 at the same time and she was born 3 months after I stopped feeding dd1.

nappyaddict · 04/05/2007 22:13

basically to get pg with no AF means that the month you got preg was the first month that you ovulated and cos egg was fertilised there was no AF.

thequeenofcontradiction · 04/05/2007 23:26

My AF returned after 4 months. I was exclusively bf but DS had started sleeping through about a month earlier. He's 6.5 months now and I can definitely feel ovulation signs so I reckon I'm fertile. Not that there'll be any trying for another for a few years yet!

Maybe at 6 months, when you start on solids, you will feed less often and your AF will get the message then.

My friend got pg while bf before her AF returned - she breastfed through pregnancy and then tandem fed for 6 months. Her DS2 is almost 2 now so she has been breastfeeding for 3.5 years non-stop!

mozhe · 04/05/2007 23:43

I conceived my last 4 pregnancies whilst breastfeeding,( I'm currently expecting no 6 and still feeding my twins who are nearly one ), so it can happen. However I only conceived after I had starting expressing my breastmilk and went back to work,( at 8-12 weeks ), though in one case I had not started having periods again.I might add I'm 44 too, so give it a whirl whilst continuing to breastfeed,if nothing happens then why not express a bit and see if that just ' tilts' it ?

mears · 04/05/2007 23:49

I personally would not deprive my baby of breastmilk in the hope of getting periods back sooner. I was one of those unfortunate people who got periods back quickly despite exclusively breast feeding. Sonnest was 6 weeks, longest was 4 months. I also got pregnant breastfeeding DS2 at 7 months.

Just let nature take it's course and enjoy the baby you have

lemonaid · 06/05/2007 10:44

TWO WEEKS!?!?! Oh my...

mummydoit · 06/05/2007 11:03

I conceived DS2 when DS1 was still bfing and only five months old. AF hadn't returned so it must have been the first time I ovulated. And I continued to bf while pregnant until DS1 was over 10 months old and weaned himself (milk must have dried up or changed taste or something because he just started to refuse it).

KristinaM · 06/05/2007 11:51

mine came back at 8 months and I conceived the next month . Like Mozhe i am VERY OLD so dont think age has anything to do with it. I kept on feeding until I was 6 montsh pg and Ds self weaned

next baby my period came back at 12 months. thsi time I am being more careful .

sweet jane - why dont you wait until you begin to start ds on solids at 6 months. Also if he drops the middle of the night feed, your AF might retunr then. You might regret it if you give up BF so early. I always think that it can be so difficult in the early days, one of the " rewards" is how easy and convenient it is to be BF an older baby/toddler. ( I knwo, i know, the reward is that you are doing the best for your baby....so shoot me for being selfish )

I knwo you are not asking opinions about thsi but i thought I woudl butt in anyway ....why not borrow a toddler of about 18 months for the day so you can see what its like to have 2 babies close together. You might love it.......or not

saintmaybe · 06/05/2007 11:54

I got pregnant at 1 year, before af returned, and know many people who've done same.

Snarf02 · 06/05/2007 12:22

i got my periods back and they became very regular when lo was 8 mths old and still having about 8 feeds a day, we started trying when i was still bf twice a day at 15 mths and got pg first month of trying

mears · 07/05/2007 11:09

sweetjane - I have 15 months btween DS2 and DS3. Although it was great having them close together I do think that DS2 missed out a bit. I see pictures of him and can hardly remember when they were taken I was so busy. It is nice tobe able to sit and cuddle one baby without having to split your self in two for your other baby. Just a thought I wanted to share.

KristinaM · 07/05/2007 20:19

oh mears, I have such a pang of guilt when I read that...its so true . Now DS2 is 17 months, Dh and I ask each other " Did DS1 do that - I don't remember?" and we just look at each other blankly...it all just went by in a blur . I remember much more about the girls as they were further apart, so they got so much more attention

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 07/05/2007 20:32

I was exclusively b/f DD1 and conceived when she was 9mths old.

I excl. b/f DS1 for 4 mths and then did mixed feeding and conceived when he was 6 mths old.

Don't start worrying yet, you've plenty of time. It certainly seems that AF returns within a year, even amongst exclusive b/f. That's still a small gap.

dressedupnowheretogo · 07/05/2007 20:40

my af has just returned exc bf dd and she is 9mo im now xing fingers for lo no2

Original poster

sweetjane · 10/05/2007 21:21

Pesky computer has been broken for a few days so only just had chance to read these replies.. thanks very much for all your thoughts. I guess the consensus is that I should chill out and stop fretting .. so I will try!! Thanks all.

OP posts:

mush4brains · 11/05/2007 22:30

sweetjane,
I exc bf & got mine back after 6 weeks, fell preggers with no2 when ds1 was just 8 weeks old!!!Still managed to exc bf till a few days off 6 months & am still bfing now, luckly my supply has so far not been affected by pregnancy as I personally,would rather not put DS onto formula.We wanted them close & decided if it happens it happens, if not then so be it.
good luck

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