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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

breastfeeding and periods - is this normal?

31 replies

chiefcookandbottlewasher · 29/02/2008 21:14

DD is only 6 weeks old, i am exclusively bfing and today i got my period. Am I just in an unlucky minority? I thought it would be ages yet before this happened

also, i'm sure i have read on here that people find their dc's get really fussy when they have their period and are bfing. DD has been really out of sorts today, for no apparent reason. Anyone have experience of this?

OP posts:
PortAndLemon · 29/02/2008 21:15

You're just in an unlucky minority -- I have friends this has happened to who have been mightily annoyed. I've also heard that but it never seemed to bother DS (although my periods didn't return until he was 9 months old so not feeding as frequently anyway).

drivinmecrazy · 29/02/2008 21:21

My periods also returned after 6 weeks, I felt mightily cheated!! Also put on loads of weight which still hasn't shifted after 2 years! DD2 was BF until ten months and as daft as a brush, while DD1 only fed for ten weeks and is smart as anything. Just goes to show you really can't believe everything you hear!!

lyndyloo · 29/02/2008 21:23

Unlucky. I did't have one for a year!

hana · 29/02/2008 21:23

unlucky, I was about 9/10 months

gemmummy · 29/02/2008 21:25

i stopped bfeeding about 3 weeks ago. now paranoid that periods haven't started. how long does it take? ds is 51/2 months

PortAndLemon · 29/02/2008 21:28

gemmummy -- most likely it'd take your body a week or two to realise that you'd stopped breastfeeding, then a week or so to gear up to ovulate, then your normal luteal phase (2 weeks?) before you had a period. So you could potentially expect a period around a month to six weeks after you stop breastfeeding (although nothing to worry about if it takes a bit longer).

Original poster
chiefcookandbottlewasher · 29/02/2008 21:33

at a year lyndyloo!

before i start on the painkillers, i can take paracetamol, can't i?

OP posts:
PortAndLemon · 29/02/2008 21:39

Painkillers and Breastfeeding factsheet (the BFN medication factsheets are great).

(In short, paracetemol and ibuprofen both fine; aspirin to be avoided; the jury's out on codeine but over-the-counter doses are probably OK)

yelnats · 29/02/2008 21:42

Unlucky minority - I think dd2 was around 7 months. I have also heard that it can put them off but didnt seem to bother dd2.

Original poster
chiefcookandbottlewasher · 29/02/2008 21:53

thans portandlemon, really helpful

OP posts:
givemehope · 29/02/2008 22:03

I was in that minority too - started having periods when DS was about 3 months (not long after my post CS bleed finally stopped!) and I was fully bfing. And yes - he did get fussy/want to feed even more around that time every month.

weblette · 01/03/2008 12:17

Ds3 was 5 weeks old when I started a fortnight ago. Felt seriously cheated!

belgo · 01/03/2008 12:18

My came back when dd1 was 8 weeks old, despite bfing two -three hourly day and night.

very annoying. Incidentally, dd1 was always a fussy baby.

2happy · 01/03/2008 12:19

Unlikely minority. 10m after ds1 was born - only had one then got pg with ds2. He's 13m and still nothing, so that's one AF since August 2004 [smug]

SparklyGothKat · 01/03/2008 12:28

Callum is 23 weeks and still no period. I even did a pregnancy test last week >

Bouncingturtle · 01/03/2008 12:37

I think my period came back last week when ds was 8 weeks old
Good job dh and I haven't gotten around to doing the deed yet... still, would have used condoms to be on the safe side anyway!

Original poster
chiefcookandbottlewasher · 01/03/2008 12:44

turtle i think it will be at least a year before i can keep awake long enough to think about anything like that!

OP posts:
Bouncingturtle · 01/03/2008 17:25

Yeah, IKWYM -
DH isn't getting near me lol

sophus · 01/03/2008 17:43

Ds was 6 weeks when they started and i have put on weight whilst BF and he hates it when i have my period, is a really fussy feeder for about 24 hours. the first time it happened i was very frustrated but now used to it.

determination · 01/03/2008 19:13

From listening to others, i found that if your dc sleeps through the night or even for the majority of the night.. your are more likely to get your period back. Whereas if your dc is a night comfort feeder etc then the dreaded period does not return generally.

My dd2 has just turned 1 and i still have no peried but she feeds practically all night long. I think i would rather have a decent sleep and my periods back!

flossish · 01/03/2008 19:16

I've had two DC both exclusively BF, got periods back both times while exclusively BF. DS after 6 weeks, dd after 3 months. Its a bloody cheek isn't it?!

Original poster
chiefcookandbottlewasher · 01/03/2008 19:53

flossish, its just one more addition to the long list of things my mother neglected to tell me whilst trying to persuade me to provide her with a grandchild - according to her, everything was going to be a breeze!

OP posts:
popsycal · 01/03/2008 19:55

unlucky
mine took 20 months to come back

determination · 01/03/2008 19:56

flossish, did your dc sleep the majority of the night?

calsworld · 01/03/2008 20:06

On the sleeping through thing...I had one short AF after he dropped his last night feed but then nothing until three months after he gave me up completely at 9 months. I've had three AF's since then and think I might be PG...

One BFN this morning but testing again on Monday - fingers crossed for another 18 months without AF!

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