Breastfeeding and returning periods

[PocketTasha]

Slightly odd question for any of you breastfeeding experts and experienced mums out there about returning periods.

I gave birth to my second son ten weeks ago and have just had my first period. I was a little suprised to have one so soon as i am exclusively breastfeeding. However i have put it down to the fact that i have had a few "lucky" nights when ds2 slept for nearly seven hours through the night and that i have, on occaision, expressed and my husband has feed him when i've popped out of an hour or two. Please let me know if i'm wrong to assume this.

What i want to know is if now that i have had one period will i now continue to have them, or will they stop again with regular feeding?

I think that if you arent feeding much at night then that increases the likelihood of a return. I think i had a period at 6 months and then nothing for a few months.

I had one at about three months, then no more until about eight.

They say it's the night-feeds that keep the periods away, but my mum started her periods again at 6w with all of us, and she was exclusively bfing. I started at 6m with my first (mix-fed, slept through from 10w and weaned off boob completely at 5.5m) and at 7m with my second (exclusively bf and slept through from 6m). The second fits with the night-feeds theory, but not the firrst. My periods became regular-ish immediately, but both the length of the cycle and the nature of the period itself were totally different to before babies.

a good friend of mine's periods started back a few days after she cut from 3 bfs a night to 2 bfs when her baby was just under a year old.

12 weeks and every 4 weeks after that- even though I was bfing every couple of hours.

6 weeks with both kids and exclusively BF, worse luck

Mine didn't come back until I weaned ds (even down to just one feed a day, no period...) it came a week after I gave up for good.

mmm, it seems that it's just pot luck! I have every reason to believe that i'm a very fertile person. ds1 was concieved while using contraception (Bless his little cottons!) And i knew i was pregnant with ds2 about 10 days after we began trying! Perhaps that is why they have come back.. Worst luck.. After 9 months of being pregnant you kind of get used to not having to worry about them don't you. I was looking forwad to not having to worry for a while more...

Did any of you experience heavier periods after having children? This seems to be a lot heavier than i'm used to, not wanting to give details but i've gone through 3 tampons in 2 hours.