periods are back = the milk supply is going down?

[TrippleBerryFairy]

I am wondering whether getting back periods means that the breastfeeding will soon be over. DS is almost 5 months and I've noticed lately that I don't have as much milk as I used to. My periods came back when he was about 3.5 months. I am giving him formula more and more often because he seems to be hungry after a feed and of course that is not helping with the supply. Also, he is almost sleeping through the night and I am too knackered to wake up in the night for additional expressing.

So it seems like the end of the breastfeeding is near. 5 months is good enough, isn't it?...

Feeling a bit sad and sort of glad at the same time - I feel I will have more freedom now...

Possibly.

5 months is brilliant.

A word of warning (FWIW) - double check your contraception now that your periods are back. I speak from experience, when the old bfding wound down, another little baby wound up inside me!!!

It is sad when feeding finishes but yes, liberating too! Well done and good luck...

I BF my DD for 15 months, and rather annoyingly my periods came back at 2 months. No drop in supply at all.

I have fed DS for 10mths so far and am on my second period and no sign of drop in supply. I really don't think it can mean a drop in supply otherwise why would there be so many women on here tandem feeding?

I don't know for sure though, just going on what I have read and my own experience.

My period came back at 3 mths and a month later no change in supply. Lucky u to have a BF baby taking a bottle. No end in sight for me (arrghh....as another bottle thrown down the sink). BF is such a drag when you want your freedom back but don't have the choice anymore. Lucky lucky you

It's more likely your supply is going down because of the formula, rather than your periods.

Do you want to carry on breastfeeding? Or are you happy with the way things are going? It's normal to be happy and sad at all this.

As NQC says, your supply is going down because of the formula rather than your periods coming back.
I am still feeding DS2 who is 2 and my periods came back after 6 months (same with DS1).
If you do want to carry on then it would help to offer less formula and keep offering breast feeds.

forevermore its a bit off to suggest that breastfeeding is a drag and that it limits your freedom, you might have found this but everyone is different.

You can carry on feeding and still get on with your life, babies feed less as they get older and start eating solids anyway.

OP can I ask why you are expressing (you mention expressing during the night)? I found expressing more work than simply feeding, esp at this stage...

Thank you all for advice and sharing your experiences. Nonnomum, good advice unfortunately it seems that we don't need contraception as we are both too knackered for anything else than sleep! I might actually start ranting on one of those 'no sex' threads if the situation continues for much longer!

NQC, I would like to do another month of bf so DS is 6 months. I will be returning to work when he's 8m and would like to start weaning him by then so my bf is not going to last for that much longer anyway...

Pannacotta, I don't currently express in the night as DS sleeps through but was thinking about doing it in order to increase milk supply.

forevermore, I wasn't going to introduce the bottle until he's older but then I read somewhere (MN most likely!) that after certain age they just won't take it so I started giving it when he was about 2.5 months. I guess I am lucky he does both bf and the bottle...