TTC while breastfeeding - Part 2

[silkenladder]

This is the place to come to share the frustrations of ttc while still nursing.

Many of us are sleep-deprived, some of us don't even know if we're ovulating and none of us know whether taking agnus castus is a good idea or not. We all just want to do the best by the children we already have, but would really like to be pregnant again. Quickly.

Part 1 had plenty of graduates . Here's hoping Part 2 will be equally successful and supportive!

Congratulations pookamoo Hopefully the first graduate on the new thread. Am crossing everything for you.

Glad to hear that the scan brought good news, LadyGG Hope you can enjoy Christmas, even if you are still feeling rough.

Manda I had been googling agnus castus just before reading your last reply. It sounds like it corrects a high oestrogen/low progesterone imbalance, which I don't think would be right for me, since I think the reason I'm not ovulating yet is that I'm not producing enough oestrogen. It is supposed to reduce prolactin levels as well though, so possibly of interest to others on here.

Lovely to see so many new posters on here . I shall add myself to the stats list:
Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet

pookamoo thanks for adding me to the list and congratulations on the bfp!
I'm still sitting on my hands trying not to test. Admittedly in my heart of hearts I know i'm not so would just be a waste.
I looked into angus cactus and decided it wasnt for me I prefer to just let things take their course. However, I do believe it has worked for quite a few.
Anyone got any tips for gentle night weaning?

Thanks everyone.
We just shortened the night feeds, queenfee a little at a time. Instead of feeding until DD dropped off by herself, I took the initiative and stopped the feed when she started to nod, replacing with a cuddle until she had settled, then popping her in her cot.

The feeds just got shorter and shorter, til one day DH was able to go and just give her the cuddle without the feed.

We started to leave a beaker of milk handy for her in the night, too, if that's an option you could consider!

thanks for the encouragement. Sadly I can't quite sleep during the day when she does ( not much anyhoo) as I am back at work and have been for 3 weeks and am a dentist so it could be a bit dangerous mid drilling !!

I have been feeling a little desperate about night feeds this week ( especially as I have worked 4 days and feel beyond exhausted) thanks for the advice about shortening feeds.... I worry that shortening feeds may lead to even shorter intevals- but it is worth a try right?! ( she doesn't feed very long anyway and it has got more since starting work as she is wanting to reconnect I think )

On a plus note.. my skin is still appalling and I had period type pains today... hummm

Hi all,

Please can I join? I am currently bf DS (14 months) and getting increasingly broody for no. 2! However, I still haven't had a period so though we are 'trying' I have a feeling it's all in vain at the moment. I was wondering if those of you who have AF back might be able to tell me a) how much you were feeding when AF returned and b) what signs - if any - you had beforehand? I have been having mild cramps/stretching feelings on and off for a while and had a few spots on my chest a week or so back which I thought may indicate that my hormones were beginning to change but apart from a minute amount of pale pink spotting there is no sign whatsoever of returning fertility. I am feeding a few times in the night (at least twice if not three times) and then once or twice in the day so still quite a lot? To be honest, I would like to cut down and/or nightwean but haven't really attempted this with any consistency/determination. Perhaps this could be my new year's resolution...

Anyway, to add my stats to the list:

Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet
LittleBoPeeps: (v nearly) 30 BF DS 14 months TTC no. 2 No AF yet

Hi, another newbie who was scared of the old big thread!

My af also came back a month after I went back to work, I was expressing twice a day, DS would prob have fed a bit more!

jaggythistle BF DS 15 months TTC#2

Not sure if BF will affect TTC, DS only has 2-3 feeds a day, plus night time ones if he wakes.

Hello everyone, Can I join in too?
At the moment my DS is 8 months old and would really like to have #2 as close in age as possible - also feeling very, very broody!
I got AF back when DS was 5 months but have only had 2 periods since, so it's not entirely regular just yet. DS is still BF like crazy, 3 or 4 feeds during the day and 3 at night minimum. I'm not entirely sure if I am ovulating already but periods have been strong and I actually feel like action from DH!!!!! Must mean that I am on the right track....

Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet
LittleBoPeeps: (v nearly) 30 BF DS 14 months TTC no. 2 No AF yet
marthamay: 29 BF DS 8months TTC#2 3rd cycle after AF return.

Better add myself on too then :)

Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet
LittleBoPeeps: (v nearly) 30 BF DS 14 months TTC no. 2 No AF yet
marthamay: 29 BF DS 8months TTC#2 3rd cycle after AF return.
jaggythistle BF DS 15 months TTC#2

Little Bopeeps... just a question... have you tested? Sounds a little exciting from you post??!

Marthamay- really glad you are on here, I was feeling a little greedy and silly to be on here when everyone else has babas over a year. We have a really tight time schedule before we move to Mozambique as Missionaries; and I would much rather have #2 here, with our vaccinations and hospitals, and my mum etc...

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas.

thegauntlet - yes I tested on Thursday as I also wondered if the cramping etc might indicate pregnancy but sadly not. So then I wondered if AF was about to make an appearance. It's been so long that I have forgotten what it feels like to be 'pre-menstrual' hence my earlier question!

Have been a bit tetchy with everyone recently so that would fit, but then I have also been quite tired and a lack of sleep makes me grumpy...so it could just be that. I guess only time will tell!

Your move to Mozambique sounds very exciting. How long do you plan to be out there?

theguantlet - Wow, Mozambique! that sounds very exciting! I can understand completely why you'd like to plan to have #2 in the UK. I'm in Japan at the moment and I found it intimidating enough just going to a doctor about my sore wrist!

Merry Xmas to all!

I've had all the symptoms of ovulation this month. Sorry if TMI but had a good few nights with DH over Xmas eve etc....now just waiting....

With DS#1, it was a bit of an accident so this is my first time actually trying...it's quite exciting.

hi all hope you all had a lovely christmas :)
I came away without tests so will now have to wait! However seeing as we all still have this horrible flu not to much swi going on anyway
I am such a home body I cant imagine living in a different part of the uk now let alone another country although it does sound very exciting.
This will be our last baby so I am trying to enjoy the trying and excitement rather than getting fed up as I wont get to experience this again! 4 is enough for my sanity I think.
I have a 2 year gap and a 3 year gap so maybe it will be 2.5 this time. Just musing out loud.

Hey all, just checking in - long time no see :) Can't believe our little thread is all grown up!

Huge congrats pooka and also LadyGG - so glad you got to see that hb, have been thinking about you. Yay yay yay. Hope the new thread brings lots more BFPs for all of you.

For those who remember me, I'm doing okay, despite DD getting some sort of fluey bug on Christmas Eve (though she seemed to perk right up yesterday :)) and then me getting it yesterday and today, so have spent most of the festive period lying on the sofa aching while DH does all the childcare and DMIL does all the cooking (bit of a result apart from the feeling so ill and sorry for myself). Told DH's family over the course of the last couple of days, then having belated Christmas dinner with my family on the 28th and will tell them then, then booking in appt on the 29th. Still don't really feel very pg though, despite occasional MS/very sore nips

Heyall

Hi there DVCheese CONGRATS on your pg! Sorry, not sure how long you have been ttc for?

A quick question for anyone more experienced in these matters...

I'm on my 3rd cycle after AF returning. Still BF 8 mnth DS a lot - my cycle is not that regular and is quite long (maybe 5 or 6 weeks). How likely do you think it is that I am actually ovulating?

This cycle (over xmas) I had all the signs of ovulation that I remember: EWCM, increase in libido, desperate to DTD (and I honestly can't say I have felt like that since I was pregnant 18 months ago!) BUT, do you think I really could be -
is it possible to have a kind of phantom ovulation????

How soon can I start testing????

eeeeeeek

It is so fantastic actually 'trying' to conceive. With DS I got preg whilst using rythm method and it was a happy surprise. It's so nice to be with DH and enjoy thinking we might be making a baby...

We decided we wanted a small age gap between DS1 and #2 but figured it might take some time so we may as well start - could it really be this soon?

xxxx
good luck everyone

PS - has anyone here got a small age gap between DC?

hey there,
to answer the question, we are planning to be in Mozambique for at least 5 years. We are going on ' long term' missionary work, which for terms of 2 years with 4 months at home.

2 more teeth have erupted for us over the last 3days; so it hasn't been very conducive to anything with 'intent' apart from sleep and chocolate.

Merry Christmas everyone.
X

Thanks martha - we were ttc for 16 months, it was a long old time (though I know plenty have it worse). I was on the first thread and still pop in every now and then to see how my old ttc buddies are doing :)

To answer your question, there doesn't seem to be any clear answer, helpfully - there seems to be a lot of variation as to how sensitive different women are to the hormones released by bfing. I know for a few of us here, there was nothing happening until we nightweaned, though on the plus side things did seem to happen quite quickly after that :) That isn't necessary for everyone though. I think you can also get patches of EWCM through your cycle (for me, this time round, I kept getting it immediately before AF, which was nice) but no harm in DTD just in case My cycle was very long when it first returned, and I think anovulatory, though it was hard to tell (charting not v effective when you're still waking up a lot at night to feed). If you want to be sure then your best bet is charting or using OPKs (though not everyone gets on with those), though as I say charting wasn't so great for me when I was still waking at night and drinking alcohol (both can affect your temps).

It's also worth bearing in mind that bfing does seem to affect implantation - there have been quite a lot of chemical pregnancies on this thread :( I always tested early because I'd rather have a chemical pregnancy and know that at least stuff was working (I was OVing, for example) but I know some people hate the heartbreak of a BFP turning into AF - so whether you test before or after 14 days depends on which of those you think you might prefer.

Sorry if this is rambley - sleep deprived and flue here! Good luck :)

HI all, I hope you had a lovely Christmas!

I just realised I hadn't said it's #2 we have been TTC, so:

Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC#2 AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet
LittleBoPeeps: (v nearly) 30 BF DS 14 months TTC no. 2 No AF yet
marthamay: 29 BF DS 8months TTC#2 3rd cycle after AF return.
jaggythistle BF DS 15 months TTC#2

So far so good and no sign of AF which is now 4 days overdue. We held off from telling our families over Christmas, but there is a birthday on each side of the family at the end of January, so we will probably tell them then, depending on ms or other symptoms.

How are you doing with cutting down the night feeds, gauntlet ?

Hi ladies - please can I join? Heres my stats

Thegauntlet: 25 BF DD 7months TTC#2 No AF yet
Pookamoo: 31 BF DD 24 months TTC#2 AF since February
Poppet: 32 BF DS 16 months, TTC#2, no AF, don't know about ovulation....
Mamafoof: 30 DD 13 months TTC#2 first AF
Queenfee: 29 Bf ds 17 months TTC #4 no af yet
Silkenladder: 32 BF DD 19 months TTC#2 first cycle but no ovulation yet
LittleBoPeeps: (v nearly) 30 BF DS 14 months TTC no. 2 No AF yet
marthamay: 29 BF DS 8months TTC#2 3rd cycle after AF return.
jaggythistle BF DS 15 months TTC#2
IslandIsla: 31 BF DD 21 months TTC #2 AF since July

This is our first month TTC (ideal age gap is around 3 yrs, and if we conceived this cycle we'd have a 2.5 yr gap). I am charting, I think I just ovulated last weekend so in the 2WW. But my chart is confusing (always has been) I don't have a clear thermal shift so its always difficult to time it right. Think we messed it up this month, as it looks like we missed ovulation by 2 days according to my cervical fluid (although thermal shift seemed to happen 2 days prior). I came down with a fever as my cervical fluid continued to be really fertile and really did not feel like DTD. Boo!!!

AF back since July, and with its return came return of libido. Had been having cervical fluid for quite a few months before I got my period. Now I think I've ovulating a while but once started charting this month. Periods have been heavier since AF returned and cycles slightly shorter (they used to be 35 days, now seeming on average around 31/32 days). My mum said the shorter cycles happened to her too.

Sorry for the long ramble!!!

Pookamoo have you tested? It sounds very promising so I am wondering if I missed your BFP?!

IslandIsla Hi! Your ramble was useful to me as i am still waiting for AF's return so am interested in the symptoms of returning fertility! I think your DD must of been 15 months when they came back and Pookamoo your DD was 13 months? I think I read somewhere that the average is 14.5months for extended breasfeeders and DS is that age exactly now so hopefully it will be soon

Hi to everyone else and belated congrats to Dita - nice to have a graduate on hand to provide encouragement :)

Hello Everyone!

Pookamoo, am holding breath for you - 4 days over is a really good sign!
DVonC Thanks for that info - I have been slowly reading back the previous support thread (on about page 20 now!) so am getting right into your TTC story. Lbopeep is right, it's nice to have someone who has been through it and graduated. Your post prompted some quite obsessive useful research on cycles and fertility. Actually found reading back the last support thread invaluable.
IslandIsla, hello there - bummer on having a fever when fertile. Very interested to see how it looks now you have started charting. Have you been using protection up until now?

So, after reading a lot of the old support thread I can see that BFP's are not necessarily easy to come by whilst BF, even if you are ovulating - it's good that it gives me a more realistic sense of what might happen.
Although at this point I am really going to try not to get to tangled up in technicality's I think it will be useful to note down my cycle dates/days so that I have the information ready if I need it.

I am now 6 dpo - I decided to wait at least two weeks to see what happens.
I'm currently in Tokyo but flying back to the UK on the 7th. I think I will wait and test on that weekend if AF has not turned up. I would really love it if I had got lucky and #2 was conceived here in Japan, I don't know why...

I'm pretty certain I ovulated 6 days ago, had all the right signs. It's the first time since AF reappeared though so I guess it will depend on whether all other hormones are in balance and whether LP is long enough.
Actually I have been super cranky, bloated and tired for the last few days which would suggest that AF is about to visit .

who knows...

GOOD LUCK FOR THE NY ALL - 2011 will bring babies all round

hmmm...I really need to check spelling before I post technicalities !

Have just made it to pg39of old thread! phew...
feel like I know some of you a lot better now, quite wierd.

Yesterday I had a whole day out to myself - I went sightseeing and shopping around tokyo. It's the first day I have left DS for so long and with no expressed milk. He was absolutely FINE! I, on the other hand, was leaking all over the place and had hugenourmous knockers...

thought that a day without feeding might give me good hormones....

DS then proceeded to suckle ALL NIGHT to make amends...

xxx

LittleBoPeeps yep it was about 15 months, and I remember thinking I was bang on average. I think night feeds were dropped at this point or a little before (with a gentle nudge from me!)

My body had been gearing up for months (like since when DD was about 9-10 months old), but going to the toilet and seeing the red blood was a bit of a shock! My first period was fairly light, and no cramping, the second one arrived after a really short 3 week cycle and was very heavy (it lasted nine days, seven of which were heavy flow). But since then they have returned to a regular pattern of every 4-5 weeks. I'm actually more regular than I was pre-baby. I did have really quite irregular periods and I'm wondering if breastfeeding has actually stabilised my hormones!!! We'll just have to see how TTC goes. Despite irregular cycles before, we didn't have trouble conceiving no. 1, am really hoping this time will be ok and I can keep BFing and let DD self wean. At the moment she is Bfing about 4 times a day.

marthamay total bummer!!! We didn't use protection pre TTC but to be honest we weren't doing it much either . This month frequency increased alot ... it amazing what TTC can do for your libido and once you start having it more you want it more!

p.s. I haven't yet read through the previous thread to 'meet' everyone, but congrats to those who are pregnant! I also know someone in RL who got pregnant while breastfeeding a 15 month old - so it definitely does happen!

if 15 months is average then surely I must be due af soon? Lol
I am convinced I will have to wean before it happens.
TBH I wouldn't be all that sad to wean now I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 7 years bar a few months and am getting to the stage where ds is constantly asking for milk I feel drained. I tried night weaning and have reduced to just 1 night feed but would dearly love a night off and dh to put him to bed as I still feed him to sleep. I don't know maybe I am just being selfish. Somehow I could cope with pregnancy and bf a newborn but I found that less demanding than this. Sorry for the moan. There is not a lot of places you can say that without people saying you've made a rod for your own back etc :(
Pook will await your test with interest fingers crossed for you!
Marthamay from what I can gather charting can be a bit hit and miss if your still up in the night. Useless at charting myself so prob not the best person to comment!
Islandisla I have heard that the first period is often light a kind of warning period?