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!

Hi ladies.

I hope you are all well and having fun. This is just a quick update. Its my 2nd cycle since having my DS 6 months ago. Last cycle was 44 days long. This one, according to my clearblue monitor, I am now ovulating on day 16, which is obviously much more in the realms of 'normal'. Yippee!

Slight downer is that my other half is abroad working so no chance of a baby this month. We are making plans for next month, hoping that we now have some kind of idea when will be the time to DTD. So, gutted (but not surprised - sod's law!) about this month, but bloody determined for next month!

I hope we hear some more good news on here soon!

No good news from me, but trying to see the bright side at things getting back to normal. Still BF twice a day (and sometimes more) and have a real love-hate relationship with it at the moment. I love the connection, just how easy it is to settle him sometimes, but I get moments of not wanting to be mauled by little scratchy hands, wanting not to be so needed, I suppose. It is all a bit irrational!

Hello everyone,

I am just approaching time to DTD- not charting or anything other than had AF, second since birth of DD 10 months ago. I am so hopeful and yet not at the same time...

Duke, what a shame you other half is abroad, but still really good news you're getting back to normality!

BF is like that- I'm having to will myself to be patient and not already start thinking- oh well if i'm not pg by the time she's one i could stop feeding.... And i'm down to feeding morning, night and in night if DD wakes. Feel bad about stopping in day, but it got too much with her messing about and giving me majorly cracked nipples from her on again, off again antics... Plus, DD has learnt to poke me in the nipple (ow!) etc etc.... marvellous! But snuggling with her and feeding her before her bedtime is just lovely mostly...

So fingers crossed for this month and good luck to everyone!

i still keep thinking i might start weaning DS when he's 2. then i change my mind. :)
he's really quite lovely and undemanding about it, so I'd feel a bit bad taking it away when it's only once or twice a day plus occasional nights and head bumps! i do also like an excuse for a chilled out cuddle as he spends a lot of time running about mad these days. :)

i just wonder if I'm one of the ones who struggles to get pg while Bf even a wee bit.

just waiting for AF here, due any minute really. not feeling confident though, have had small cramps for about a week, but i think they're turning into bigger AF ones now. :(

plus i got a BFN on Monday when i POAS for the first time since March. willpower failed eventually!

hi all, day 16 of first cycle since dd here. I know last time I conceived it was on day 19 (it was a light month on the swi front so easy to pinpoint it!) so if things are all as before, and I am ovulating (both dubious assumptions I know) then coming up to serious swi time...

I like the sound of a little office hideaway goldrill... sorry you were thwarted. WAs thinking exactly the same thing (who knew it got so hard to get laid in a ltr???) the other day, when I realised I was trying to think of meals that were easy to prepare in advance of baby bedtime so that they could be consumed post-shag, and I was working out all the timings so that we could still get to bed before we collapse, and it was all very logistically complicated...

Anyway, managed to dtd without any military planning last night so all is not lost yet...

DD teething at the moment, so been quite a few looooooong feeds; seems the chewing motion is soothing for her. Not so much for me. In the wrong mood, can drive me absolutely mad, but I think not giving her the boob when she wants it would be harder for me. Like jaggy, I appreciate the chance to sit down and get a quiet cuddle/watch some tv in amongst the mad climbing all over everything/throwing everyting around chaos too.

Blimey, having spent the last hour or so reading Fertility friend and Kellymom websites (I took a few notes to stop my tired old brain letting it go in one ear and out the other- DH said 'bloody hell, we're trying to get up the duff not give a lecture!') and the impetus seems to be.... shag a lot when you thnk you might be fertile. Continue with Plan A then. DH commenting 'i'm not just a sperm bank you know'. Not sure if I do, seem fairly driven this month!!!!!

Day 8 of my cycle here. DS is still feeding twice a day and sometimes more, but trying to distract him with water/food/games/songs in the day and cuddles from my DH at night.

Bartlet, I'm day 10 of my cycle now. V similar. Poor DD got a streaming cold, been miserable so I have been feeding her in day again, and night, and hoping that won't stuff my chances for this month.... only just remembered I'm meant to be taking folic acid... good job we'd gone into town for DD's first pair of shoes (which led to her first 2 steps this afternoon- I was so excited- mostly for the state of my poor back!!). Reminds me just how fast she's growing up and makes me broodier.

Evening ladies, glad I've found you - can I pick your brains?
DS just over 1 year now - BFing at night - generally 4 times between 7pm/7am but recent couple of weeks pretty constant due to teeth I think.

I'm 43, v broody, know my chances are low of getting another babe but don't want to give up on BFing DS.

Here's the thing - no period as yet, but approx 2 months ago what felt like ovulatory pain followed 2 weeks ago by distinct pregnancy-like signs - nausea, odd smelling/tasting, period -like pain for a week or so - they'd subsided by the time I took a test - which was negative. So - am I just kidding myself that I was preggers or, was there a failed pregancy and am I now gummed up with 'stuff'. Suspicious that if I go to GP will be told to go away and wait - but I havn't any time to wait. Might I need hoovering out??

catdoctor I would be suspicious enough from your symptoms that I had been that I'd head to the GP and explain. I think with a clear description like that you'll be taken seriously, and all he/she has to do is arrange a scan to check after all- not hard. And if nothing else will reassure you all is well now (apart from you not being knocked up of course!)

Dropping a feed suddenly worked a treat for me regarding AF. DD messing about feeding in day, on/off to cracked nipples point so I just stopped feeding in day- 2.5 weeks later, AF. Delighted! now, onto TTC....

ta DF off to GP tomoz then may be back to pester you further

dreamfeeder how often are you feeding your DD then? and how old is she?

How did it go catdoctor?

We're down to just 1 feed in day now at 12m (+ 1 bedtime and 1 night feed) but I'm hoping that will go soon as dd seems to chew a lot more in the daytime - teethmarks and all!

My DD is 10 1/2 months, I'm feeding her morning and night and if she wakes in night. I'm having a lucky spell at min where she's been sleeping through!!! I bet I just jinxed myself by writing that... If she gets v upset in day I do tend to cave quickly and offer her milk again now and the other day she did have 2 feeds in day too. (She'd never have done that sensibly 2 months ago when I stopped- I tried everything and even in private in her bedroom she was a boob-clawing, nipple mangling menace. Or I was trying to almost force her onto it, and she just wouldn't drink). Hoping not to get back into day feeding though so I don't have to try and stop her again when I go back to work. Struggling to get her to drink any other kind of milk in the day though, thats the downside. Even resorted to Nesquik.... how bad's that!?

have managed to get DS down to 3 feeds per 24 hours as of the last few days, DP has managed to settle DS when he wakes in the night with cuddles and a bit of water. DS was waking 2-3am, getting gradually later since DP been settling him, this morning he didn't wake until after 5. So he is getting a feed before morning nap, one before afternoon nap, and one before bed. He is feeding from both sides at each feed.

Hoping that periods might kick in soon, but no idea if this is still too many feeds or not, but he really needs all three at the moment, no way he will drop one yet. Someone said to me that it can be affected by how long they feed for rather than how many times, anyone able to shed light on whether there is any truth in this?

Morning;doc says from my signs v unlikley ever was preggers - poss things simply starting up - we hope!

Currently much booby-guzzling at night, v needy boy - big teeth and poss just thinking about walking. I don't feel I can withdraw milk now - so plans will have to wait I think.

looopy I had also heard the same, kind of. In that you can either cut number of feeds or length of feeds. I was also on 3 feeds a day when AF restarted, and had just cut 1-2 day feeds suddenly. I think dropping the night feed may well be enough- just give it a couple of weeks and wait and see. (is that or is it not the most annoying phrase in the world when you're impatient for something- wait and see..... sorry!)

Apparently night feed's the best one to drop too. I also heard something about not feeding in bed/ lying down to help. Think it was due to that causing biggest surge of prolactin hormones etc and therefore giving more inhibition to normal hormonal axis and ovulation. Not sure where I saw that though or how evidence-based it is. I feed DD her morning feed lying in bed with me and it didn't seem to matter for me. (but being not even slightly pregnant I don't know how reassuring that is!!)

I am now mostly on 2 feeds a day, both sides each time. And today DD drank some cows milk . not much granted, and she's not one yet, also graned but big step forward!!!!

Catdr - hope it is a sign of imminent AF then and you can start ttc proper. I had a kind of 'phantom pregnancy' before we started ttc dd. A week or so of big sore boobs,intense tiredness and weeing all the time! But I was on the pill and got normal period at normal time so not sure what happened there. I guess hormones/our bodies can be strange things sometimes.

I've had a few days of ewcm and not done too badly (tho not great) at swi but on day 25 now - even if my cycle is 35 days as before that seems quite late to ov doesn't it? Not getting my hopes up

z123 - just noticed your post about first steps - aaaah! We are getting to that point too and dd seems very big and grown up now already. Hope your dd's cold is better now.

Also you reminded me to dig out my old unfinished folic acid bottles - was never v good at taking it but might as well try to get into that.

mackrelmint, very exciting. DD did 20 steps yesterday and I nearly had a little cry about how big she's getting (plus won my bet with DH that she would walk before 1...phew!)

I don't think thats too late, still gives a good 10-12 days for implantation doesn't it? You said it'd been a few days, so could hae ov day 23 or so? I shall cross my finger s for you this month

I changed my name from z123 btw- was trying to work out how to use MN better and saw in the 'instructions' don't call yoursef something boring like your name and numbers!!! hence impulsive name change. I was trying to think of something witty, but I couldn't

I hope hope hope I may ov soon, think still on 'sticky' though and getting late for me too... swi anyway, just in case

Ah, I did wonder ifit was you - the cracked nipples rang a bell... Choosing a name took me bloody ages! Couldn't be witty either so went for reference to my childhood heroine Pippi Longstpcking (her full name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Mackrelmint Windowshade Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking...)

Thanks and good luck to you too - for this month and for keeping up with your now mobile dd!)

I know, the name thing is so hard. Plus (touch a blinking enormous block of wood) DD has SLEPT THROUGH for 2 weeks!!!! I saw the nickname 'huffythetantrumslayer' and was awed into not being able to think of anything. not changing it again thoguh or will confuse myself and anyone of any threads!

DD kind of mobile- very wobbly and falls over like a plank... still she's not 11 months yet, and going right way so hopefully i will not become a permanent hunchback now.

Hello everyone. Just dropping in as DD has stopped bf completely now and I therefore don't really belong here anymore.

I can't say I've noticed any effects of stopping bf on my fertility. My hair is falling out alarmingly, but whether that is related to that or something else is anyone's guess. I just had yet another 15 day cycle, although the bleed was very light. A midwife friend has told me that going on the pill for three months is virtually guaranteed to sort my hormones out, so I'm leaning heavily towards doing that now. If nothing else, it should hopefully stop me getting bald and anaemic!

Congratulations to those with walking babies and good luck to everyone this cycle.

thanks silken.

good luck to you too! :)

I've gone for a new plan this month of not doing a feed first thing when DS wakes up. i don't really feel like we're ready to stop, so it's the only change i could think of to make to see if it changed things. he's not as bothered as he was and was quite happy this morning when we went straight to the kitchen.

it means he'll probably only have one feed a lot of days, depending on when I'm at work.

worth a try!

silken, bad news about the hormones still being up the creek. How will the pill help though? always took me ages to get my hormones straight after the Evil Pill!!!

blooming hormones. why can't they just do whats needed of them?!