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!

Right, jaggy, where are you?! All advice re= ttc while bf please. Except the obvious shagathon... well into that. suggested again tonight but DH has put his foot down!!!

I got AF back after about 7 months, i'd been back at work and expressing for about a month anyway.

We were down to morning plus maybe one more when I was in from work till Monday there. The morning one was the only one where he really seemed interested for long though. He does ask for milk/mummy milk sometimes, but it seems to just mean he's tired and wants a cuddle.

He gets cuddled to sleep for a nap by me (or by DH when I'm at work - shifts so it varies!), but he doesn't feed to sleep exactly, just has a tiny feed then cuddles in. Well he asks DH for milk apparently, then cuddles in!

Think he might be teething again, was up in the early hours for the first time in ages, managed to cuddle him to sleep after a drink of water and didn't cave and bf him! I was proud as I have always been lazy and just gone, 'here, have some milk'.

After 10 months TTC, I'm willing to try about anything, but reluctant to stop in case it makes no difference! I too wonder if I am one of the women who has to stop completely to conceive.

It looks like this might possibly lead to earlier weaning, as he doesn't seem so bothered about sitting down to feed. I think I'll be happy enough to wind down over the next few months, 2 years is a not bad effort I guess. He does still ask for it though, so who knows!

It's just all a bit unknown and out of our control - a bit frustrating. :)

think my advice would be useless - I am clearly pants at this!!

lol, all that nonsense they tell you about contraception while bf! Ha! i know some women do get unexpectedly pregnant, but not most it seems.

I don't want to cut down any more, at all yet. DD not yet 11 months and not drinking any other milk- so really getting very little. Making some progess with cows milk but given up on formula entirely.

seems this hormonal axis thingy needs sorting

oh crap, DH kicking my off 'your la la MN rubbish!'....

Ok, back.

jaggy, you've done amazingly well to bf for 2 years. If you stopped tomorrow you'll have done your DS proud. I'd always hoped/imagined i'd do similar but i'm not sure about what DD will think!!

I think just the same about stopping- i'd feel totally dreadful if it made no difference. (and i wouldn't even consider it until she's over one) The expressing may have helped your AF return- according to the kellymom website anyway-where a study looked at EBF babies and babies fed exclusively breast milk but only given after expressing in a bottle- the mums expressing had higher fertility than those bf'ing.The site also says that feeding lying down to feed delays return of fertility
(Thats exactly what i do too- DD's favourite and most-drinking feed is first thing in the morning, cuddled up in bed with us happily on the boob).

the trouble with ttc with breastfeeding is the wondering if you will try and try and just never suceed. Having looked at the blooming kellymom site again it says about annovulatory periods, and first few cycles where you may not be fertile etc etc which makes me think all my trying may well be in vain...

i guess the only thing to try is as much swi as physically possible, like it or not!!!!!

Hello??? where are you all?

bartlet? mackrelmint? loopy? duke? goldrill? is no-one knocked up yet???? i'm hoping you are and are too busy dancing round celebrating to come on MN

Hi all! [waves manically at DF]

Just checking in. Am on day 11 (of 2nd cycle since birth of DS 7 months ago) and my clearblue fertility monitor has said 'high' yesterday and today. My OH has been home (he works away alot of the time) and we DTD 3 times today! More of the same planned for tomorrow and Thursday, so no-one can say we didn't give this month a good old go!

I was thinking, I wonder if this is the slowest moving conception club thread. Are the other (non BF ones) inundated with people getting knocked up?

I hope everyone else is having as much fun as I am, and we all get some good news soon.

Duke

Morning! [more waving]

Nothing to report from this end... probably anyway! Finally had my IUD out on July 27th and since then a small bleed but no idea if it counts as AF or what's happening. Last time I had it out, bled and then got the blue line four weeks later - so I am living in hope! Admittedly last time we were SWI every other day, as opposed to every other week - but that shouldn't make a difference really... Hmmm. Must try harder.

Three times in one is just a blurred memory from at least a decade ago for me duke, so well done; a woman with stamina and enthusiasm!

I was quite happy with 3 days in a row till I read that....

gaah - meant one day - clearly even getting the concept into my head is tricky!

DD is only 8.5 months so am not contemplating stopping BF any time soon - if we're lucky and it happens soon I susoect I might end up tandem feeding. Anyone else planning similar?

My DS is 7 months old and I hadn't really though about it, but yes I'd tandem feed. The vague plan is to keep BF until DS doesn't want to. My friend planned to tandem feed but her DD decided to give up when she was about 20 weeks gone. I wonder if there are some hormones produced during pregnancy that mean breast milk changes taste.

Also I wonder how many tandem feeders literally feed both at the same time or if that us even logistically possible or beneficial.

Ps - currently relaxing in bed with legs up while OH is downstairs making me a snack- doesn't get better than that!

nothing to report here. likewise DS is 9 months and not planning to stop BF yet, hoping to do till at least 12 months, maybe longer, would have to express to cover some feeds as i will have to do a day a weeks work from then, but not thought beyond that yet. No sign of AF returning, wondering if any point looking at ov kits, they sound pricey from comments on here!

Loooopy, I've only ever used cheap ov kits from Amazon / Access Diagnostics or cheap shops like Savers. Internet ones are mega cheap if you buy in reasonable bulk, Savers etc ones about £1-2 for 5 I think. I did actually get a positive on my Access diagnostics cheapie the other day so they seem to work ok for me.

If you can be bothered, you could try a BBT thermometer for a few £ and see if you see an ov pattern.

I might be disappearing off this thread soon, as my plan to drop DS's morning feed and see if it helped TTC has kind of backfired and he is now losing interest in BF altogether. :(

He is 2 next month, so I guess we have had a good run of it, I think I'm more bothered than him as I didn't mean to wean him! I liked the idea of him getting at least 1 feed a day, but at the moment it's maybe 30 seconds a day.

I am apparently 2dpo, yay 2ww time.....

DD 11 months, happily feeding, and i don't want to stop. But oh, i DO want to know if i'm ovulating, 2 af since i dropped feeding her in the day, no evidence of any pregnancy, gah!!! Right jaggy, off to amazon cheapie ov kits i go... This month's marathon 13 out of 15 nights swi does not seem to have produced the desired result...

and duke, you get the SWI Badge Of Honour

good luck all for this month!!

jaggy which ones did you buy from Access Diagnostics? had a look earlier and was daunted by just how much stuff they sell to assist conceiving! and what is a BBT thermometer?

dreamfeeder ditto, DS and me both enjoying feeding, but he is slightly younger at 9 months, and now on 3 feeds a day and no night feeds, but no AF yet and not a clue if ovulating or getting an AF anytime soon. When are you feeding your DD now? And 13/15 nights? how the hell did you manage that?!

will check out my order history at home for you, also get sent discount codes for 5-10% off if you need some. All in my home email but at work just now.

BBT = basal body temp, it's your temp when you just wake up and don't move or get up for a wee etc, take the temp first. It shows a rise after ov so you can tell when egg has popped.

www.fertilityfriend.com/home/jaggythistle here are mine!

It looks complicated but is ok really. FF website has excellent TTC/charting advice and info.

Must do some work now, shift finishes in 40 mins and I am up to my eyes, partly due to too much MNing!

duke and df - good going on the swi front. wow. won't even tell you what we managed this month as it was pretty pitiful. Basically we are both too lazy... Need to take a leaf out of your book for next month I think!

jaggy - good luck for the 2ww and don't leave us if DS self-weans! after 2yrs bf I should think you'd still be an honorary member of the club!!

So, I haven't checked in for a while because I've been feeling quite sulky and fed up about it all. I'm on day 37 of my first cycle since DD. My cycles used to be 35 days, which means less chances per year than 28-day peeps anyway, and I am a bit pissed off that it is making me wait even longer this time! (or potentially AF has just disappeared again for a bit?). Defo not pg - poas two days ago and absolutely no symptoms.

I am also feeling a bit miserable about feeding. DD is down to 2 a day (she is 13mo), but I am struggling with it. Pretty much always enjoyed it up until a month or so ago, but now there are often teeth involved (as in I have big bite marks when she's done) and/or it gives me an icky feeling - nails down a blackboard kind of thing - and I am just not enjoying it.

But, tried the other night to do bedtime without a feed (offered some warm cows milk and water) and it caused a major meltdown and I felt dreadful for causing such heartfelt screaming.

Also she is just starting at nursery as I go back to work 3 days a week from Monday so I don't want her to lose the comfort of bf at the same time. So I have to stick with it. Perhaps the uncomfortableness is a hormonal thing and will pass with arrival of AF? Can only hope so... Or that she self-weans soon!

Long rant - sorry! Guess I could just be a bit PMS-y right now.

Looopy, I'm feeding her first thing in the morning and at bedtime and if she gets really upset about something in the day. Touch a really bloody big piece of wood she hasn't woken up and needed feeding back to sleep in the night in nearly a month . So a similar amount to what you feed. The thing that got af back for me was I did the SUDDEN drop of a daytime feed or 2 (and now had 2 af i don't worry about the odd daytime feed as its not every day). I didn't specifically do it for that, but as DD kept giving me cracked nipples plus x 2 bouts of mastitis (agony!) and remembering my antibiotics for it for ages etc i decided wasn't worth it. Did have the ttc thing in the back of my mind too. Literally 2 1/2 weeks later, ta da!! AF!!

mackrelmint, sounds hard. I think your plan is very good though- carry on while she settles into nursery then you can look at stopping so it's not both together. 13 months is great!! I would like to drop the bed tie feed first but i do still love our morning cuddle and feed in bed together. And also i used to be a 28 dday cycle and my first af post-DD was 34 days. So I think it does delay things a bit

Hi ladies.

I hope you're all doing well! I noticed that our topic is about fall off the first page, so I thought I'd update it.

My DP has been here on and off most of this week (he usually works away during the week) and we have been doing loads of SWI! I don't get to see him for a week or 2 now, so we have done all we can for this month.

I am on day 16 of 2nd cycle since DS was born in January. I OVed day 16 last cycle, but despite 7 days of high readings on my CBFM, I am yet to have a peak. So, in essence, I am waiting for the 2 week wait! Ha!

TMI warning... We DTD 12 times this week, so I think we did the best we could possibly do! Fingers and toes crossed.

I hope you are all well, and that we all get the news we want soon. x

oooh duke sounds optimistic for this month!!! I'm thinking of investing in the CBFM as i'm fed up and can't work out when i ov... Unless of course by some miracle i am preggers this month, but as we stopped on cd 22 or 23 i'm worried we stopped too early despite the 13 out of 15 nights marathon as on a 34 day cycle i could have ov even later than that...

oh, come ON body!!

dreamfeeder, apologies for being away. I didn't understand how "threads I'm on" worked. I assumed that it would update with any threads that I posted on, not just ones I've posted on recently, so I assumed nothing was going on here.

duke, 12 times in a week! Gosh, that makes me tired just thinking about it! You are certainly dedicated to the cause!

We are still BF twice a day and occasionally a third time if he wakes in the night and won't settle with DH.

AF based on pre-pregnancy cycle was due on Thursday. By post-pregnancy cycles, AF is due between Friday and today, but no signs of it yet. I am desperately trying not to symptom spot but BFing has got rather uncomfortable over the last few days...

Now being mauled by a small boy so better go. Hello to everyone else.

bartlet, oh, that sounds so encouraging!!!! Are you planning on testing if AF doesn't show up in a day or 2? I'll cross my fingers for you!

I am on day 31. My last (and first) full cycle since DD's birth was 34 days, so not late yet though it feels like this month is taking forever... However, from having cut down to morning and bedtime feeds only which got AF started again, I have been feeding more in the day this month. Worried I've stuffed my cycle up again. However had a horribly uncomfortable night feed when she woke up last night- now allowing myself the 'maybe I am' fantasy. which sadly, i think will be all it is.

Does anyone know if that's likely? Or once AF is back, do a few extra feeds here and there not really matter?

Any hints for bf too? struggling with being uncomfortable for MONTHS now so is often not pleasant to feed her- but if I take her off to have another go at a better latch, thats usually it, she's not interested again. So I generally just grin and bear it as I do want to continue bf. All started since she hit 8 months and tried to self-wean overnight without drinking anything else- even water- instead!! hence big efforts at perseverance. Feeding lying down seems to be better in morning, but maybe thats just because i'm half asleep and not so tuned in to it!!!

Also, is there a way of seeing when threads you're on have been posted on? the only way i know is to literally click on them and scroll to the bottom and see

Good luck all for this month!!

*dreamfeeder" i click "watch this thread" for any i have posted on, and then you just need to click the "i'm watching" tab at the top of the screen and it will bring up all the ones you are watching, and you can bump and reset them when you want to

Hi all. A quick update... I got a peak on my CBFM. (highly recommend them BTW). So I assume I ovulate tomorrow, That means Thursday, Saturday and Sunday's SWI count. Is that right?

Now the dreaded 2WW....

2ww sucks! I'm 7dpo and going nuts already.

good luck! :)