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 Thinkingof4. My DS is nearly 8 months and we are tyring for number 3 now. I am still feeding 4 times a day though and should cut that back probably so that af returns but DS really loves it and I find it so convenient. I go back to work in a couple of weeks so 2 feeds will drop off then which may be enough to kick start my cycle I hope. I am 39 so can;t hang about too long!

It is nice to hear that you managed to cionceive while bf before!

Hi moog. Yes managed really quickly last time. Ds3 started sleeping through night at about 10.5 months and I was pregnant by the time he was 1!! We only started trying once he was sleeping through but my periods had come back by 6 months with him. I doubt if im even ovulating yet but like you I am goin back to work v soon (4 weeks ) so maybe that will kick start things

Hello everyone. Can I join you all too please? I have just found this thread today and have been trying to read all the pages but until I catch up I just wanted to say hello and a big congratulations to all who have had a BFP (I have found it hard deciphering what all the abbreviations mean and have had to google!) I am BF my DD1 who is 1 on the 15th Feb and really want to TTC DC2 this year. I have had no AF but for the last couple of days I have been having EWCM. I am 35. And a little bit of cramping on and off for about 3 months
Good luck all. I am now off to read the rest of the thread and will pop back to see if there are any updates/new joins...

Hi dreya and thinkingof4. Welcome to the thread. It's been pretty quiet lately -- I guess everyone's busy SWI. :)

Well, I was delighted to finally get my period last month, nine and a half months after DD was born. But AF is now three weeks late and I got BFN the last two times I tested, so I think my body is still adjusting.

DD is still BFing well: has a good feed after breakfast and before bed and usually a small feed after lunch. Also feeds if she wakes during the night, which only happens half the time now.

I guess I could try cutting back to improve chances, but don't want to cut back too much. I keep hoping DD will lose interest in the after-lunch feed, but maybe I should start to cut that one back myself. She'll be a year old next month, so I'll prob wait a bit longer and then introduce some cow's milk.

How have the rest of you dealt with dropping feeds? Do you give formula or cow's milk instead during the day? Or water? I'm trying to increase the amount of water S takes, but not having loads of luck yet.

Hope someone has some good news to share soon!

Hi can I join in too?

Am still bf dd (1 year old) and no sign of af. Since Xmas she has only had two evening feeds and one morning feed and I recently stopped the morning feed.

Eversomuch. She took to the formula in the morning quite well, normally she won't even let the teat into her mouth. She only has about 3 oz but this morning that went up to 4.

I am still co sleeping but not feeding at all at night. Is this why af is still missing? Really want to conceive soon and am so annoyed with my body. (did test just in case and got BFN).

eversomuch invited me over, is it okay if I join you ladies?

DD is 7.5 months and we really want to start ttc a 2nd. It took about 18 months till I got my BFP with her and I ended up doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things (that I'm not sure are safe when BF). Really don't want to stress/obsess as much this time but hope it doesn't take too long. No AF here, still feeding regularly in the day and (until very recently) quite a bit at night, we cosleep so I'm not always certain of when she's fed in the night or how often. Going to try and write it down tonight to see! Really want to BF until she self weans but at the same time want to start feeling like we're actually trying for a baby as opposed to not avoiding one :)

Hi again
Eversomuch I have just been giving ds water at mealtimes, bf morning and night and usually late afternoon too ( just now!) after his pm nap. Also as req overnight which can be nothing (as last night) or lots ( like the night before)
I'm sure the cosleeping is what's preventing AF from returning but can't quite face putting him in cot yet!....
I'm not really in a rush though, just impatient!

Hello! Room for a newbie?

I have an 11mo DD and I am going to start TTC DC2 after the welcome arrival of AF. We co sleep, she feeds at night but with returning to work I regularly go 8 hours during the day without a feed so this could have been what triggered my cycles to return. I have been back nearly 2 months though.

I've just ordered some OPK's as I'd like to know if i'm ovulating. I'm aware this could be a long process but would love a 2 year ish age gap.

Hi halo, I think I scared everyone away!

Oh no, well we will just have to keep chatting and hope people rejoin this thread!

highheels Did you write the wake ups down? Was it bad?! My DD just cut another tooth and I literally have no idea how often she woke up. I do know that she was up between 10.30 and 12.30 alternating between giggling and crying. I am exhausted today so wondering if we need to start gentle sleep training again. (I alternate between being happy to do nothing and desperately wanting her to sleep through.)

My DD eats pretty well, drinks water at mealtimes and between meal times. I always just take the easy option though and offer her boob as it settles her the fastest. She doesn't feed to sleep but only self settles about half the time, the rest of the time we pat her to sleep. But this isn't a sleep thread is it.....

Anyway AF has finished here and it seemed pretty normal and similar to pre pregnancy (maybe a bit light and less painful?) Hopefully the OPK's will arrrive soon so I'll know if my body is going to creak back into action.

Is it a good idea to reduce feeds around ovulation time and in the 2ww?

Oh and do we do stats on this thread?

If so its:
haloflo TTC DC2 Cycle 1 Day 5

Hi all
Well I'm pretty sure I ovulated last week (ewcm plus pain in r side the next day for a few hours, plus cervix changes) and no AF as yet. Beginning to wonder if I have managed to catch the first egg?! Surely not , its most likely just my imagination. I have ordered some pregnancy tests from amazon though, just in case. Dh would be so upset, he's hoping it will take months of trying

How is everyone else doing?

Welcome to the thread Halo! Great to see you over here and to hear that your body seems to finally be at the point where TTC is a real possibility. Maybe we'll be sharing another ante/postnatal group soon? :)

It would be awesome if you did catch the first egg, Thinkingof4.

As for me ... well, I obviously didn't catch the first egg in January, but I do seem to have caught the second. I got a BFP this morning. :) Really delighted and still feeling like it's not quite real. I don't feel pg yet, LOL.

Since AF didn't show when I expected (8 Feb) and I had two BFNs in the week that followed, I guess it's possible that I simply ovulated much later than expected. But that leaves me a little perplexed about my EDD. I'm guessing my GP will just work from the date of my LMP, which means a mid-October due date; but I think a dating scan will probably reveal it to be a bit later (I'm guessing November sometime).

It's funny: When AF didn't show and I tested negative, I started worrying that DD's renewed enthusiasm for her after-lunch feed might have caused my body to turn on the brakes again. FTR, she's now 11 months old and feeds after breakfast, after lunch and before bed. If she wakes during the night, she'll feed then, too. Feeds are max 20 mins, but usually more like 10 or 15. And here we are, proof that TTC while BFing can happen.

Fx for everyone!

eversomuch congratulations!!

halo I did write down the wake ups and was pleasantly surprised! The first night we had 3 wakes ups about 1, 3, 5 and the second just 2 wake ups :) Then we had a night when I'm sure she only woke up once at 5ish :o Then last night we were back to human dummy situation :( Fingers crossed we are back to normal tonight. Thinking I might write down her wake ups for a couple of weeks and see if there's a pattern. Glad your AF is normal and maybe even nicer than before, so exciting you can start properly trying.

Thinkingof4 great news about the suspecting ov :)

No news here, no signs of ov happening any time soon or of AF showing up. And hardly see DP at the moment, let alone have time for any SWI so a surprise BFP is not very likely. Have been thinking about trying to give DDs 10/11pm feed in a cup to give myself a little more freedom in the evenings (maybe get a night out once in a while :)), was also thinking that it might help kickstart my body into preparing for another, what does everyone think?

Congratulations eversomuch! That's great news! And given that you are still feeding during day that's great news for everyone else too!! It can be done!
Any symptoms at all? Did you have sickness etc last time? Fingers crossed for an uneventful symptom free pregnancy!

Thanks, thinkingof4. I was feeling pretty tired this afternoon, and if I am about 7wks gone at this point, that would make sense. I think I started feeling tired around that time with pg1. Luckily, I didn't get sick; just felt queasy a lot of the time and found keeping a stash of nuts and raisins in my bag for regular grazing helped a lot. :)

I said it on the March thread but will say it again. Congrats everlong!

Day 9, not a glimmer of ovulation yet. I worry its not going to happen now. At first it felt like AF was a good sign but it doesn't mean i'm going to ovulate any time soon. I think I need a shake, its early days yet, I must not get too obsessed.

Thinkingof4 Any sign of AF? When is it due?

highheels Have you tried the cup feed yet? You might find if you go out she will go back to sleep without any milk. I've been out a few times now and often she is fast asleep next to DP who is also snoring away. The only problem with going out is it leaves you shattered the next day!

can I join? I see a few others from the March 2011 thread - just started TTC and am still BF DS3 at 7pm and 6.30am and working FT - all pretty exhausting.

Am just trying to work out if I should be taking extra supplements than the normal ones when TTC seeing as DS3 is still doing his upmost to keep me going with the nursing!

Hi stealth, another one with a hungry ds3 here!!
What are your age gaps?

Halo I think I am 14dpo and did a cheapie today and got bfn. Still no sign of AF though so maybe still hope. I might try with FMU tomorrow as I did today's test in middle of day

Maybe I imagined the whole ovulation thing

Hi thinking
I have ds1 4.5, ds2 2.11, ds3 11months so 17 months then 23 months age gap.
AF only returned just over two weeks ago so we are fingers crossed we may strike lucky again particularly as ds1 took 3 years to come along and we were told we wouldn't conceive without help! How wrong they have been!!!

Congratulations to eversomuch

Still no af here. Dd only has one feed a day now. Am starting to think my uterus is broken. No BFP so not pregnant. So annoyed with my body I feel like shouting at it.

Stealth your boys are similar age to mine. I am now convinced I didn't ovulate as another bfn this morning and no sign of AF.
I'm almost at the stage of thinking I might start charting again so I at least know what is going on. My body is obviously gearing up to ovulate again hence all the signs a couple of weeks ago. Nothing since then though. We are planning to get ds3 into cot v soon though so maybe that will be enough to get things working again.

Any of you charting? My problem would be temping as I rarely have unbroken sleep at the moment. I'll maybe give it a try though

Halo we've tried the cup feed a couple of times now, she's quite happy with the cup but will barely take 20ml from it. Have no idea whether she'd then go off to sleep without milk as I've been here on both occassions so have then given her a feed a little later when I go to bed. Am heading out for dinner with a friend tomorrow night, tempted to try to stay out a little later than usual and see how she does when I'm not available. I figured that DP can always call me and I can jump in a taxi if I'm needed, although I'm not sure if I can do it without feeling guilty. The place we're going does fab frozen margaritas as well, it's going to be a test of my willpower! How're you getting on?

stealth hope you're not too exhausted, think the only supplements you need are the usual for ttc whilst bf, just make sure you're getting the folic acid and I believe you should take vitamin D whilst pg too?

thinking any news?

PS: thinking I was considering charting (don't know why as no AF in sight) but figured it's pointless as long as I'm still up every 3 hours all night.

No news here, no AF, no signs of ovulation, all in all very confusing so think I will start charting for a wee while anyway to see if anything becomes clearer.
I'm off for a night out tomorrow night too highheels and slightly nervous of how DH will get on settling baby without me. Looking forward to it though

Congratulations Everlong!

I had my 1st PP AF 2.5 weeks ago, which came about 12 days after a positive OPK and ov pains. Shame we didn't manage to catch that 1st eggy, though we only managed to DTD once as hubby was working rubbish hours!
I started charting properly and have had a dip then a rise so just got to hope my temp stays high. Also ov pains, increased sex drive and EWCM. I guess I'm in the 2WW?
x