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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

TTC while breastfeeding anyone?

17 replies

moomymama · 31/10/2005 23:47

Hello all,
Just wondering if anyone was in the same/similar situation?
My DS is nearly a year. DP would love another one soon. DS still bfeeds a lot and I've only had one period (september) since he was born. AF hasn't arrived this month so I'm getting really depressed about my chances of being fertile. On top of this I have slight post-partum hypo-thyroidism (untreated at the moment as it should sort itself out) feeling a little glum about it all (silly really at this early stage I know lol!)
Anyone else out there want to share some wisdom?

OP posts:
ghoulgrrl · 01/11/2005 07:50

hiya moomymama, it's tricky, isn't it? I conceived my second dd when dd1 was 11 months old and still breastfeeding very frequently, day and night. I'd not had a period - must have conceived on the first ovulation. I was feeling quite depressed about lack of periods (we also wanted another baby soon), and didn't realise I was pregnant until I was about 9 weeks along.
I guess the only thing you can do make sure your ds eats more solids so you can feed quite a bit less - apparently the night feeds really suppress ovulation, and try to have big gaps during the day. Maybe have a chat with a breastfeeding counsellor?
Does the thyroid problem affect fertility?

bobbybob · 01/11/2005 07:52

HunkerMunker conceived whilst bfing - hopefully she'll be along at some point.

sweetkitty · 01/11/2005 09:01

I conceived no 2 whilst BFing DD who was 9 months at the time but I had a period every month after having lochia every 4 weeks as before. MW said it was because DD slept (and didn't feed) for 6 hours at night. She reckoned a 4 hour or more gap between feeds is enough to trigger ovulation.

Hope that helps some, hope you see AF soon.

Original poster
moomymama · 01/11/2005 10:03

Yes, thyroid probs can interfere wih fertility. My doc has recommended another blood test to see if things have sorted themselves out. If not I may need medication. Meanwhile we're debating whether to night wean a little bit... Good to know it is possible to conceive whilst breastfeeding though!

OP posts:
mygirllolipop · 01/11/2005 11:10

Message withdrawn

hunkermunker · 01/11/2005 11:21

Hiya, Bobbybob is right, I did conceive while bfeeding. I got pregnant when DS was exactly a year old, the earliest we'd hoped for, shall we say The new baby's due in January 2006, when DS will be 21mo.

He was still bfeeding on demand, although he didn't demand all that often and wasn't having night feeds at the time. I can check, but think I was probably feeding him about three times a day, but could've been four or five.

Good luck with it - it is possible!

noops · 01/11/2005 11:33

my friend concieved her second dd when fully feeding her first dd at 4months old, so it is poss.
How anybody gets the energy to concieve a baby so soon after the first one amazes me!

Original poster
moomymama · 01/11/2005 13:45

Noops, I know what you mean! I'd never have believed
that I'd actually feel ready to TTC (DS is nearly a year), but we always knew we'd try and have smaller age gaps. Thanks for the great replies everyone - really encouraging!

OP posts:
fresco · 26/01/2006 22:39

hi there

i conceived dd2 when dd1 was 14 months and was b/f night and day.But i was brooding so crazy that i ended up using thermometer for my basal temp.but its possible.and yes, i also heard that b/feeding at nite suppresses ov and messes up periods.mine were all over the place

bobblehead · 27/01/2006 01:23

I would love to get pregnant again now but dd (8 months) still breastfeeds every 2 hours at night

Babydaze · 27/01/2006 01:42

My sister recently revealed she is pregnant again. It wasn't planned - She is still breastfeeding her 10 mth. old ds & seemed to believe the old wife's tale that breast feeding is a method of contraception NOT She was bf day & night & had 1 period before conceiving. Incidentally, she also has a 2yr old dd & was breastfeeding her when she conceived the now 10 mth old!(hope that makes sense?)I am that she did the same thing again.Good luck to you because you know what you want and have a plan!

fresco · 27/01/2006 08:55

dear bobblehead
do you no express your milk at night? i heard, dont whether its true or not,but that helps with being able ttc

Miaou · 27/01/2006 09:04

Hello I'm ttc and still bf/ing ds (6 months as of Tuesday!). My periods haven't restarted but I have just cut down on night feeding to once (and sometimes he is sleeping through). It's possible I am pregnant just now (got lots of signs!) but I got a bfn on Wednesday and will test again next week. I've got two girls aged 7 and 8, then ds, and we want a fourth fairly soon so that we have a similar age gap as we have between the dds (17 months).

mygirllolipop · 27/01/2006 09:34

Message withdrawn

bobblehead · 27/01/2006 16:13

fresco, I can never manage to express more than a couple of ounces and I'm sure she takes way more than this at night. She doesn't feed much through the day though (hence the many night feeds I assume) so was sort of hoping this might help. I did notice a little spotting a couple of weeks ago and some cm this month so hoping things could be getting back to normal but not expecting too much!
Fingers crossed for you Miaou!

fresco · 29/01/2006 19:56

when we want ttc and still b/feeding, how/why do we need to space out the feeds?especially at night or even stop b/feeding at night? dont understand why.How does it work?

fresco · 29/01/2006 19:57

also, after a c-section, can i still look for same signs of fertility without a periods if they dont come bak straight away?

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