The All New TTC whilst Breastfeeding Support Thread

[haloflo]

Have a breastfed baby or toddler? Why not try for another one?! Who needs sleep anyway?

Come join us whether you are waiting for your first period in months or are are a few months into trying.

My temp continues to be all over the

Oops hit reply. Stupid phone. Anyway... my temp is still all over the place and still no ovulation at CD 32. I'm hoping for either AF or that my body tries again in a couple weeks. My DH just came down with the flu so no BDing for us! If I get another positive OPK I am going to try giving my baby some expressed milk over night instead of nursing to see if that helps my body get the job done.

Well, 8dpo here. After saying I wasn't symptom spotting, I spent most of yesterday convinced I was preggers. Felt sick as pig all day. Sadly not. Clearly a bug as ds then started puking too!! I'm def holding out til AF due to test now!
I've totally given up temping. I co sleep too And even when I've had 3 hrs unbroken sleep, I sometime forget to do it on waking. My chart was ridiculous. All over the shop so stopped. Hope you guys have better luck.

Hello all...just thought I'd update that I wasn't losing the plot thinking my body was going crazy as AF appeared last night! Now curled up on the sofa with a hot water bottle as stomach cramps pretty bad :( but at least I am pretty sure that I ovulated the other week and now have a date that I can start keeping an eye on what my cycle is doing before we start Ttc number 2! Am strangely excited about having AF despite feeling lousy with it! My DS cut his third tooth yesterday too and I think has another 3 v soon on the way!! Hoping he sleeps better tonight than last!

Well I don't need to worry about dating a pregnancy now as af showed up on wednesday along with some annoying cramps. Feeling better today, so well probably start ttc properly tomorrow :)

God, I've signed up to Fertility Friend and my obsession has reached a new level! I never knew there were so many different symptoms that can indicate ovulation.

Today was my second day of temping. My temperature has gone up 0.4 degrees Celsius from yesterday and today is the 3rd day after my positive ovulation test. I'm not trying to read anyhing into it as firstly, I don't expect temping to work for me with all the interrupted sleep and secondly, it's only been 2 days and it would be a massive coincidence if I had just caught my ovulation day.
However, I read some encouraging stuff on the net by other interrupted sleepers who say that eventhough their temps can sometimes be errativ, there's still a clear pattern that indicates ovulation. Hope I'm one of them.

Does anyone else have some sort of date that they need to be pregnant by or are you all pretty laid back about the whole process?

Evening all , wondering if you had any advice for me. If any of you had a short leuteal phase, how long did it take to settle down to a reasonable length? Currently had 3 months of 8 days which I know isn't quite long enough. Have googled it but knew I could trust you lot!

Minicc, my AF came back in may and I've had an LP of 8- 10 days ever since. After ttc ever since and having no success, I have come to the conclusion that the LP is the problem so I started vit b6 daily. Had been googling it and found others recommended It. Vitb6 inhibits prolactin, and its the prolactin that inhibits the progesterone you need for a reasonable LP. First cycle of 50mg daily and got LP of 12 days! Would certainly recommend it. 10dpo tmrw so will see how long it gives me this month. Seriously doubting I'm pregs.
I'm trying not to be obsessed by this all anymore, really ned to be Preg by oct as my terms and conditions at work change and I will get less mat leave. Hoping if I just chill it will happen. Ds feeding ridiculous amounts at the moment though. He's going through a phas of having to touch or suck one of my nipples every hour! Hoping this particular phase won't last much longer!!!

So the VitB6 worked within 1 cycle for you, Jakey?

Is it quite safe while breastfeeding?

Thanks Jakey, will have an investigate today. I had heard about b6 but was a little unsure as to how it worked, it makes sense though. I'm sure you will get there soon enough, it's v tough when they feel so entitled to a nipple for entertainment purposes! Thanks for your help x

Well I've had AF this morning with an LP of 10 again, having said that I missed several days of crucial doses (lead up to AF) when I was ill. It did give me appear to increase it to 12 days last cycle though.
It's perfectly safe when bf in doses of up to 100 mg per day. The only warning I's that because it lowers prolactin levels it can cause a drop in supply. Ds is 18 months so dropping supply isn't really an issue but I guess if your lo is smaller then it might be. Tbh I have only noticed a tiny drop if any at all.
I feel thoroughly fed up today. Might give up for a few months as I can't see me getting Preg without weaning and ds is do not ready just yet :(

Oh Jakey, don't lose hope.

What we're trying to do is hard work - bf itself hard work, working with a small person and ttc, leave alone if you've got deadlines on when you want to be pregnant by and getting sick. Perhaps give yourself a bit of a break and have a with your OH?
No news here. Have stopped testing for the moment as too many BFNs make for a sad Sarnie, and decided it was probably my first pp AF (4d-long implantation bleed a little hard to believe). The +ve OPK only 5d before AF worries me though, so have dug out my old b6 tablets (I had some short cycles after stopping the Pill in 2010), and have started with the OPK again as I have no idea of cycle length.
BabySarnie still feeding at 11, 2, 5am like clockwork.... hoping that this phase will end soon and I will start to feel human again...
Yesterday BabySarnie found one of her old bottles from when that was something that we were trying, playing with it and putting in mouth etc., I got all excited thinking perhaps she'd like to try some milk that way... went to trouble of cleaning it all up, no, just wanted to play Mummy :(

Agree with Sarnie, don't give up Jakey.
I've not been on this thread for long so I don't know your whole ttc story but are you sure you're ovulating? And are yoy dtd often enough?

I'm having a bit of a shit day myself. AF arrived this morning, meaning that this cycle was only 29 days instead of the 42 I had in my last cycle. I guess the positive thing is that shorter cycles mean there are more of them quicker and therefore more fertile days. BUT and this is why I am upset, if my ov tests were right and I have no reason to doubt them, my luteal phase this cycle was only 4 or 5 days, catastrophic!

So I did some more research, and then some more and even more and what I have come up with for the lenghtening of the lp is the following:

-vitex (agnus castus)
-vit b6 (as mentioned by Jakey)
-raspberry leaf tea
-progesterone cream
-diet changes (no alcohol, caffein, chocolate, high fat/high sugar foods)
-loads of veggies, fruit, wholegrains, complex carbs
-vit C

I'm not sure how safe the vitex is when breastfeeding as there is conflicting information out there and I certainly think the progesterone cream sounds dodgy but I've not researched that.

So I bought some Vit B6 today and have started to take 50mg with my prenatal vitamins. I'm also drinking the raspberry leaf tea. Will see what that does to this cycle and the consider adding vitex from next cycle.

Feeling very down about it all. I wonder if there's a chance my lp will get longer by itself...

Hope everyone else is having a better time.

Hi all, thanks for the words of encouragement guys, don't worry though, not giving up but am beginning to think its unlikely to happen whilst I am still bf so I'm going to try and stop getting my hopes up and be a bit more realistic about things. AF came back in may last year and been ttc since then, although a couple of cycles I knew I couldn't be Preg as was ill or totally missed ov for one reason or another. Guess its not that long in the grand scale of things but feels that way when everyone from the original thread is Preg and you're not! Oh well, it took ages for ds so I should prob expect the same again.its def my LP that's the problem so I sympathise huxtable. Am sure im ovulating but LP 10 days even with b6. Am thinking of increasing to 100mg if not worked this cycle.
It's so frustrating! Makes you wonder why the hell AF has bothered returning if LP is useless!
If its any consolation huxtable, my LP was shorter than 10 days when AF First returned so it has lengthened of its own accord as the months have passed.

Well... this crazy cycle just keeps rolling. Now on CD 40. FF thinks that I ovulated and that I'm at 9 DPO but looking at my temps I'm not convinced (and countdown to pregnancy says I haven't ovulated). Getting BFNs when testing. It is so frustrating not knowing what is going on!

Oh and forgot to mention... My DD has now started biting me while nursing. She has two teeth so it HURTS!

Another update! Looks like I was right about not ovulating. Got another positive OPK on CD 41! My body is trying to ovulate every 13 days like clockwork. Anyone else ever have this happen?

Lis I've not heard of whatever it is that's going on with you. Well, not about the regular pattern anyway but I do know that your body can try to ovulate several times in a cycle and not manage.

This thread is really quiet at the moment. Surely there must be more ladies on mn ttc while breastfeeding. Would be good to exchange experiences with more people. I keep reading through the old threads, trying to find encouraging stories but do wonder if most of the old posters ended up weaning in order to conceive.

we gave up. dd is 10mo & pretty much day weaned apart from naptime, and she doesnt nap every day now either. night feeds = one at bedtime, one during night, one just before waking up. i also dont let her suckle for ages, so effectively 3 workmanlike feeds in24hrs. despite this, no sign of AF, let alone anything else. we missed our 'window' to fit another child in and tbh given the way our finances have spiralled recently, adding another baby was beginning to look like lunacy.

so instead of a small age gap i think, barring accidents, we're lookiung at a long one instead :( im seeing it as a positive though...no toddler and newborn, dd1 fully mobile and able to be reasoned with etc etc...

It is a bit quiet on here, I suspect people drift through , also that this isn't that common, wanting to bf and have a second quickly. I've had a couple of convos with random people from extended postnatal circle, and no-one else is admitting to ttc just yet, even with bigger babies (DD is 15mo). Are there tandem feeding threads (for fully graduated people) under bf?

BoPeep, I think that at 10mo this is early days for AF , even with the amount of feeds you're doing (less than I am currently). I have only just had my first pp bleed, and my GP was completely unconcerned when I mentioned no AF a few weeks back. I got a bit overexcited at the presence of a +ve OPK, and convinced myself I'd got pregnant without AF, am now trying to figure my cycle out.
lis the biting is a pain (literally); what you're supposed to do, is stay calm, press baby towards breast so that they have to let go (rather than risk pulling them off whilst still biting ) and sternly say 'no'. What usually happens with me though when dd has a phase of this, usually when new teeth coming in, is that I yell and she laughs.

yes I realised it was a longshot...too far for us!

mine's a biter - she doesn't clamp down though (thank god) she nips, but it does mean it's over too quickly to actually DO anything about it. She thinks it's funny.

Hi can I join you all? Looking to conceive baby no 6. It might be a longshot as I'm nursing no4 once a day and no 5 A LOT (he is 10 months).
To reassure those who are doubting I was bf when fell pregnant with no 2,3 and 5.

Hi all, most people who were originally on the thread, ended up Preg without weaning so it def can be done, I think I'm the only original threadster who hasn't conceived, but tbh I've always been super sensitive to hormones. Had awful morning sickness and a life long sufferer of pmt do I'm not suprised I'm more sensitive now. Ds is also feeding quite frequently now, hoping its just a phase and he starts dropping feeds again soon. I'm thinking I will start gently weaning once he reaches 2, he turned 19 months today.
The biting is a pain! Ds never really had issues with this but he has bit a couple of times when he was cutting teeth. Copore is absolutely correct in her advice. I just put the boob away and made it quite clear that's what happened if he bit. He's now only got his last 4 molars left to cut and even with a full mouth of teeth, we don't have any biting thank goodness.
I'm on cd 9 now and starting to get a bit of ewcm so have started the shagging ( yawn). I'm going to try being a bit more realistic this cycle, I'm not going to give up but I am going to remember that my LP is crap and that's because I'm choosing to carry on bf!

Thanks for all the feedback on the biting ladies! My DD definitely thinks it is funny. I have noticed that she tends to do it at the end of a nursing session when she is starting to get bored so I have been cutting her off when she gets the mischievous look on her face. As for TTC I am now on CD 45 and it looks like my body's third attempt to ovulate this month was a failure. Here is a link to my crazy chart I you are interested: www.fertilityfriend.com/m/home.php/370529

Hello everyone,
nonsense lovely to hear of someone who did conceive that often while bfeeding. Where you still feeding through the night though? And how old were your chilren each time?

Jakey I'm on CD 9 today so we're kind of at the same stage. I'm getting quite curious to see if the B6 and raspberry tea helps me to ovulate earlier. If yes, i'd expect to see some fertile signs fairly soon. Have you considered trying other stuff for your luteal phase?

Lis That chart does look funny! What kind of OPK are you using? The smiley face ones? Your temps also go up after the + tests but don't stay up. What does that mean?

BoPeep I'm sorry you have to take a break from ttc. It sucks when circumstances don't allow for another baby at the moment.

As for me, my temps are all over the place but I guess that's to be expected as I always take them at a different time and with interrupted sleep. I'm wondering whether I should just set my alarm clock and take it at the same time every morning no matter how much sleep I had before? I only wake up for a few minutes anyway and because of the co-sleeping I don't move much either when feeding DD. Thoughts anyone?

Something is giving me good skin at the moment. It's either all my vitamins or the tea. Weird.

If my cycles stay regular now, we'll start ttc in mid April, less than 3 months to go. It feels like forever though.