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.

Thanks thinkingof, I read up on it and it sounds like agnus castus is ok with BF. I''ve ordered some. Still no sign of a positive OPK result. TBH I find that smiley face thing really annoying. I'll be looking for another variety when this lot run out.

Congrats on the AF Perpetual.

I'm taking Agnus Castus too - seems ok from what I could find out. It may have an adverse effect on milk supply but don't think that matters too much at this stage! LP was a whole 5 days longer last month than the month before, so I'm hoping it's working...

Don't think I could cope with the smiley face mocking me each month!

Hi all, I am taking vit b6 in an attempt to lengthen my LP. This month it got to 11 days which is enough to conceive so I am really pleased! Having said that though, this is my third AF and the cycles have been getting progressively longer so I am unsure if it's the vit b6 thats lengthened it or whether it is just lengthening out of its own accord. I do know that most bf women's first few cycles are very often infertile so this would ring true with what I have found. Also I have read that vit b6 can reduce milk supply in bigger doses. For this reason, I have started on 20 mg and will build it up slowly of needed..so far no Ill effects. Think you can take up to 100 mg per day.
Well, I am starting to wish I hadn't wished my periods back so soon! Have had the AF from hell! Dreadful PMT! feeling a bit better now though! Also had a pretty noticeable drop in milk supply. Have googled it and seemingly its very common when you've got a period. It happened last month too. Although it builds back up as soon as the bleeding stops, I have to admit I have had a bit of a wobble about TTC. If AF drops milk supply so much, then I might be one of the ones that pregnancy makes it dry up totally! Not sure my ds is ready for weaning at all! Wondering if I ought to wait until the end of the year, just to give him those few extra months! He's only 13 months and still needs his milk. What do you think ladies?

Ps. The cheapie opk's off eBay are fine. I use them and no smily mocking face. 6 quid for 40

My DS is only 13 months too and definitely still needs his milk Jakey. TBH I'm feeling a bit conflicted about potentially causing him to wean, but we're really ready for another LO so I'm just going for it at the moment with an attitude of if it's meant to happen, it will happen.

I've also used the cheapie OPKs, and although there is no mocking smiley face, there is a lot of room for interpretation with their damned faint lines! You can't win either way.

thinkingof4 you are so right re sleep deprivation! I'm taking a month off ttc and observing how I feel each day. Seems that when I get bad nights I get wobbles. More sleep (even in short bursts) equals a more cavalier 'let's go!' attitude. Contact with likeminded mamas inspires my self-confidence and I keep reminding myself that, for me anyway, being a mummy means listening to your heart as well as your head - my whole life I've been too governed by my head so it's an ongoing journey for me! Sure my wobbles will reach gargantuan proportions when the fertile times approach again...!

It's awfully quiet in here! How's everyone doing?

I guess this is my first proper cycle TTC as I just got my period back. CD14 now, but I have no idea if/when I'll ovulate. I've tried OPKs (just the cheapies) but always get a faint line no matter when I test. Maybe the breastfeeding hormones are affecting the test?

Hello all, sorry I've been absent recently.

There is a distinct lack BFPs on this thread now! Bah. I have no exciting news to report. As I said in my last post, I got a positive OPK on CD 19, which surprised me as that's 8 days earlier than last cycle. Today is CD 33. No AF but feeling seriously hormonal so expect it soon, especially as I got a BFN yesterday. Last cycle was 39 days but surely this has to be shorter if I OVd a fortnight ago?

I very much relate to everyone who has wondered if they should stop BF completely. MY DS will be 2 at the end of September, so we've had a good innings. Although I am having periods and the LP seems to be sufficiently long I also feel that maybe BF is somehow having an impact and if I do want another child Ilm just going to have to stop feeding this one. It makes me a little bit sad but not as much as it did a few months ago. I really sympathise with you Jakey and with those of you with younger children though - it's a tough call.

PerpetualProv I have to admit I found the cheapy tests infuriatingly difficult to read and have been using the Clear Blue digital for the last two cycles. Smiley or no smiley - saves you spending ages interpreting bloody lines!.

Ah well. Chins up all!!

It's cd 26 here for me. Expecting af any minute. There was a very slight chance I could have been pregnant, and I've been driving myself a bit mad looking for symptoms. I have had more cramps and more CM than usual over the last few days etc, but I gave in a tested earlier and got a BFN.

I'm not sure I blame the bfing. In my case it's more likely my age and lack of humping.
Hope someone here is having better luck

Hi all! No news here either. On cd 14 here so started opk's a few days ago and nothing yet. Have had some serious wobbles again about getting preggo. Think it's because I now know that I could seriously get pregnant this cycle if we dtd at the right time. The last few cycles it's been hit and miss coz of a short LP. I look at ds and he so loves his boob, not sure how he will react if it dries up coz I am pregs. However, heard yesterday that my terms and conditions are def changing next oct and I will def only be entitled to SMP for the duration so I've got to just do it and stop worrying. We can't afford for me to be on SMP so it's now or never. Guess in the long run ds will benefit far more from a sibling than a few extra months boob and besides, we might be able to carry feeding anyway. Positive thinking!
Def a lack of bfp on this thread. We need to pull our fingers out!

Yes, agree! We need a BFP soon! BR44 and remnant, no news is good news until AF shows!

Good luck Jakeyblue. We'll be due to test around the same time - although CD 15 now and according to OPKs, don't think I've ovulated yet.

Can I join you, my 13mo still breastfeeding throughout the night - absolutely no sign of periods - but would really like to start trying sooner rather than later. My daughter isn't really ready to wean right now - so I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing, but would like a fairly small age gap and it took me a year to conceive my dd.

I'm kind of hoping that getting pregnant would help wean...

Hello all! On day 4 of af currently, 29 day cycle (came on on dY 29 so is that right or is it 28 day cycle?), ewcm in the right timezone last time so decent luteal phase...going for it this month, wobbles or not. Boobmonster still oh-so-booby but hopefully he'll persevere if milk supply drops. Have renewed energy re tandem feeding best intentions and trying to be positive...sort of agree jakey that siblings are forever and boob is the best foundation but they won't be wanting it always...possibly! She says remembering how DS is still bra sniffing and rummaging for boobs constantly...;)

Hi all
I was away last week and have been obsessing about olympics so not been on here for ages. Well dh and I have decided that as it's now so close to me starting a new job that we better wait till I'm -eligible for mat leave settled there before we TTC. So I'm definitely on hold for now! V frustrating as I know I'm fertile NOW and just want to get on with it! However given that this will hopefully be dc4 we have to be a bit sensible about money. I start my new job in a month so won't be gone for long I hope!!
Good luck to everyone this cycle and I hope there are some bfps vv soon

Hi, can I join you all too please? So nice to know you're here because I thought I was the only person in the whole world ttc while still breastfeeding a toddler. GP certainly made me feel that way! Anyway, DS just turned 2 and still feeds twice a day, no sign of giving it up yet. I was quite keen to wean so tried cutting down on the time feeding but he cries his little heart out if I even do that so think I'll leave him to it for a bit longer. I had an early miscarriage a couple of weeks ago and was a bit worried that the breastfeeding had contributed to it, after reading some scary stuff on the interweb, but I'm pretty confident now that it was all nonsense, I hope, and just want to start trying again ASAP. I'm CD19 now so 2ww I guess, though didn't make a conscious effort this month so just trying to not think about that too much & focus on starting next month. Sorry for rambling a bit!

Welcome Weeyun and hello everyone else.

My body is having a laugh. After posting here on Monday that I was on CD33 and waiting for AF I started having what felt very much like Ov pains so I did a test and lo and behold it was positive. So that's two positive OPKs this cycle - one on day 19 (but with no other signs) and one on day 33 (with lots of signs). From what I've read since, I think my body must have been trying to ov but didn't manage it so tried again later. Baffling. So now I have ANOTHER 2 week wait....? Could be the longest cycle since my periods came back, which feels like a backwards step, especially since my DS is feeding less than ever and is sleeping well!

Thinkingof4 - that sounds very sensible. Exciting to be starting a new job too!

Are you sure you aren't Preg br44? Those opk can show positive when you are pregnant. I was reading about it somewhere the other day. In fact it was a thread where a lady had took a hpt at the same time as a opk and both were positive. It might be worth doing a test?

Ps. Welcome to all our newbies!

Hello......where's everyone gone? Are you stuck under a feeding toddler, do you need help?

Can anyone help me with this musing - my main(only) sign of early pregnancy was breast tenderness which felt like pre-menstrual tenderness but went on for longer; I'm not getting the pm tenderness now - presume something to do with the breastfeeding? Do you think therefore I won't get breast tenderness if preggers?

Also, as DS now feeding like a mad thing all night (well suckling I think there's little milk) due to teething, could this set back the progressive lengtheningof luteal phase?

Hope all is well with your plans.

When I was (briefly) pregnant I didn't have the tenderness & the GP said it was because of the breastfeeding (and then gave me a wee lecture on what a weirdo I was for still breastfeeding, needed to 'prioritise' etc. Sorry, off on my own tangent!) So anyway, yeah I think you might not get it or notice it so much if you're still breastfeeding when you get pregnant again.

ooo, a thread for me! dd1 is only 4.5mo but we're thinking as small an age gap as possible without mucking up at least her first yr bf'ing is the path we'll take! yes, it's daunting, yes, it probably will be might be hell, but i think what the hey, there's never a right time and the longer i leave it the harder it will be in career/financial terms...

no sign of a period, we're going to leave it til new year so that if my milk dries up mid pregnancy or she self weans, we'll only have a little formula to buy before she goes onto cow's milk...

i do milk v well though, had major oversupply and have been on 12hr blocks since she was 3wks and she still has plenty - i figure if we do get that far and start looking like drying up i can shorten my blocks in an attempt to up supply again?

as for fertility, dh seems to only need to look at me for too long and i get pregnant, so i feel confident, but if nothing doing by the time dd1 is a year i guess i will have to wean :S

nyaw look, I've managed to kill this thread aswell as the waiting to conceive one!

Hi all, glad to see more activity since my last post! Have to admit its been quite lonely here for a while! Guess we've all been busy trying to make babies!
Welcome to all our new members too!
My ds has been feeding like there's no tomorrow as teething so didn't get an positive opk until day 21 but am hopeful that we may have been successful as we dtd everyday from day 14 and last cycle I had a viable LP. Fingers crossed. Am going on holiday tmrw and have decided not to take any hpt's until
I get back. Technically I should be Due AF whilst I am there so if it hasn't come by
the time I get back I should hopefully be able to pick up a bfp when I get back. Its going to be a nervous two weeks!
Had a minor flap yesterday as felt slightly nauseous lol and began convincing myself I was pregs. Started googling night weaning thinking how the hell am I going to feed two babies all night long. Chickened out when I saw most of it involved crying!
Hope everyone else gets on ok, not sure about the breast tenderness cat. If anything I think it might be worse when breastfeeding. I know that one of the the worse problems with breastfeeding when Preg is the sore nipples. Mine have been sore since ovulation so I am expecting hell for actual pregnancy!

Sorry, I was just talking about the initial swollen-tender boob feeling at the beginning of pregnancy which I believe is sometimes less if you're already breastfeeding, I don't know if that's just because they're already swollen-tender and we've just got used to it or not. I think the nipple soreness is worse, so I've heard. Anyway, as I say I didn't have the tender thing & never got as far as sore nipples.

In other news, I got a very faint bfp this morning. I'm not going to get too excited though after last time, I'm only 13dpo today I think. Don't know when I can start to relax and believe this one might stick. It does feel different though, I don't know whether that's a good thing or not. Anyway, I just wanted to share incase it gives some hope to other breastfeeders! At least the getting pregnant part doesn't seem to be a problem for me anyway. Will update though of course if it all goes tits up again

Well clearly my advice is no use to anybody. Another chemical pregnancy for me. At least it had the decency to end so early this time. Just updating in case anyone's still reading this thread. Maybe my lack of tender boobs is a bad omen. I'm just going to quit ttc for now, until I've stopped breastfeeding. Maybe it's not related but I can't stand thinking that it might be. Good luck everyone.