TTC and still Breastfeeding? You are not alone - come to our bf-friendly cafe for a chat and some cake!

[MisterSafetyCatchIsNotOn]

Over here all breastfeeding ttcers! Welcome to our thread - a place for us to come for support, information and to talk about the extra challenges of ttc while still breastfeeding (or expressing like myself).

I thought I should go ahead and start the new thread as the old one is about to fill up and I didn't want anyone to get lost (hope that's ok Waiting and that you haven't already done this and I just missed it!)

For anyone who is new to the thread or needs a reminder, here are a few links to some useful websites (thanks Waiting for putting these together)

kellymom.com/bf/normal/ttc-while-bf/

kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility/

www.llli.org/nb/nbmayjune04p114.html

www.fertilityfriend.com/Faqs/Fertility-charting-while-breastfeeding.html

Hi Mister (and all) I don't know what's going on with my AF -- as I posted on Fri it gave all the signs of starting (i.e. little bit of blood [sorry tmi!]) and then completely stopped, nothing since. Not really sure. It's still only just a calendar month since last AF. I'm usually 28 days but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up tomorrow. Also as I said I stopped BF a month ago so maybe just weirdness related to that. I think if it hasn't properly come by next weekend I'll do a test! Mine have always been v heavy and came back 4 weeks after birth. Will let everyone know, as it might be interesting for people re. the fact I weaned a month ago.

Hello everyone! Hope you all have had good weekends.

Eagle Wow 4 in 4 years. Cor blimey! I can totally imagine the lack of sympathy you might get from her. My relationship with my mil is very strained... No way I could live with her. You are amazing for managing it in my opinion! DS is 17m now. He feeds once a day in the morning, and I'm genuinely surprised every morning that he manages to find something in there. I'll keep doing it as long as he wants it. This has been my first month of trying OPKs. I usually can tell when my body is trying to OV because it hurts and I get EWCM, but I thought I would give them a go to see if I was about right. TBH I'm just more confused now! I don't think I could do them all the time because I'd get obsessed. I tried temping, but kept forgetting to take my temp and DS wakes quite a bit still so Im never sure whether I'm doing it right.

Mister High calorie low GI diet? Is that even possible? Best way to keep weight on might be super large portions or lots of little meals a day. Could you do high calorie sauces with things? I'm underweight and always am. It's a nightmare keeping weight on. I'm sure the healthiest I've been was when I was pregnant. Great news that you OV. And for the more normal length cycle! Less good news about the poss pcos. And AF...

Thinking maybe I should have ago at trying some coffee free days this week. And beer free days. And cake free days

rose, that sounds very positive - a good friend had the same sy

Hello! I'm a graduate (DS is almost 1!) but drop in from time to time to see how people are doing. I often think about jakeyblueblue and wonder how she got in. Anyone know if she got her BFP without weaning? Perhaps she NCed.

D'oh - symptoms and she's due in October :)

Thanks for feedback about the OPKs. I think I'll leave off buying them for a while because I can see myself getting utterly caught up in them.

I don't think I could manage a low GI diet, I'm not very good at doing without pasta, white bread and cake.

Monday again tomorrow, maybe I'll start trying to be healthier then! Altho DS has a rotten cold so he was up umpteen times looking for boob last night so I definitely deserve a plate of biscuits this evening :)

We are v close to moving to our own place which I think will be the key to ttc for us. The older DS gets, the harder it is to be here. My MIL is a lovely woman but when two women love together it's never going to be a walk in the park!

Here's to a new, highly fertile week ahead :)

Stupid typo - LIVE not LOVE!

I think sugar has a lot to answer for in health in general. It's too good though. I've just pulled out the leaflet given to me at hospital about GI recommendations. Will upload a pic so hope it works. I found it handy as a quick reference. It says pasta is a good. Defo not bread though. Ahhhhh the memories are coming back now. At the end of my pg I was desperate for white bread and OJ. I've also read recently that some foods are affected by the preparation... so boiling then mashing potatoes makes them release sugars more than if you roasted them. Makes sense I guess.

Oh dear. No idea if you'll be able to read that info. Not overly clear for me but I'm on my phone.

I remember now. I resorted to existing on protein (eggs for breakie), oat cakes or ryvita with meat for lunch, pasta with meat for dinner. Disgustung sugar-free drinks to wash it all down. Yeuck.

Eagle I charted obsessively with DS and have been doing it half heartedly this time. I did it manually (pen and paper) before but now I've downloaded fertility friend app which is helpful and I'm more likely to fill it in since its easy and my phone is always on me. FF goes a lot on temps so you would need a thermometer. It also analyses your chart for you to say when you probably ovulated. But, it's always in past tense. I'm also being quite A.R about recording DS's growth, milestones and vocabulary so I feel like my whole life consists of monitoring and making notes!!

Thanks zoobaby, that's really useful. Chocolate is low GI the next few weeks are looking up! Do you have any idea if the recommendation for low fat dairy products is just to do with weight control or does that change the GI score? Not sure switching to low fat products would be a good idea for me. I had read that about the preparation too, the more you cook something the easier it is to digest so sugars are released quicker, makes sense I guess.
No idea if it's possible mrsd! I can't manage very big portions usually so it will be constant eating all day for me I think. Definitely wouldn't be doing cake free days if I didn't need to though! How is the tww treating you?
Hi JenniMoo, thanks for dropping in, I don't know jakeyblueblue I'm afraid, she must have been before my time or a nc.
Sounds hopeful rose, you are more patient than I would be waiting til next weekend!
Fingers crossed for the new place eagle, hope you're not waiting long.

I think there's a difference between 80% dark choc and cadbury dairy milk though. Not sure if the asterisks showed up beside the cakes biscuits and chocolate... it says at the bottom *high in fat therefore limit for this reason. No idea about low fat dairy sorry. Probably for weight control.

Yes I was afraid they only meant strong dark chocolate, ah well, guess I can live without it for a few months if it will help me get a bfp! Thanks for the help, really appreciate it. It must have been tough to be so restrictive while pregnant, did you have to stick to it for the whole 9 months?

It the dark choc that's good for you xx

Space for another one?
Have 1 yr old dd who refuses to let good boob! I'm at work so she doesn't feed during the day but makes up for it at night.
Periods have come back and I'm tentatively thinking I need to get a move on as I'm not getting any younger.
Is ttc while bf a lot harder?

Not necessarily harder lemoncurd (apart from finding the time and energy to dtd with a demanding bf toddler to consider!) Especially if your periods are back and regular, there are lots of success stories on this thread. Bf can have an impact on fertility even after periods return though due to the effect on your hormones, by preventing ovulation or a short luteal phase for eg, if you look at the links in the OP they give more info. It can also just be harder to keep track of your cycle as bf can do funny things to your usual ovulation or AF signs. How long have your periods been back for? Are they back to the same length as pre dc?

Howdy Lemon. I found that DS level of BFing dropped right back after turning 1 and having me away from him for a couple of days a week. It was the blooming teething that caused him to nurse during the night. It's been so much better since all his teeth, bar the massive back molars, have come through. There is hope yet.

Mister thankfully I didn't have to be restrictive until the third trimester. But it was long and arduous with the diet let alone the finger tip prick monitoring and the insulin jabbing. I tell ya, diabetes is a crap disease fIr people to get. I have a higher likelihood of developing it as I age and it's something I'm keen to avoid.

I had something funny while BFing DS before bed tonight. He took himself off the boob, looked me right in the eye and asked for his water bottle, took a swig, handed it back, then returned to the breast. What? Actually to be honest, I've suspected that my supply is diminishing and this little episode has just reinforced that suspicion. Lately it's felt a little like he's chomping but not really suckling. Also I've not been feeling as much let down (though I did tonight for the first side). No idea really. He obviously still needs the comfort to calm down for sleep, but maybe that's all he's getting now?

Also for a few months now I've been feeling as though my supply is lower during AF and ovulation (which is half the time gone really). Anyone else feeling the same? If this hadn't been happening previously I'd be getting hopes up for pg.

Well AF arrived this morning. Hey ho :( The positive is that it means my cycles are regulating somewhat - this one was 33 days which is v close to my usual 31 days.

Unfortunately I think I ovulated at CD24 meaning the luteal phase is probably too short (am I right there?). This is a tricky business!!!

zoo, I definitely experience a drop in supply at ovulation and before AF. DS only feeds from one boob and I pump the other to get 1/2 oz for his porridge. My ability to pump dropped significantly the day I got EWCM and also the last 2 days or so. But overall even my right boob (Megaboob) isn't as full as it was even a month ago.

That's a balls about the GD, it's such a frustrating condition. Hopefully that will be your only brush with it.

Just a quick fly by! Hi everyone. TWW is killing me. Still a week to go. How do you all keep busy during it? Doing my head in. DH is off to ikea tonight so that has been helping.

Zoo I definitively have less milk around ov and around when AF turns up.

Eagle I think about 10 days is the minimum LP needed but can't remember why I think that.

Big wave to Lemoncurd!

hello, can I join the thread please? I have a 4 month old DD who I exclusively bf, and I am just about to start TTC again. Its very early, I know, but I am almost 40 and it took 3.5 years and 1 MMC before my DD BFP, so figured I start early to give myself a chance.

My periods haven't returned and I am feeding at 10.30pm and again around 4.30am (shorter gaps during the day), so not sure how realistic it is that I will get a BFP.

Any advice / encouragement welcomed.

Hi everyone and welcome to new people. Sorry I haven't posted for ages-I have been keeping up with the thread but haven't got round to posting.

Cycles seem much more like normal this month for me-think AF will show up tomorrow as I've had some spotting tonight which makes a 29 day cycle with LP of 13 days.

Other big news is that over the last couple of weeks dd has weaned. I feel completely fine with it and she is too-I'm a little in shock though as I thought she would still be going strong at 5 she loved it so much!

Fingers crossed for a BFP for all of us (and hope I can stick around on this thread although no longer bf!)

Thanks for the welcome ladies.
How did your dd wean? Just like that???
Wow. How old is she?
Mine is 1 and I don't know what to do about bf. I'm slowly thinking it's time to stop but at the same time can't bring myself to do it as she loves it so much. Any advice will be appreciated.
I'm also 40 so if I am to ever have another one I need to get a move now!

She turned 3 in June!

I've had two mc while trying to conceive number two and after the second thought the time may be right to wean but she just wasn't ready, although did cut down a lot. I just kept telling myself she would do it when she was ready.

During the night was when my dd loved to bf the most-up until 3 she was still feeding to sleep and 2-5 tunes per night. We still co-sleep.

Don't really have any advice on how she stopped she just became less interested.

Not sure if bf was a factor in my mc but have read that as you get older your body deals with the hormonal changes of bf/pregnancy less well-I'm 37 (so feel the age pressure too).

AF arrived this morning .

Hello TTCers -- just popping in to say I got my BFP! Really excited (and a little daunted). I'll leave the thread now but wanted to say good luck to everyone!

rose, that is brilliant news. Congrats. Wishing you a healthy and straightforward pregnancy.

I'm on an extended BFing group on FB and lots of ladies are expecting as well as long term BFing so it's encouraging to see all the success stories.

Hi to all and happy Friday

Wow rose, brilliant news. Interesting that it's come so soon after weaning.

I'm trying to be patient on the TWW like MrsDiddly. It's a right royal pain. Esp since my TWW is more like 2.5WW.

I received email from MNHQ saying I've been selected for the clear blue OPK test trial thingy. Good to save some pennies (and then some) but I really really really want to be emailing them in a week to say it won't be necessary. Haha. Fingers crossed, but I really must say that I don't feel the slightest bit different alas.