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

[eagle2010]

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.

Seeing as I filled up the old thread I thought I should start the new one!

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). I hope I've worked the links properly.

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

Ooh fingers crossed Hide. I think the internet cheapie can be a bit hit or miss so hold fire and use fmu tomorrow. Perhaps pee into a pot and then you can dip the CB AND another IC?!

Austral definitely sounds like something is happening. I literally spent an entire year TTC while feeding and waiting for AF (or a BFP) to show up and she only came once I cut down to one feed a day (from on demand) a few weeks ago. I feel like I wasted a year stressing about potentially being pregnant and feeling upset about not being pregnant. . Really not up for another year of that so if nothing happens soon I will be weaning DD completely .

Pear that's interesting that you went straight to peak last time. Perhaps that is a breastfeeding thing? I am hoping that might happen to me as I can't see how there is time for me to have 3-4 days of high fertility before a peak now... . Hopefully we will both be high fertility tomorrow. Although for me most of my signs have disappeared again. Perhaps stress has postponed ovulation as it has been quite a fraught week and I am shattered. In fact I am sitting in bed with my laptop about to go to sleep and it isn't even 9 o'clock!

Frazzled - it's so hard not to stress about it isn't it! I doubt bf has anything to do with not getting highs and suddenly getting peaks. Unfortunately my body is just taking forever to return to normal. I started off on a 39 day cycle and each month it has reduced 2 days. Last month was 30 days so I'm expecting this month to finally be 28days! I do think that if I had weaned earlier then it wouldn't be taking so long but I don't regret not weaning earlier. However, if we're meant to get two high days and 2 peak days then something is not right as I haven't had a high day yet. I'm dreading staring at the cbfm waiting for the bar to go up in the morning! Oh well. At least I am Dtd EOD and that is happening...could be failing at that too and my second line looked stronger again this afternoon so something is happening!

Another day another negative CB OPK.

Pear I am totally dreading doing the OPK each day. It's just depressing! That said I don't regret not weaning sooner I just wish I hadn't TTC while feeding so much. Even now I am wondering if we should wait until DD is completely weaned...

frazzled do an opk twice a day once you start seeing a faint line. 11am/12pm and 7/8pm. You might miss a surge otherwise as they can be as short as 8-12hrs only!

Here I stopped bleeding last night and also had nothing g early this mornkng so was feeling positive about it being early implantation, but just went to the loo and noticed it came back and is darker now when I wiped. glad I didn't waste a pt this morning
If it is AF I'm confused about why I had an lh surge and then a period a week later, but if it is AF at least I know I am vaguely back on the money!

Frazzled - cd18 and nothing on my cbfm too!!! Looks like I'll peak at cd20 again. Grrrrr what's this all about

Austral ~ it does sound like AF like you say though at least you know you're at the start of your cycle!

Hide ~ any news?

Hi Austral the CB digi ovulation test is supposed to see oestrogen rise as well as LH so it can tell when you are getting ready to have the surge which is why you get the high fertility days before the peak days which indicate the surge. However, I didn't trust it so also have done FR OPKs the last two afternoons and on both the second line was barely visible so a definite negative. I have been temping and temps have been very consistently low so no temp spike and no missed ovulation. This is either going to be a mammoth long cycle or an anovulatory cycle - neither of which are rare when breastfeeding... Sigh.

Your bleeding does sound a bit weird. That said breastfeeding can do all kinds of craziness to your cycle including making your luteal phase shorter so it is possible that you have had an early AF. I got my AF 10 dpo (or after I thought I might have had an almost surge of LH). I have never had implantation bleeding so no idea how heavy it can be but perhaps do an IC test tomorrow just to be sure?

Good morning. Got BFP on the CB test and an IC this morning. Still really faint on the IC so don't see how they can be as sensitive as they claim to be.

Still a bit in shock to be honest and nausea seems to have arrived at 4+1 which I'm sure can't even be possible!

I really thought I was going to have to wean. Fingers crossed for everyone else this cycle.

Yay hide!!! That is amazing! Woohoo! I'm so envious but also happy for you and that the thread is no longer dry 4 week? Does that mean you didn't ov when you thought?

I am convinced I will now have to wean next month

Oh hide how brilliant brilliant for you! Fantastic news! Stick little bf bean!!!
frazzled I forgot you did the whole shebang of temps and things! That'll probably tell you all you need I'm sure. No harm peeing on a ic opk at 8pm though?
Actually really glad you mentioned about the potential for bf to fuck up shorten the luteal phase. A five day lp is almost non-existent as a phase in itself but yes I'll be disappointed but still pleased to have made headway. And can start ttc again sooner. I also didn't have ib with dc1 so no idea. Still no proper flow and no leaking; only visible when wiping.
Tum-te-Tum

Thanks pear. I reckon it will be you next!

I thought I was 4 weeks cos my last AF was 6th jan and that's how they work it out? I think I ovulated on the 23rd. Does that mean that really I am less?

Hide -How many times did you Dtd?

Wow Hide that's great news! (Though not about the nausea... Multiples perhaps...? ). So there is hope!! And without weaning Pear (though I am thinking the same thing).

Austral I would probably POAS anyway just to see...
And yes will do another OPK tonight. It's got to happen sometime, right??

Yes hide you're 4 weeks. It just sounds so weird when only yesterday you didn't know if you were or not.

Hide ~ did you get strong lines on both your OPks? I need to know all your tips now

Thanks frazzled! Just told DH that your risk of multiples is increased if you conceive when BF and he looked a little ill.

Pear I had two positive OPKs one on cd14and one on cd17which was very confusing and ewcm on both days so DTD those two dates that week but also maybe once or twice earlier on in the cycle. They were both quite dark lines but 3 days apart?!

Frazzled ~ how dark has your FMU been recently? Weirdly mine is always dark but this week it's much weaker. DS has been waking up an hour earlier but I can't see how that would have an effect. Maybe it's because I have a cold?! But that's weird. I'm just wondering whether this is having an effect on my cbfm results. Or I just need to be patient and wait until cd20 to get a stupid peak

Thank you austral! I am keeping my fx this one sticks and I see all you lovely ladies in an antenatal thread soon.

Ooh Hide - did you ovulate twice...? eek!!

I would love be terrified to have twins.

Pear my FMU has been quite weak too. I have been drinking quite a lot of water overnight because I had a bit of a sore throat so kept waking up needing a drink. I have been thinking that it could be that too.

BUT BUT BUT I did always have longish cycles of between 30-35 days so if I ovulate on CD 20 or 21 (Sunday or Monday) it will still be vaguely within the normal run of things. AND if the first cycle is often a really long one I guess I just need to be patient. I am really not very good at that.
I just got really confused because of all the EWCM I had the other day. . What CD are you on Pear? Today I am CD 17.

Frazzled ~ I'm on cd18. Are you Dtd EOD too?

Trying to although DH is out tonight so not sure if that is going to happen.

Congratulations, what brilliant news Hide! Twins wow, I didn't know that was a possible side effect. This feels like a lucky thread, I'm so glad I joined!

I have a clear blue monitor I bought when I was getting desperate last time I'll have to dig out. Can I just ask, Opk is ovulation prediction kit, is that right? What is it people are using and do you find it helpful keeping track of things?

Hi ladies, I'm sorry to gate crash your thread but I have a dd aged 16.5 months who I still bf at night and I got my first af today so I guess we are officially ttc!

I'm a bit clueless, and the last of my mummy friends to be bf, so hoping for a bit of advice along the way.

Congrats HIDE wonderful news! Im sorry about the nausea but that is a good sign for a sticky bean! I wish you a borning pregnancy

FRAZZLED, PEAR FX for you ladies! Your next

Welcome FEATHER & HEATTY

MARY, how are you?! [Hmmm]

Hope all you ladies are having a wonderful day!

Hello all. Lost this thread for a while.

Eagle - we succsesfuly night weaned just before Christmas. DD was 18 months. We started when she was a bit older than 1 using the Jay Gordon method, although DD was on a mega teething spree during those 6 months (she cut 8 teeth during that period, a full set of incisors and molars) so several times I went back to night feeding, to support her when she was distressed in the night, and becuase she would eat less in the day when it pain.

Our basic method was: the Jay Gordon approach, although with the following adjustments:

1. Start on a day when DD had eaten well. When we first started I would offer her her favourite food (at the time usually pasta) after whatever else she'd had for dinner. An unlimted amount and I'd encourage her to eat it (I'd offer it to her while playing before bedtime, until she said no more a couple of times). this is because both DH and I are tall and skinny with fast metabolisms, so DD has a fast one too, I think. She did usually glug down a big feed in the night - for her she neeeded nightime feeding for a long time I don't think she would have been ready or able to cope without much younger. So I wanted to be as sure as I could she wasn't hungry when we night weaned. I did this every night, and if she was eating little (usually becuase of teething pain, or a cold), i was ready to be more flexible on the night feeding.

1. Send DH in - if she saw me she'd want to be fed and get very very cross about it. DH would go armed with some milk (either expressed or cows), some water, and some other things she like to eat (banana, babybel). Usually the first night she'd get very upset /cross but then after a while calm down, have something to eat, and go back ot sleep cuddled up with DH. the first night she'd often be awake for 2 hours, and could be cross/ upset for a while. You have to use your judgement on whether they are putting up a fight (in which case stick it out) or genuinely upset (in which case it is too early). DD is strong willed, so wasn't going to just let it go. But in general for us I knew we were along the right lines if by the second night the upset / wake up time was much less. A few nights of this and she'd decide it wasn't worth the bother of waking for a bottle / food and sleep a longer stretch. She'd also eat noticeably better in the daytime. When we first did it when she was one, we go to sleeping until after 5am fairly rapidly, then I'd feed and sleep next to her until morning. Whenever she went longer herself, I'd make that the new 'don't feed before time'.

1. However, we had some mammouth teething bouts, and then through the autumn she had a couple of nasty colds and bronnchiolitis. At all these times I went back to night feeding and co-sleeping. When things settled down, we'd try it again. Once i did it myself, settling her back offering just water when she woke. it took a couple of nights with little protest (DH was away with work). Twice DH did it, with the approach above.

1. She had a cold in mid December, and after that the send DH approach in backfired. She got very very upset and would only calm down if I went in. So that time, I did it myself. I did have food to offer as well as water, but as she was 6 months older, she didn't need it. When she woke, I'd go in, offer her water and give her a cuddle. She'd ask for boobs. I'd explain boobs were sleeping, nighttime was for sleeping, boobs would be ready in the morning, offer water. Then if she was upset I'd put her back in her bed, tell her i loved her and leave her for a minute or two (timed it on my phone). go back and do the same thing. the first night I went back 3 or 4 times, the second night twice, the third night once. And after that, more or less she sleeps through. We were at the PILs over christmas and usually night wakings would start when we're somewhere different but when we were there I did the same and within two nights she was sleeping throug there too.

It has been a big step change for us, her daytime eating shifted up a gear around the same time. She has a nasty cold at the moment so coughing wakes her in the night and she isn't eating much, so I am feeding and co-sleeping to support her through it. But I'm reasonably confident she will go back to sleeping through once she is better, either by herself, or with a little encouragement.

I hope some of this is useful!