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

Pear I don't know but I expect it would help if breastfeedingn is the reason the LP is short. However, if it's going to be a tricky time then perhaps better and less stressful all round to start thinking about how you will do it and then get ready for the next cycle?

Ps can't stop obsessing about possible bean. Ridiculous!!! Going to be a looong 2ww

Ruinous weekend. DC been crying for 40min out of every hour. I have bf 7pm last night, 11pm, 1am, 3.30am, 5am, 8.30am, 10am, 12.30pm, 2pm. Oh god oh god oh god. It's like having a newborn. And AF still in flow. Witchery if you ask me. Feck.

Hi everyone, sorry I've not been on for a few days. AF finally disappeared completely on cd9.

for you austral I find dd is often more unsettled around AF.

frazzled it's interesting to read your post about breastfeeding affecting oestrogen and opks. I've only used ic opks for two cycles but have never had a definite positive. The test line is either not there at all (ie negative) or it's almost as dark as the control line, which I've optimistically taken to be a positive, since it's around the correct time in my cycle. Hmm, I hope my body isn't just nearly ovulating each month.

Is anyone just starting the hell that is the tww? Need some company!

Austral sending you and . What a nightmare of a weekend! Is DC poorly? Keep telling yourself that this will pass. Hope you are OK!!

Hi Mary yes it is really interesting. Just one thing though. A normal OPK isn't affected because they only test for luteinising hormone. I have Clear Blue Dual Hormone OPKs that identify both "high fertility" days when oestrogen is starting to increase which happens prior to the luteinising surge which is what immediately precedes ovulation. So breastfeeding shouldn't influence a normal OPK stick if you see what I mean.

I am 1DPO so yes, just starting the dreaded 2ww. Not feeling massively hopeful this month but keeping my fingers crossed. What DPO are you?

Ah, I see what you mean. Thank you, thanks useful. Maybe the weak positive is because I struggle to abstain from drinking fluids for any more than an hour!

I'm also 1dpo, assuming I ov'd the day after my positive opk. My last cycle was only 26 days so I may have an answer in 12 days time!

*that's useful. (typo)

Hi Mary just realised I didn't actually type a full sentence above. CB Dual Hormone OPKs identify both high days when oestrogen increases and "peak" days when Luteinising hormone (LH) is surging. Normal OPKs only identify the LH surge.

If it helps, I never got a positive on a regular OPK in my life. I think a combination of timing (the surge can be very quick) and drinking a lot is the main problem.

12 days!!! Not long at all... but then today already feels like it has been really long. So impatient. Even though I think it is very doubtful that we have managed to catch the egg this month, I am already wondering when I can test....

not even up for eating cake but I'll be saving your offerings until I need the binge! Not sure what's up with DC. New teeth, again? Maybe AF? Disruptive weekend? I'm feeling quite down (hormonal?) so might be DC is picking up on it too. Who knows.
I have to admit that there is a small part of me desperate to believe that AF was in fact ib. Some people on the internet say their ib was like a medium period. Not sure how it could be as a medium bleed would surely mean none of your lining would be ledt, so I actually know it is not, but I feel like wasting that pt just to be sure.
Sorry for moaning and not replying to other posts. Backachy and teary and angry and sad and so very tired. DC asleep already (poor thing is exhausted too!) after a bottle rather than boob (which is good) so xf for a better night!
This week we will all of us be happy and cut back bf where needed easily and get positive opks and bfps and our other DCs will be cheerful and compliant and sleep well. Right?

We can hope austral!

frazzled that's encouraging re the opks. I never used them when we conceived dd. Just dtd twice, roughly half way through my cycle and viola - a bfp 2 weeks later! Didn't even stress about the tww. At all. This time I'm sooooo impatient. It's only cycle 2 (cycle 1 of serious ttc really) but I've waited 12/12 for dh to be on board with the idea of dc2 that it feels like so much longer.

Oh Austral - I am so sorry! Hope you (and DC) get some much needed rest tonight and everything looks brighter in the morning!

It is so hard with the IB isn't it! Because you never know what other people's periods are like so "medium" for someone is "light" for someone else. And who knows what an IB is supposed to be like!? I wondered if that is what I was having last AF and so I did an IC just to check but then I realised it was way too heavy. And then you hear about these people who have "periods" all through pregnancy...

Just another way for us to drive ourselves bonkers with all this TTC craziness. Am watching Call The Midwife at the moment. Must have been so much simpler back then when we didn't have so much knowledge at our finger tips... Although I don't fancy giving birth in the 1950s!

Mary wow if you were so quick last time it could be that you won't have to wait very long! But every day TTC feels like two!

Mary, Frazzled fx for BFP in 12 days

Pear fx for big OV soon

Austral this was my DS ALL WEEK except he would wake up at 3 am and want to nurse until 6:30 am Finally last night I went to visit a friend and DH stuffed him full of saved milk and he slept great
Now I'm worried I'm not producing enough milk at night for him. At a crossroads if I should supplement or not
Thoughts?

On the upside I ordered my 1st round of opks so I can find out if I am Ov or not, DS' s sleep pattern ruined temps this week.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Cd22 and my CBfm reads high. It's too late in my cycle isn't it? Oh man this sucks. I've Dtd 5x EOD this last week. It's all I can do. Can't believe I've got to keep going though. This will deffo be the most we've ever done it lol So frazzled...it didn't go straight to peak...how weird is that!

A much better night! Not brilliant but had a three hour chunk of sleep! score!
You said it frazzled There must be a central ref point somewhere. Like if you fill up a small tampon in 2 hours that will be medium or something. I don't know. It's been so long since I've had periods I can't even remember how heavy light I am.
Rosie that's interesting! Maybe you should supplement and see if it makes a difference? When I weaned the evening bf originally a few weeks ago, I would offer the bottle first and then top up/feed to sleep with the boob. Now we only do the bottle before bed unless you have a weekend from hell.
Worth a try? We've had a few almost full nights of around seven hours with the bottle, which we never had with the boob. Not many, but enough for me to think it made a difference.

At least it is on there pear and you've predeposited! Xfxfxfx!

Yup at least something is happening

And it explains the weird knotty cramp feeling in my stomach

OK so AF is due in 11 days...what if I ovulate tomorrow and then that gives the egg 10 days to implant. That would be OK, right? I'm going to be eating every green leaf I can get my hands on today!!!

That's good news pear but don't forget if your ovulation was delayed due to illness then your AF will also be delayed. It wouldn't change the luteal phase. FX! Get shagging!!

Frazzled I don't think it's delayed because of illness. This is the 3rd cycle it's been around the 20cd mark but because my cycles have been shortening I didn't twig that my LP is too short until this cycle

I guess I was expecting to see an earlier ov day this month as I thought things had returned to normal with a 31 day cycle (reduced from 39).

Well Pear 10/ 11 days should be OK! I think 10 is on the cusp. I think that's what I am looking at too... Have to eat lots of pineapple as that apparently helps implantation!! So do Brazil nuts and milk.

I love Brazil nuts