TTC and still breastfeeding? Thread #4: Pull up a chair for some support from others on the journey!

[Augusthomotherium]

Yes, we know all about how emotional and hard it can be! All the pros and cons, all about missing Aunty Flo's and wtf cycles with no ovulation, all about children being cute and pointy. No matter if you are five months or twenty months down the breastfeeding timeline, if you're ttc again, this is the thread to join! Welcome!

Hi all hope you don't mind me dropping in on you!

I'm bf my toddler (just once a day now) and have just started ttc for dc2.

What do I need to know? Will my milk change if I fall pregnant? My hv tells me my fertility should be fine. Is there anything else I haven't thought of?!

Thanks in advance

Hi Lost, welcome
Well that's another duff piece of advice from a health visitor! Your fertility may be fine but it can be surprisingly difficult to fall pregnant while still breastfeeding as many ladies in this thread will tell you.
But on a positive note, if your lo is a bit older now and you're only feeding once a day your chances are good! When did af return, assuming they have?

And yes, more bleeding today ????
It's not enough to be certain but it's not filling me with hope. I wish it'd just get on with it.

Thanks Ispy. Oh gosh, I'm sorry to hear it can be tricky! Ds is 28 months and AF returned about 18 months ago and has been regular as clockwork. Having said that, it took a year to conceive first time around so I'm in for the long haul if necessary. Good luck to everyone on this thread

Hi lost, I've seen a lot of ladies fall pregnant on this thread whilst bf so don't loose hope but also don't get your hopes up because I've had to quit bf when DS was 22 months and months later (3/4 approx) I've still not fallen pregnant. I think the sooner you're aware of it the sooner you can accept that it will happen when it happens. Sounds like you know this already

I spy - sorry it sounds like AF may be showing up for you Have you seen an improvement on your cycle length or LP this month to help matters?

Hi lost I'm new on here too! Bf can still affect your fertility but if you're only feeding once a day and your having regular cycles you may just get lucky. While I'm having regular (for me) cycles my lp is on the shorter side and we had issues trying for ds so I'm thinking it may be a while! I hope it's not for you though!

Ispy sorry it looks like af is arriving

Pear how have your cycles been since yu stopped bf?

No Pear this has definitely been a wtf cycle! I used to be pretty textbook- 28-30day cycle, relatively early ovulation, nice long lp. This first pp af has been 37days so far, late ov if at all!

Mini - Ever since I begun monitoring my cycles they've been all over the place since AF returned when DS was 14mths (now 25). I got all excited when I stopped bf as I had a shorter cycle in the 20's but last cycle was then 36 days I always seems to have a 11/12 LP no matter what length my cycle is.

Hi Peardrop and Mini, and thanks for the advice and good wishes Could I ask what an lp is please?

Luteul phase (the phase after you ovulate and before AF arrives)

Hi lost and welcome. Yes have a look at lp, as it seems to be something a lot of us have issues with. You may be fertile and ovulating and producing a the right stuff for the first part of the cycle, but if your progesterone is low it might not keep your endometrial lining in tact longh enough to for a fertilized egg to implant and take root. I've been struggling with a 6-7 day luteal phase since cutting down in December to bring AF back and then stopping completely in april, and my lp is still too short to let me fall pregnant. Bf can screw up both your oestrogen and progesterone or both. And obviously for a long time. I'm on progesterone now go try and help the endometrium stay in tact. If you're clockwork as you say, it should be very easy for you to be able to calculate your lp. Anything less than 10 can be problematic although if the egg implants really early on it may be fine. Ideally you want an lp that is about 12 days or longer.
Good luck!

Sorry to hear things are looking less positive for you ispy. I wouldn't worry too much about this cycle being all over the place, it does take some time for everything to settle back to normal pp. Though as I've said before, wtf cycles definitely don't mean you won't get pregnant .

Also hello to lost!

Thanks Trin, I'm almost certain it's af now ????
I suppose I can't even be sure I ovulated as the static smiley just indicates a lh surge right?
Ds still bf loads and we won't be able to cut down too much anytime soon so I'm worrying that it's not going to happen for us for a very long time.
On the positive side, I did invest in some lovely cloth pads and sea sponge tampons that I can now try out-the sponges are actually amazing!

Hi! No, not CentreParcs this time, Bluestone in Pembrokeshire and it's been lovely leaving today though, so normal service mithering will resume shortly x

There is absolutely no way DH and I could have dtd this weekend so I'm so glad we weren't expecting to be able to we've been so busy with having to take DD to her early morning and afternoon activities and with all the swimming, walking, fresh air etc we were shattered come bedtime may try to dtd after we get home though x

Pear, great news re the Doctor I'm relieved to hear that if you're having regular af's that everything should be okay and it's just a matter of time x

Thank you both - think the intermittent poor latch is teething DD has been ramming her fingers into the back of her mouth a lot this weekend, bless her x

Welcome Lost, and good luck on your journey. Lots of women on here get their bfp having cut down to one feed a day Generally, their Breastfed DCs also seem to self-ween/lose interest shortly after the bfp as the taste of milk seems to change. And I'd recommend combining poas with charting your basal body temperature to know how long your LP is x

ISpy, sorry to hear AF has arrived maybe take up temping to know for sure if/when you've ovulated? Sorry if I've already said thus to (probably have, but I lose track ) I've found temping invaluable. Knowing you can pinpoint exactly when ov occurred is great, but your bfp optimism can be cut short when your bbt drops and you know AF is just around the corner x

Hi to lost and mini

Nothing to report here really. I think I might have finally managed to wean myself off of my anti-depressants. Aside from some mild withdrawal I'm feeling OK. I want to be off them before getting PG so feeling good about that.

Took DS for a day out yesterday and we saw THREE sets of identical twin girls. THREE! I was so spooked out I thought it was an omen that I was pregnant with twins so I wasted £10 on a test and POAS. . Obviously BFN. What is WRONG with me?

I still say the twin thing is weird, though.

cupcake hah dc's one playgroup has three sets in too!

I just laughed out loud at you having to poas because you saw three sets of twins, cupcake . We are all addicted to poas, aren't we? Fantastic news that you have been able to start weaning yourself off the ad's without much problem .

Ava I'm really pleased to hear that you (and your Dh) were able to have a proper break from ttc stress this month. Are you trying again next cycle?

Thanks for the info and all the hellos everyone! This is all very interesting. I'm going to give the whole thread a good read later and see what I can learn. A whole new world indeed. Last time I ttc I didn't know about mn so it's good to have some lovely company on the journey this time.

Aww Cupcakes, I has loads of pg 'signs' again last month and I still got a bfn. Sorry about yours (and yes, that would've freaked me out too!) but glad it's not just me who does that well done re the ad's too x

DD actually confirmed today that she has some teeth coming through. She actually told DH 'me got teeth coming out'

Yes, Trinpy, we are definitely getting back on the wagon next month I'm asuper organised person so it's weird not to know exactly where I am in my cycle right now, so I can't wait to start temping and poas again next month. I did poas earlier and it was totally negative. If I'd seen a positive I would have forced myself to dtd but I'm telling myself I've missed my peak so I can have a much-needed rest

Yes well done Cupcake reducing your antidepressants but make sure you look after yourself. Don't beat yourself up if you find you need to go back on them.

Oh poor dd Ava, that's so cute that she could tell you though, it must be slightly less frustrating now that you can communicate about it.

I'm currently feeling slightly more hopeful about my next cycle. I've now got a point of reference and this af seems to be much heavier so I'm taking that as a good sign. Can I just remind newbies that the Kellymom website has some excellent info on ttc while bf

ava the organiser.
ispy I do really like the info on Kellymom. Got me through a lot of questions. I just find the name of the site incredibly irritating. . It makes me think of Kelly and Barbie dolls so took me ages to actually click on the site because I am a snob when I was searching Google. Wish I'd started looking at it earlier. I ended up mostly relying on Whattoexpect and Kellymom and Wikipedia throughout pregnancy and bf-ing times.

Ha ha I also find the Kelly name annoying! On first impressions it looks so fake!!

I spy - looks like your body has returned. Fx for a bfp v soon

I'm having trouble remembering past posts and peoples names! Sorry

I did a cb and a IC test this morning. Both are showing a faint second line so it looks like my body is trying to gear up to OV again this month. I'm currently on cd10 and got a flashing smiley on cd11 last month. However, because I didn't ovulate for ages last month I don't know whether to start dtd tonight or get an early night (I've read that sleep can really effect your fertility and I've had a lot of late nights recently...oops!). I think I'll just see how I feel tonight. I'm tired just thinking about it lol

Thanks all - feeling quite good mentally about it all. Bizarrely things have improved dramatically since I came off the pill - it was like a weight have been lifted. I wonder if it just didn't agree with me. Slight withdrawal again today but seem to be past the worst of it, thank goodness!

pear did you get that early night or not? Sometimes you have to listen to your body!

How is DD Ava? Poor mite.

Morning ladies!

Pear that's how my cycles were prior to ds, a bit all over the place from 30 to 50 days with my lp between 10 and 13 although I'd always start spotting 2 days prior to af. I stupidly thought it might right itself after being pregnant but nope. If anything it's slightly worse as my lp is shorter but then my cycles since Christmas have been too!

Ispy sorry af arrived lovely. I kept looking at cloth pads as ds is cloth bummed but never took the plunge with them! The Kellymom site wouldn't work for me last week when I wanted to check something but I think that was my Internet connection! It's definitely a good place for reference.

Ava I always forget about Bluestone, I only heard about it a couple of years ago and never been! Someone on my due in group from ds goes regularly and loves it. I think I have a teething child too, he's refusing any breakfast and just wants boob! He's been like it on and off for a week.

Hahaha cupcake I love that reasoning for poas! Good news with weaning off your medication but don't be afraid to get more if you need it. There will be pregnancy friendly options

Af is lingering for longer than usual and so far I've forgotten to temp so yeh, clearly a very successful start
Interesting thing for me, I cut my caffeine intake to one coffee a day well over a week ago and I think this has been my least painful af in ages. Only the odd twinge instead of crippling cramps. I can't help but think it's related!