TTC and still breastfeeding? Thread # 5 - Positive Vibes!

[peardrop2]

Peardrop - age 33, TTC cycle #9, DS is 26 months (stopped bf soon to be 4 months ago). Af returned when DS 14months, currently on CD14 and have had 4 flashing smileys. Praying for a static smiley tomorrow! Dangling legs in air!

Is checking for progesterone levels the same as looking at hormones?

Thankyou Leamice

Progesterone is part of it. When I was referred I had:

CD6
Testosterone
Prolactin
LH
FSH

CD21
Progesterone

Non CD dependent tests
TSH
Ferritin
AMH

The AMH I paid for though. That was three years ago so it may be included now.

Why have I not been given the CD6 test??? So, this afternoon the doctor rang me. He says that he wants to test DH! He then proceeded to call DH on his mobile to discuss I forgot to ask whether this will delay my referral to the fertility clinic I did ask for a diabetes test which he agreed to. Wish I had asked for the CD6 test!! Is the CD6 test the same test to check androgen hormone and glucose (sugar) levels in your blood?

It's annoying considering 3 months a go I told the doctor I wanted my prolactin levels checked. I should have pushed for this more. They should just be testing me for everything, it would save a lot of time!!!

I found I had to push for everything!

I just put CD6 to show what cycle day you have the tests... So on CD6 they test testosterone, prolactin, FSH and LH. The FSH ratio to LH will give you an indication on whether your have PCOS. I would ask for the full work up. Your fertility clinic will request it anyway (results are included with your referral from the GP) so might as well have it now.

Grrrrrrr I'm on CD6 today!!!!

CanIsay - thank you. I'll call tomorrow and ask to be tested next cycle. I have to remember that I'll have the results back before my fertility appointment at the hospital anyway. It would be really good to go with all the blood results. Maybe that is what he was starting to say to me yesterday and then I cut in and said I definitely want to go to the fertility clinic and have it all done there. I'll call tomorrow and just say could I have more done now while I'm waiting for the appointment.

Good idea Pear. I know in my case I had to have a whole list of tests (the ones included above plus HIV and other STDs) sent to the fertility clinic along with my referral letter from the GP. Then when I had my booking in appointment the clinic had all my results already and were able to recommend a course of treatment.

I know it seems like it's taking forever but once I was referred things really started moving fast and before I knew it was having my first round of treatment.

Good luck with making the call tomorrow

Hello, just here for a bit of a lurk. Realised yesterday DS is 22 months and still no sodding AF. Things a bit better with DH so TTC may be back on the agenda. I think I'll probably still be doing night feeding when DS is 18 years old

Finally got my AF today, 6 weeks since the first one and I have cut down to just bedtime now. Really pleased, as I was thinking this morning, "how on earth am I going to cut bedtime" to get it back, no way she's ready for that.

puggle01 this only applies if YOU want to cut down, but I found night weaning easy at the last attempt a month ago (21months), previously she was having none of it. She still wakes once or twice most nights, but will settle back in minutes for Dad. For me, she fumbles around wanting to hold onto them, this can take a long time. But, she isn't crying for milk, just likes the comfort of touching. So, basically, Dad does wakeups.

You never know Pear, you may have no need for cd6 test next month.

Thats good your AF finally showed up espresso, obviously a BFP would have been great but at least you're not in limbo land - thats the worst!

canisay those are the same tests Im getting but also testing free androgen index and oestradiol on cd6 swell as the others you mentioned - not googled yet but I imagine that has something to do with the PCOS?

My disaster this month is apparently I'm 6dpo :( According to FF I ov'd early on CD 12, I only started dtd from cd10 so am most likely out this month. I thought i was waiting to OV still as didn't get a +ve opk but i didn't start testing until CD14 as want expecting to ov until cd 20.

Lea I only had E2 tested during fertility treatment. They take it regularly to ensure your ovaries aren't overstimulating when you're taking the drugs leading up to ovulation.

Sounds like you still DTD before O so you're still in with a chance?

Espresso Any tips for night weaning? Did you follow a specific approach?

I appear to be back at CD1. FF has put my ovulation 9 days ago which means I had a really short LP this month. I think I O'd five days earlier than this going by my temperature and in fact if I take out CM FF agrees so that would give me a 14 day LP. The EWCM after my temp rise is knocking out my O date.

Any ideas anyone? Is your CM less reliable as a sign of O while BF'ing? Do you have EWCM after O?

Morning...just quickly popping in to say hello. I am incredibly spotty on my forehead again on CD11 Just another thing that points to PCOS as it is not normal to have a spurt of acne before you even ovulate! I spent ages googling last night and it does appear to be pointing towards PCOS and lots of estrogen DH is having his stuff tested today. I'm not going to share his ideas of how it will all go (refuses to dtd in hospital) but as you can imagine it is hilarious!! I'm trying not to ask questions so I don't make him anymore nervous then he must already be feeling!! I'm still anxiously waiting for a letter to come through the door although I sense this might happen later rather then sooner! I brought 30 ic opks yesterday. I'll start testing once they arrive. Hope everyone else is OK? Anyone in the 2ww yet? Or testing?

how is everyone?... all gone a bit quiet.

Pear how'd DS test go?

Im CD23 ff saying 11dpo still, my post O temps are not as high as last cycle which does make me wonder whether I did actually Ov when it says but they're not below the cover line so who knows. At least if I did O my LP is greatly improved from last cycle.
I got my letter through for the HSG scan appointment, well to make it anyway, you have to call to schedule it on CD1 for CD10-14. This is making the fact that I may have problems conceiving again seem much more real and Ive felt a little down as a result... silly really, as should be happy things are being done that could potentially help.

Hope everyone else is well :)

Lea - I know, it's dead I keep meaning to look at other threads with fertility issues just so that I'm not always moaning on here lol but to be honest I don't really think more ranting is the best idea! When will you test?

So, DH has received a letter from the doctor saying that his results are back but they're inconclusive so he needs to do the test again Not the best news for him...I'm selfishly glad it's not me this time!! I have a doctors appointment on Monday morning. He's the original doctor I went to see. It's nearly been 2 weeks and still no appointment letter from the hospital It will be good to discuss the next steps with him as to be honest I'm confused (about whether to have more tests now, wait or whether DH needs to do his thing first before any letter is sent to me) and I don't really feel the local doctor explained it very well last time.

Oh and DH has just sprung on me that he has to go away with work when I'm meant to be ovulating in a weeks time but tbh I can't stress about it because it's a fantastic work opportunity for DH and who even knows whether I would OV this month! I really have to start taking my temperature!!

Your poor DH having to go through the test again, my DH hasn't done his yet, I said to him theres no point rushing as my next appointment with the consultant isn't until 22nd December, I just needed to have everything done by then to discuss. I think theres lots that can make it inconclusive as has sample has to be complete, kept warm etc, I was just reading the leaflet I was given about it for DH the other day, quite strict instructions.

Shame your DH may be away around Ov time but might be nice to have the pressure off a bit for a cycle.

I tested with an IC this morning and BFN, which was pretty expected. I used an OPK late morning too and that was nearly positive so that was making me wonder whether my body tried and failed to OV on cd12 and is gearing up again?

AF was very heavy, and concluded the end of last week. So, time to start trying again. Good luck to everyone this month (new job is helping me feel it's not the be-all-and-end-all, which is helpful).

Things have gone backwards a bit on weaning, when it was all going swimmingly. A bout of D&V, had me offering in the day to help her feel better and get rehydrated – and then that opened her mind to it again, and she’s been requesting loads, mainly because her tummy has been uncomfortable, plus she’s not been wanting any dinner (so big, bedtime feeds). And, she hasn’t adjusted to GMT. So, I’m back doing a morning one around 5.20am because that way I can remain horizontal, rather than have to get up (it doesn’t put her back to sleep, but it gets me 30-45 mins of lying down time! I really don’t want to be up before 6am!). I know no one has the answer to this, but I’m really hoping that popping a first-thing bf back in, isn’t going to compromise fertility.

Had a shaky week as she asked for bf a lot a few nights in the night, but requests stopped for past 2 nights.

On night weaning - I found this blog post the most helpful for ideas.
www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/weaning-toddler-bob-and-pre-schooler-billie-how-do-you-stop-breastfeeding-an-older-child

But, it worked because I was definitely ready, and she was old enough to accept a gentle “no” in the night. In contrast, she would not accept it being removed at bedtime at the moment.

That's a great link Espresso - really helpful.
I cannot seem to crack the Pantley pull off at all. I can't even get the finger on chin thing as the rooting starts straight away. I suspect one day it'll work all of a sudden but it seems a long long way away......

Pantley pull off never worked for me either, she just rooted and cried. I did find that book helpful in stating that things are unlikely to change on their own (for a very long time). That did help, as I knew I didn't want to be doing night feeds every couple of hours until till she was 3. It helped me make a definite decision that I wanted to make a change.

Espresso - well done on finding the right help for you! Such a hard decision to change your BF ways but I'm glad to hear your new job is helping your mentality and probably a great distraction

So, I went back to the doctors. Mainly because I became utterly confused about everything in my head and as you know I had this appointment booked in with my GP weeks a go. He was really helpful. It turns out that DH results are not so great and that's why they're testing him again to make sure it wasn't just a one off. So it looks like I'm maybe ovulating every two months (with possible PCOS) and DH's swimmers are on the weak side which equals a looooonnng TTC time!

He admitted that I could be waiting 18 weeks before receiving an appointment to the fertility clinic. I said I can't wait that long so asked whether there was anything I could do to move things a long. He has agreed to request a scan at the GP and has said that I would get medication if they find out it is PCOS. Well what a plonker the other GP was to tell me that they couldn't help any further grrrrrrr! On the bright side I'm very happy with how it is progressing and although I wish it was happening "now now now" I can see there is some hope!! What's important is that I will have a chance to have another DC. That's what I need to focus on. Yes it's not at all how I imagined things to be but it is allowing my DS to have a lot of time on his own which is nice for everyone involved. I've already told DH that he needs to change his eating and exercise habits. I've got a copy of Zina West's guide to getting pregnant and that's got lots of tips. It's a good book. I've rung the private clinic to see how much it will cost to get a private scan and it looks like it will cost around £250 which includes the consultation fee if we go to the open day. Now I've just got to decide whether I can wait a few more weeks to get a free scan or whether I should just go private. My brain is saying wait but my heart is saying just get on with it

Morning ladies, I don't feel like I belong on here anymore so I'm going to wish you all luck and move on. I think the good news for you all is that BF for 22 months obviously had nothing to do with the fact I have not fallen pregnant yet. For many months I blamed BF but it really doesn't look like that is the case! Good luck with all the weaning, not weaning and getting your bfps!! I may keep this thread on my watch list just to keep an eye on the bfps! Xx

Best of luck Pear, I hope it all goes well and I hope you get some positive news soon.

Pop back on here to report it when it happens.

I feel a bit guilty for writing so much about weaning (or actually cutting down) - it's because I'm at the more extreme end of highly sensitive hormones, that's why I had to cut down so much. I would imagine this is very different for lots of other people.

Great link espresso. I have No Cry Sleep Solutions and did find lots of it useful. But stuff like the Pantley pull off was only useful for a younger baby. It did teach her to go to sleep without a feed, but it didn't mean she stopped asking if she woke in the night. In the end we just had to stop that, saying no, boobs are sleeping now, and offering food as an alternative until she'd got used to not having nutrition in the night.

I think weaning, or big cut downs can matter a lot for returning fertility and conceiving. Certainly I've noticed as I got it down to twice a day a return to EWCM and slightly longer cycles and then now down to less than once a day longer cycles again and, this cycle

blows trumpet this cycle a return to rising estrogen levels before the LH surge. For a while now I've had an LH surge but estrogen levels have not been picked up by the clear blue sticks. WHereas this cycle I had a couple of days of that. Exciting. Though we moved house this weekend so only fitted in DTD two times. We'll see.

I also think your general health matters a lot, and I have worked on this as I have cut down on the BF, so its not clear to me which has had more impact.

good luck pear! Hope your DH did ok!

Yay - you're all cheering me up about being pants at the pantley pull off. He was teething last 2 nights and virtually no feeding was done which was most unusual. Back to normal last night though!
I think we'll keep working towards a big bed (and have actually ordered one from Ikea so H may actually have somewhere else to sleep) and hope that leads to a bit less feeding too. I have "sally weans from night nursing" and its pure shite. I suspect "nursies when the sun signs" is shite too.
I am honestly contemplating making a pretend Peppa book where Peppa finds out about boobs going to sleep.