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!

The problem now is, I'm now so flipping distracted that I'm back on Mumsnet again!

Congratulations espresso that's great that you got your 'reward' so to speak so quickly after weaning and that DD was ok with it.

Hi ladies, hope everyone is well? Thanks for all the congratulations messages I'm now 9+6 weeks gone. I really came on to give a little hope to some of you because...when I was bf for 22 months so many people said to me you will never conceive until you stop (especially my mum)! I knew for me they were right but I so loved bf that I didn't want it to be true and I wanted it to end when it was right for us not because I wanted a baby. For that reason I held on until the very last moment when I knew that DS was ready to wean. Anyway, even though it took a very long time to conceive afterwards (Dougal approx 9 months from March to December from stopping bf) I don't regret waiting at all and never did even in the dark days of getting so many bfn's!! I had a very very proud moment this week that I wanted to share with you all. I had my first midwife appointment and she asked the question "how long did you BF for?" It's a question on the form. When I replied "22 months" her whole face changed with delight (she had been pretty robotic about the whole filling in the form process before this moment) and she said "Well done you, that's amazing". I just felt so proud of myself I just wanted to share as I know how guilt can creep in when you're TTC and BF or stop BF. Whatever you choose, remember to be proud of what you achieved as BF is so underrated by so many that it's just great when you're acknowledged that you've done your best for your LO.

Dougal - don't forget that when my DH was tested his sperm was very poor and it could of easily been him that was delaying things too. The doctor did say that it was both of us (my spontaneous ovulation) making it take so long. DH completely changed his diet, upped his water intake, took vitamins and then I fell pregnant 2 months later. Had he had been in better shape back in March maybe we could have caught an early egg, who knows?!!!

Espresso, many congratulations! Goes to show everyone that it is totally possible to fall pregnant soon after stopping BF! Hope all is going well with your pregnancy?

Well no AF I'm now on cycle day 30 and a negative pregnancy test .
Was so hoping for a positive but it was the first month and I might not get another AF for a while ! Fingers crossed for a normal cycle to commence soon
Congrats espresso wishing u all the best and so glad your pregnancy is going well pear.

I'm worried my post was discouraging, as you might be like me and be questioning things.

My un-scientific view - me and 2 other friends breastfed for a long time, and were also trying to conceive. Both others managed to get pregnant whilst bf-ing (for one it happened 3 months after return of cycle, the other had cycles since 4 weeks despite feeding round the clock - she took a lot longer to get pregnant - but did manage it).

Like Pear, I'm very pleased that I carried on as long as I did, and that we had a nice end to a very important part of our relationship. DD still rams her hand down my top all the time though

Pear - my pregnancy is fine, in that I feel sick as a dog and dead tired! Lucky you nearing the end of icky period!

Congrats Espresso!!

And nice to hear from you Pear, can believe how quick its going, you'll be having your scan before you know it!

I'm lurking about in the shadows, still ttc but not having much luck :( , my last cycle was only 45 days which is a massive improvement from the 60-70 days previous so trying to look on the bright side (but finding it hard atm especially as lots of people IRL are announcing pregnancies!)

Hi to everyone who's joined recently, wishing you all lots of luck on you ttc journeys whilst breastfeeding/finishing breastfeeding.

Congratulations expresso! So I'm on cd34 here and a bfn this morning. I don't think I actually ovulated this cycle (negative opks Nd no obvious ewcm) but managed to dtd (good to have some practise! ) But no luck. Ds ramped up his feeding over the last week and I think my body is just saying 'no can do'! We're in the midst of moving countries at the moment and in April have a months trio to Australia so I've decided to go with the flow until we are back. He will be 2 then and operation wean can commence. Until that point I think I'll just ignore any thoughts of ttc. Wishing everyone the best of luck! Xx

Wow ladies... Have you seen this clear blue test deal on groupon? Bargain!! https://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/gg-groupon-goods-global-gmbh-1840?dealoption=fbc1e7a5-e549-420e-abbd-4d8b57edd1c6&tsToken=UKKAFF0020751453110&utmsource=GPN&utmmmedium=afl&utm_campaign=207514&mr:referralID=bc7116fb-d226-11e5-883b-00505694526f

How is everyone? No real news from here although my first proper post baby AF was a 28 day cycle so quite pleased that things seem to have got back to normal by cutting back the night feeds. No guarantee I'm fertile of course!

Hello everyone,
I am wondering if I can join. My DS is 9 months old and I am now down to BF once a day. My AF just arrived a couple of days ago, so I am now ready to TTC for #2!

I am looking forward to learning from your experience.. For example, do you know if once your AF has arrived, then you will ovulate and have your periods more or less regularly? Or can the residual BF still have an effect on ovulation?

I will also go back and read through the thread.

Hi Zaha welcome! It's gone very quiet here, hope we can revive the thread

I am no expert but from what I have read the effect of BF on fertility varies greatly between individuals. Personally I am still BF 4 times during the day and at least once at night and once we stopped cosleeping my periods came back. However I believe they are anovulatory at the moment as I used my fertility monitor and only got highs no peaks.

I know some people who have conceived whilst still BFing once or twice a day whereas others have had to stop altogether.

I have got DH onboard to do some work to night wean from next week do I'm hoping that will help. Then I need to think about day feeds...

Can I ask how did you get down to only one feed? Is your DC on formula for other feeds? I've tried offering DS cows milk in a cup a few times to get him used to it but he's not keen! Ideally I'd like to BF morning and bedtime only once he's one next month but not sure how to go about it during the day. Any advise anyone??

Hello! I'd like to join too and hopefully revive the thread if that's ok? Been checking in for a while but all went quiet. My dd is almost 16 months and I'm still bfing loads (usually 4 times a day and twice at night) but would like to start trying, probably next month. I've had 4 AF now but no idea if I'm actually ovulating. What's the best way to tell?
I'm afraid I can't help with cutting down lullaby. DD won't take cow's milk or much water and isn't a big eater so I've failed on that one and am just letting her do things in her own time. Just hoping that doesn't mean I can't get pregnant. I do know someone who got pregnant while exclusively bfing her ds and expressing for supplies though so there is hope!

Hi Ghost. More the merrier let's get this thread going again!

I think the only definitive way to tell you're ovulating is temping as your temperature rises noticeably, and therefore you can only determine this retrospectively. This really doesn't work for me as my thermometer seems to be a bit dodgy plus like you I am currently doing multiple wake ups so the likelihood of me having slept 3/4 consecutive hours (or whatever it is you need to make it accurate) when my alarm goes off is very slim... I do have my clearblue monitor which tells you if you're peaking but I don't think that guarantees you've ovulated necessarily.

I think I mentioned upthread we are attempting to night wean starting tonight DH is going to do wake ups for the next few nights in the hope this encourages fewer wake ups and more calories during the day. DS is 11 months so I feel like it's time but I'm sure he has his own ideas.

I don't think you've failed at anything, you are letting DD do things at her own pace which is lovely responsive gentle parenting. Fingers crossed your fertility is returning! I'm on my 3rd AF currently and must say this one feels different to the first two, lasting longer and (TMI) heavier so I wonder if the first couple were practice runs?

At 7 months I decided to do quite a lot of work to get DS off the boob all night, sleeping in his cot and schedule BFs during the day. It has worked well, he eats ok and is still putting on weight/following his line so I don't feel guilty about it. For the last couple of weeks his day feeds have shortened to 5 mins which might be he's getting more efficient or maybe he's just too busy and distracted to feed longer. I hope he will feed more (if he needs to) once night feeds are reducing. I'm also making sure to offer more snacks as he seems to like little and often.

I'm still a bit confused about dropping feeds as DS never really bothers me for BF I just offer on our schedule after wake ups so approx 7am, 10.15am, 3.30pm, 6.30pm (+ 1 or 2 night feeds until now....) if I didn't offer I don't know what he would do. When he turns one i might stop offering the 10am feed and see what happens.

Hello can I join too?

My stats are
ppandj, age 25, one DS 11mo. No AF since having him yet, hoping for return soon so I know if I'm ovulating. Currently trying to cut down on bfing gradually and hoping to get him in his own bed for longer portions of the night as think this might be affecting it all?

Welcome ppandj. I think you can ovulate without AF but it varies from person to person. One of the key things is cutting down on night feeds apparently.
Good luck with the night weaning lullaby. We have had the occasional night with no feeding over the last couple of months but teeth or illnesses always seem to put things back. It's hard! Hopefully your ds will play ball and it will become a habit for him. I don't think I've tried hard enough-feeding back to sleep is just so quick and easy!
I think in terms of dropping feeds, do one and if he doesn't mind then drop another a couple of weeks later. It should be easy if he's eating and drinking well and isn't that bothered already. I've been trying to drop the late afternoon one the last couple of weeks by just not offering. She demands though and pulls at my top until she gets it. She's just not ready and i think it's probably harder now she's older and is very aware of what she wants!

Hi ppandj 11 mo here too. Once we stopped co-sleeping / feeding all night AF came back, as ghost says night feeds apparently affect your fertility more but depends on the individual.

Well night weaning has been reasonably successful although we were staying away for a couple of nights and the first night (Sunday) we had a wobble as he was not happy in the cot. Tried feeding but didn't help much then the next day a tooth popped out so I expect it was that!

I know what you mean ghost about feeding being the easiest way to get DC back to sleep, if it was me getting up I'm sure I'd give in but luckily DH has done the first 6 nights. Last night DS woke 3 times but DH only had to get up once and just reassured him briefly so this is an improvement on the 5 times we started with. He's taking longer feeds during the day too so hopefully balancing his calories out. Tonight is my first night on duty fingers crossed!

How is everyone else doing?

Hi guys and newcomers
I've been off a bit as AF all over due to little one BF a lot through night the dreaded teething !
We seem to have got through the worst of it fingers crossed. AF came back Monday hoping for a regular cycle to commence .

Hi pumkin teething is the worst eh? Can't believe DS still has another 15 to come 😱

Hi lullaby
I really hate teething we have still got 12 left
My lo has been sleeping through for last week or so hoping that it remains that way fingers crossed
How's everybody else doing ?

Hi everyone I am tentatively joining if ok... I have a nearly 16 month dc and still bf I got in the morning, after work and before bed but we have managed to night wean and I definitely ovulated last month. Seem to have a very short luteal phase of only 8 days though - anyone else find this? In theory I'm not trying this month cos if we did conceive I'd be heavily pregnant as a bridesmaid but kind of want to get on with things as I think it will take a while this time around!

Hey everyone, just nipping back to update I finally got my BFP. It's been 10 months since I stopped BF and only my last 2 cycles were a nearly normal 35 days, the rest ranged from 45 to 120 days! No idea if it was the BF that had my hormones so wonky but I know it just affects some of us unlucky ones more than others. Anyway, good luck everyone! May you all get your BFPs soon :)

Oh congratulations Leamice! I'm so happy for you! I've been lurking still watching this thread as it's so lovely to see how everyone's getting on and to see the BFPs. Good luck to all the newcomers to the thread too!

I'm now 41 weeks today - hard to believe that I got my BFP on this same thread, seems like a lifetime ago!

Hi lacey I think I have the same issue with short luteal phase but I have been a bit haphazard about tracking so not 100% sure! I am also thinking it will be harder to conceive this time but fingers crossed. Nothing wrong with a pregnant bridesmaid imo 😊

Wow congrats leamice so pleased you got there, 10 months after stopping BF seems so long but as you say it could have been something else.

Nearly there waxweasel! Wishing you all the best for a safe delivery

waxweasel and leamice it's great to hear positive stories and congratulations to you both

Thanks for the bridesmaid reassurance lullaby I agree but think it would be better if I wasn't 8 months really! Highly unlikely anyway. Yeah I could feel exactly when I ovulated last month, never have before, so that's how I think luteal phase is short. Not sure how big a deal it is but I guess it's all part and parcel of breastfeeding! I fed my dd overnight last night to get some sleep... So maybe not totally night weaned. I really have no idea when she will want to stop bf-ing, seems to love it!

Congrats Leamice!!! Thats great news! Waxweasel I hope little one has arrived safe and sound now!

Welcome Zaza, ghost, Lacey... sorry this thread is a bit slow.. I did try to put ttc (and this thread) out of my mind... busy with a toddler, cycles not yet established and I know its probably best to wait until DS is night weaned at least..

I did get a bit excited this month though... last cycle was bang on 28 days (yeah!) got a positive OPK on cd14 and even managed a (rare as we're still co-sleeping!) BD bang on time...

been peeing LOADS and really thought that things were looking hopeful but it looks like AF has rocked up early today (cd 23). obsessively checking in case it miraculously stops and therefore might be an implantation bleed ... but looks pretty AF like to me :-( wish my cycles would sort themselves out!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck all!