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!

Omg wax!!! That's amazing. Congratulations!! Tell us your stats...and I particularly want to know when you dtd

Pear I had just finished dangle legs and gone up to bed Hubs told me if we're going to dtd again tonight we'll have to be quick and be before 9:15 as he's up early for work tomorrow! All depends on what time ds goes to sleep!
I've never tried the cb sticks and I think if I wasn't temping I'd be tempted to do as you have done and compare to the ic's.
I know someone who had clomid for her first and fell quickly the next time. I feel like my body is working a little better tbh as my cycles are slightly more regular but I'm thinking my lp is on the short side now! I'm hoping some of the male factor issues aren't as bad now but without tests there's absolutely no way to know! I'm trying to convince him to take a multi vitamin for a boost but he always forgets it!
I won't get to 13dpo before testing, I need to set an aim but if I expect af to arrive before 13!

Auf hit the nail on the head, tested Ava?

Omg Wax! Congratulations!

Pear in answer to your sperm question, all the sperm have a chance. The theory is boy sperm are a lot faster than girl sperm but the girl sperm live longer. If I remember correctly the waiting sperm has a rest when it gets to the right place. They wake when they smell the egg! Some peak too soon etc Obvs ewcm is easier for them to swim through and get through the cervix but it's also the right ph for it in theory. There was a fascinating documentary on a few years ago lol.
Also from a different documentary, a fertility specialist said a quickie at a parents house etc had led to some patients falling pg before their ivf as it gets the hormones racing and the testosterone boost made a big difference to sperm. He said primal sex and spur of the moment ex in any position was sometimes better than following all the advice about being on your back etc!

Congratulations wax! Brilliant news!

Welcome NAH. Still waiting for AF to return here - DS is 2.6, but I only came off the pill in May.

Ooof I've just remembered one documentary was called the great sperm race and was on channel 4. Not sure if it's still available to watch!

My temp went up again. Again maybe not the most reliable as I'd fed ds and then taken it but feeding doesn't mean moving so I was dozing and then did it. A bit of a jump today too! I think tomorrow ov will be confirmed as Saturday

And I'll stop posting for a few minutes now

eeeee thanks Pear!

So stats...
I'm 29, this was cycle 2 (I know - I'm so so lucky). DD is 25 months, and was feeding on demand (and a lot!!) up until 2 months ago. We day weaned first, but she was making up for it at night. Night weaned over the last month - last feed was probably about 2.5 weeks ago. So now totally weaned but very recent and during this cycle.
My cycles are 33 days, OV on cd 19. This month we dtd on cd 13, 16, 17, 18, 19. Pg test 10 dpo.
No symptoms apart from feeling knackered, but I'm ill and DD isnt sleeping so assumed that was it!

Oh cross post - thanks everyone!

Omg Wax I am so ! I forgot you were on cycle 2! How lucky Thanks for sharing your dtd motion as it's looking very similar to mine! I've just dtd 3 days in a row and I don't think we can carry on without it being v unromantic and seriously mechanical I kind of want to stop now before it goes down that road again this month! Anyway, I have some hope now as we have a similar cycle etc. Hope you feel better soon!

Oh amazing pear, I have everything crossed for you! Sounds like you could have timed it well I felt bad because ideally I'd have tried to dtd on 1dpo and maybe even 2dpo too, and we missed a couple of flashing smiley days a few days before ov. But obviously it didn't matter. X

Wax - are you calling OV day the first day you got a static smiley?

Well done wax! Congratulations! I know I'm up the duff now but I'm still jealous of you managing in your second cycle!

Congratulations Wax! I like how these BFP are coming thick and fast! A little disheartening for me that they are happening after complete weaning though ???? We are a long way off that yet. I am encouraged that this cycle is looking a bit better though. I got my first flashing smiley today at cd16 after not starting testing until cd14 so I'm hoping I don't need all 20 sticks this month ????

I spy - when I first joined this thread (many moons a go) all the ladies were getting their bfps whilst still feeding so it is possible You could test eod like I did this month to save your sticks. Check your second line and if it's really faint then test eod. Obviously keep dtd just incase! Also with these sticks you don't just have to test in the morning so if you regret not testing then you can always test in the afternoon

ispy yes to what pear said about previous threads getting people who still bf lots! I remember feeling really awful as I had to cut down from almost exclusive BF when DC was about 9/10months old in the first place just to get AF started, which was very traumatic for me. Then I had to wean completely when DC was 1 which still saddens me, while everyone on the thread was still getting pregnant bf a lot. It has taken me another 4 cycles PLUS fertility clinic help to get to this stage. So weaning did nothing for me whatsoever as my cycles continued erratically and the LPs continued being 6/7 days. So it really does depend on the individual. Don't be too disheartened!

Yeah Auf is right...it really does depend on the individual. I think I can now recommend taking Agnus Cactus to help AF return, regulate cycles and increase cm (however I don't think you can take it whilst bf but if you stop then it's something to think about). When I am ttc dc3 I will definitely start taking Agnus Cactus as soon as I stop bf next time.

Auf are you feeling pregnant yet?

Ava? Any news?

Right, I've made a blood test appt for next Monday. Better get on with my day

pear nope. My boobs are a bit tender and I'm silently worrying about viability all the time but other than that nothing to report. I am waiting for the tiredness to strike. With DC I was unfuckingbelievably tired for about a week but only retrospectively linked it to pregnancy as I only found out about 7weeks in and can't as such judge exactly when it was . I had severe nausea and vomiting around 9-11 weeks last time so definitely not looking forward to that again. The other morning sickness from between 6-13 weeks I could handle okay.

I lie. I also have the spotty skin of a teenage boy.

Hello ladies. Exciting to see some good news from Wax and Auf.

I'll just do my stats as I'm late to the new thread.

I'm 38, DD is 2.2 months (nearly).

AF came back at 7 months. fairly regular but I wasn't tracking it that closely until the start of this year.

My cycles have been short and variable (23- 27 days) and with spotting before AF arrives. I've also been ovulating fairly late (for me) around day 16.

So for most of our journey I didn't have a 2ww wait, rather a 2 or 3 day wait, as the spotting generally started.

The length of my cycles and spotting have improved through

• less feeding (we now feed 1-3 times a day)
• more sleep (DD sleeping better at night also I MUST GO TO BED EARLIER - makes such a difference to me yet I find it so v hard to do!)
• better eating. I saw a nutritionist for advice, she's got me off sugar ( I used to be a two chocoloate bars a day girl) and into smoothies every morning, regular eating (every 2-3 hours). I feel much better and have put on weight.

This month, exictingly, I ovulated earlier (day 9 ish, more normal for me) and had very clear EWCM for the first time since Christmas (I was hoping I didn't see it as we were DTD, but may have been clutching at straws). Temp patterns also look good - the biggest and most stable rise I've had so far.

So I've been daring to hope for this cycle, and had a 10 day wait with not spotting. Spotting started over the weekend, so hope is starting to fade.

sigh I wonder if I should wean completely, although I would rather not. DD is so happy, loves it still. I would like her to stop in her own time .

Those of you that have weaned. How did you feel before and after? Did you feel ready (as opposed to your DC)?

Thanks dougal and welcome back. I wasn't ready I know, and neither was DC. That said it was easier than I thought, physically speaking. Emotionally it was tough for both of us but more so for me. DC could be distracted more easily. Fwiw I found it helped doing the night time wean first as that was hardest (I needed to do that to get AF started). Day time you can distract with play. I would have really preferred to wait for both out sakes' but clock was ticking. :(

Oh and fabulous news re the earlier ovulation! My lp was shit but progesterone pessaries appears to have fixed it! You might want to ask the gp about that with reference to your spotting.

Pear - I'm counting ov as the second day of static smiley. But I don't temp so there's no way of knowing when I actually oved...

And I think the weaning is a red herring in our case - we only weaned during this cycle, and my cycles had become regular before that. So I'm sure it wasnt what did it, and you ladies have every chance of getting pg while feeding. Plenty of my friends have...

We did feel ready to wean - I was really sick of it and starting to resent it, and DD was really easily bribed with alternatives even though she had seemed so attached to it. I don't miss it at all and dont feel nostalgic for our feeds, just grateful it's done! So definitely the right time for us x

Thank you Auf. When you say clock ticking, do you mean desire for another baby, or your age?

At 38 this is on my mind.

We've already night weaned. I was painful for both of us (took 6 months, with many false starts due to illness and teething) and she was fully night weaned at 18 months.

I didn't need to do it to bring back AF, I naively thought that as that came back on its own I must be pretty fertile (I was appalled when it did - I was in no way ready for another baby then!)

What's tricky for me about the idea of weaning from here is that each feed has a trigger. We basically feed morning and at bedtime, and then when I get in from work. She will happily go without any if I'm not around, so maybe one answer is to book myself a long weekend away on my own at some point.

The feeds are very short, sometimes it's only a minute or two it's more about the emotional connection for her. Her personality is such that, if her ask is fulfilled we are both happy, if I say no, she will want it ever more.

Also, it's about carving out the time to focus on her so she doesn't need to emotionally connect by feeding. I've got the LLL book 'How Weaning Happens' and I was flicking through it again last night, feeling down, and it pointed out that some mothers have to trade 1 hour of play time for a few minutes of feeding.

A month or so ago DD was dropped some feeds herself, being too busy in the morning, or when I get in from work. But since I have been very busy (work had a horrible deadline pile up), skipped some bedtimes, been distracted. And now she needs it more.

We lead busy lives, and I feel like this is a safety value, a way I can support her when other pressures crowd in.

To totally wean her I need to be motivated and committed, and i'm not. I wish we could carry on until she's comfortable to stop, I just wonder, given my age, whether there is time. We really want another, for her, as much as for us.

I'd not thought of going to the GP.

I had a problem with my cycle before we conceived DD (horrible mini pill cerazette really messed it up) and the GP was so useless, fobbing me off with 'oh well, cycles / hormones are variable' (when my cycle had been stable my whole adult life until I touched that pill) that it hasn't crossed my mind to go back.

I got sorted last time biting the bullet and seeing a private gynaecologist and I do now have an appointment booked in with her next week. Although I worry she'll just tell me to stop feeding rather than being supportive about where we are now.

dougal that does sound very tough. And it doesn't sound to me like you are at all in a realistic position to wean completely. If I were you I would probably try to drop another feed but keep at it for your own sanity.
I have uhm unorthodox advice for you. You have a private consult booked. Private doctors prescribe much more easily and off-label more often. I would do a bit of research if you have time, to see if the progesterone will interfere negatively with continued bfing. Someone on this thread might know, but I don't. If however it doesn't, I would consider asking her/him to prescribe it and see if it will keep the endometrium intact longer and help clear up the spotting. Of course, you don't know if you are actually ovulating because of the bfing even if you get LH surges, but I should think based on the spotting the progesterone would be a good call.
That way you could maybe continue bfing, see if your LP settles, and if you're still not falling pregnant a few of months later, then maybe investigate ovulation or wean completely?
By the way, I loved my cerazette. It stopped my periods completely which I personally adored it for, with a breakthrough bleed every six months or so. I went off it and fell pregnant very first month after first period/withdrawal bleed. It's amazing how different we all react to these things! I'm sorry yours was so disastrous though!

And yes, I'm also late-thirties, so it was definitely an age thing. We need a sibling for DC whom we had last year and as it happens it has taken so much longer for me to fall pregnant than I ever anticipated, and only with help too.