TTC while Breastfeeding (or recently weaned!!) regular cycles and baby dust this way!

[expatvet]

Hi guys... here we are, shiny new thread for all those TTC while breast-feeding or recently weaned (for pumpkin and I!!)

come on over!

[howthelightgetsin]

Half-heatedly joining here.

My DS turned 1 not long a go and we seem to have stopped preventing and decided to let nature take its course... My periods haven't returned yet and I'm still feeding an awful lot.

Thought I'd better start taking pregnancy vitimins again really given although it seems fairly unlikely to happen soon it could happen .. buying the vitimins seemed to spur me on though and walked back from supermarket all pumped up thinking "OK, let's do this!" I guess I'd also really like to fall before he's 2 and not have to make any difficult decisions re: weaning in order to TTC.. which is something I'm really hoping to avoid.

[hellomarshmallow]

If I'm getting mid-month ache am I definitely ovulating? I'm assuming so, but not at all experienced with tracking cycles so not totally clued up. Wanted to avoid opks as I have a tendency to obsess :)

[Thecomfortador]

Probably difficult to say for certain hello I remember it being a specific kind of pain, so I guess if it is what you have every month then no reason to believe it is anything else. But then I'm not sure myself if I've ovulated this month, even though I did opks and had a positive strip. No pains to speak of, but then I don't think I had them every month anyway. I just don't trust my body at the moment haha, just want to be sure there is a cycle of sorts to work with.
There are so many uncertainties aren't there.

I've decided to wean ds at night (again having done it in April, but we slipped back into old habits). Cried /screamed for half an hour when he woke, eventually went to sleep then woke up four hours later and let me cuddle him to sleep, so positive that we'll do it properly this time. Easier than refusing during the day when he does that horrible whining and clawing on me.

[piglet81]

Good luck with the night weaning - how old is your DS, thecomfortador? I would quite like to night wean but any attempt here (26mo) just results in hysterical screaming, which is especially hard to bear at 2am or whatever! Our neighbours must loathe us...

[Thecomfortador]

My ds is 19 months piglet. I was expecting a worse night tbh, but after waking sometime after midnight, he was pretty upset but just jiggled him, lay down next to him etc. I realised the window was ever so slightly open on the latch so I'm sure the neighbours had the full experience. Luckily they have two small kids so hopefully understand...

It's hard to know whether we're doing the right thing, but if it means getting longer stretches of sleep for us all, then I'm up for a bit of short term trauma so to speak.

[howthelightgetsin]

Are you doing Jay Gordon or similar Thecomfortafor? My DS is almost 13 months and I can't tell you how many times he feeds at night, it's often every sleep cycle.. I think I want to wait until 18 months plus for night weaning as it seems fairer to them and they should be able to understand more.
I know everyone's body is different but it seems unlikely I can be fertile on the amount I'm feeding, especially at night. It would be interesting to know the quantity of milk or the frequency of nipple stimulation is the deciding factor. I'm still feeding constantly day and night it seems, but we're doing a lot better with food and often feeds are a few seconds only - so purely comfort. Food intake has been pretty slow with us but I can see from nappies I've been making some progress.
CM has been increased over last month or so so possibly my body trying to go for it, even if it can't quite.

[Thecomfortador]

Broadly following Jay Gordon howthelightgetsin although probably not as gentle, skipped the first three days of feeding short as it's almost impossible to unlatch him before he's asleep. Going straight to refusal and just holding him / cuddling was easier for me. He's none the worse for it next morning. Also ds is in his own room now which is why we've renewed our efforts as when cosleeping I would just wake up with him feeding and I had no idea how long he'd been there for haha. I'd need a full body leotard on to stop him helping himself. Although tbh my first period came back despite this (he does a lot of comfort feeding too, but is a very poor eater which is the other problem, he's improving slowly but he never just eats a bowl of food, he nibbles it, or licks a tiny bit of yoghurt off a spoon, drives me mad) .

Yep would be great if someone could quantify the different parameters for fertility returning but I guess there's too much variation it would be a huge range. Are you getting crampy feelings, as I had these on and off for weeks before af arrived.

[howthelightgetsin]

How are nights going?

I've had the odd cramp, but not much. I have no idea what my body even feels like ovulating or having a natural period... was on the pill since teens, came off after maybe 12 years to get pregnant and fell before I had a period, and now here I am.
Whenever I'm feeling really proud of how much food DS is eating I look at another baby and that brings me down to earth ... if he eats (and actually swallows) a few bites of banana I'm over the moon! Then you see other one year olds eating a whole banana as a snack and then I think ah, we have a way to go.
Back to work soon anyway so he'll be at nursery full time (dreading) so if almost 10 hours a day "off" from feeding doesn't bring AF back, I think it'll be a long road and I may need to reassess my expectations.

[Thecomfortador]

Well night 4 last night, he still woke twice but settled with cuddles both times reasonably quickly, no crying. He's adjusted to the new expectation, but I think he's genuinely hungry by 4am as he eats so little, so we were up at 6.30 for breakfast milk. Little steps forward though isn't it.
I know what you mean about seeing other babies eat, I was alarmed at first as they put so much in their mouths and then actually chew it.

I'm sure being back at work will make a difference for you, as you say if that doesn't help what will?! If you're getting the odd cramp then it seems things are going the right way. I had no idea af was going to show as I'm used to much worse period pains so it might surprise you yet.

[ScarletSienna]

Hi. My cycles have been so all over the place-here is a snippet. My luteal phases have been around 8 days. My 2.5 year old still bf a lot both through the day and a lot from 4am ish. I've been using the Clue app and OPK sticks otherwise I'd have no idea about ovulation!

This weekend I got a bfp. Very nervous and worried it won't stick.

[Thecomfortador]

Congrats Scarlet, fingers crossed it's a sticky one for you.

[ScarletSienna]

Thank you.

[howthelightgetsin]

Congratulations!

Everything I have read does say that once a pregnancy is detectable (and your line isn't even a squinter) there's nothing that breastfeeding can really do to affect it now..
It's always a long wait now until 12 weeks - here's hoping it flies!!

[ScarletSienna]

I didn't realise that, thanks **howthelightgetsin.
I have read those at risk of premature labour need to go carefully but that's a long way off (if we get there).

[hellomarshmallow]

I'm not relishing the prospect of opks and temping, but I'm
guessing it's the only way to find out if I'm ovulating... and when! I have long cycles at the moment, and no idea when things are happening. Also have a tired and unenthusiastic DP so that's another hurdle.
scarlet amazing news!!

[ScarletSienna]

I found the OPK strips really helped with understanding when ovulation was likely as long and irregular cycles didn't lend themselves to being able to predict!

[howthelightgetsin]

There's this and also a bit on short LP - I think basically if an insufficient LP is stopping a fertilised egg from implanting successfully before you have a period you've basically overcome that once the egg has implanted and you've got so far as a positive pregnancy test. So though at no point in pregnancy do we ever feel safe, you should be at no more risk now than if you had big standard cycles.

[ScarletSienna]

Howthelightgetsin thank you for sharing that, it's really kind of you. I think I'm naturally anxious so anything positive is helpful. I've just spent the last hour googling very early pregnancy cramps...

[hellomarshmallow]

I had early pregnancy cramps with both of my (to term) pregnancies. I also google everything too

Yes, opk sounds like a good plan. Any particular ones to go for/avoid?

[ScarletSienna]

I just bought 40 a month from Amazon-cheap ones. I was testing twice a day for the week or so I expected to be ovulating!

[hellomarshmallow]

Thanks, I'll take a look

[crazychemist]

Hi ladies,
Just wanted to say hello, I'm a thread lurker - not ttc yet as my little boob monster is still on 5 day feeds and 2/3 night feeds and I'm hoping not to night wean until she's 18mo, so no point txt just yet (she's 11mo). Just wanted to say thank you to all of you for the information/advice in this thread, I feel like I understand everything much better and it's really comforting to think I won't have to completely wean before ttc. Baby dust to all of you xxx

[forestnest]

Thanks for the advice scarlet and congratulations on your bfp. I'm using the cheap opk kits from Amazon too now after 17 days of testing with clear blue last month

I'm getting some ewcm and a dip in temperature around the middle of my cycle so it looks like my body is trying to ovulate, but no positive opk until much later. Currently cd25 and no luck yet so looks like my LP might be too short for my biopsy (follow-up tests from previous recurrent miscarriages) again this month.

[ScarletSienna]

Hope you get some good news soon Forest.

[howthelightgetsin]

REALLY painful cramps the last few days so perhaps my body is waking up? Food seems to have "clicked" for DS in last few weeks and I'm finally feeling proud of my decision to do baby led weaning, we got there eventually. Not willing to night weak anytime soon so I'm really really hoping that the reduction in daytime feeding is enough to kick start things.