TTC whilst breastfeeding...

[ForgetAboutSleep]

Not quite there yet... DS is 6 months old and thinking of coming off the pill in November time to start trying from December onwards.

Question is how many feeds were you still doing when periods came back and ovulation started again?

DS used to go 6 hours at night (8pm-2am) but hasn't done that since 15 weeks and now wakes every 3 hours (max 4 hours). We're about to start weaning, which may improve things, but I doubt it'll be for a few weeks at least as we're doing BLW and he probably won't actually eat anything for the first few weeks.

Any other advice on things I can do or things I can take would be greatly appreciated.

Haha I must be mad thinking about doing this all again already.

Last time. my periods returned at 4months when exclusively bf twins but no idea if I was ovulating. This time around 5mths. I'm currently bf 1year old DD and am feeding around 3 hourly. I'm ovulating, but much later in the cycle, so may not have a long enough space for implantation... not sure yet though! I'm hoping I don't need to night wean just yet, but that's my back up plan if I don't conceive in the next couple of months.

Thanks for the reply - that's good to know. I have wondered if I haven't had a period yet because of the pill I'm on. I've never been on the mini pill before so not sure if no period is normal.

Sorry but it's different for everyone. I didn't get a period until ds was 9 months and I had given up bf completely. If your period comes back early, there's a good chance you're not ovulating, or if you are, that your lining still isn't ready to support pregnancy anyway- fertility comes back in stages. If you're still night feeding it definitely suppresses ovulation.

And yes- no periods on the mini pill is normal.

Basically there's no Definite answer- unhelpful I know

If you wanted to ttc there are no guarantees unfortunately if you're still feeding.

I'm feeding 13 month old DS and still no period!

EBF until 6 months when started weaning. He eats three meals a day plus snacks. From 9 months old he went 12 hours without milk while I was at work 2 days a week but he fed constantly through the night and every few hours every other day until 12 months old. Finally got him into his own room in the last month and now mostly sleeping through. I'm really hoping my period comes back asap as I really want to start TTC!

I guess it really is different for everyone.

Yep, it varies enormously. I got my period back the day after his second birthday...had been working 3 days/week from 12 months, so he'd been going 12 hours or so without feeding on those days but still feeding to sleep and frequently through the night. Night weaning/sleeping through can be a trigger for your cycles to return; there's lots of interesting information about it on Kellymom.

There's also a TTC While Breastfeeding thread on here which might be useful. Good luck!

My period came back when DD was 14 months, I was feeding directly 2-3 times a day but had stopped night feeding around 10/11 months. I wasn't on the pill while BF and I got pregnant the month I stopped BF so I'm pretty sure it had the contraceptive effect on me!

Completely anecdotal but my friend who went on the mini pill while BF, it took her about 6 months to get pregnant after going off it. If you're really sure you want your kids close together, you might want to consider stopping the pill maybe 2 months before your "target" time because you won't know if your cycle is back to normal while you're on it.

Mine came back at 6 months despite ebf. But it really is different for everyone. I know someone who got their period back around 6 weeks after birth and someone else who hasn't got theirs back whose baby is 13 months old. Both were ebf.