Breastfeeding, no periods - can I conceive?

[Triforce]

Currently breastfeeding my 17 month old but we’ve been down to 2/3 feeds a day (first thing, before bed and sometimes before nap) for a couple of months now and my period hasn’t come back 🙁

I’ve tried to track things with ovulation tests but I’ve had three positives in a month so that’s been a dead end.

Really don’t know what to do. I don’t want to stop breastfeeding just yet but I don’t think TTC’s going to work until I do. Has anyone got any advice or been in the same situation?

OMG OP! I am in the exact same situation with a 14 month old. No advice, but I'll be watching this thread eagerly from what I've read, BF at night lying down has the biggest impact on slowing the return if your periods

In my case, I had to stop breastfeeding completely.... Seems to be different for everyone x

I also had to stop breastfeeding completely before I could get pregnant again. Even down to only one feed a day my period didn't come back.

@Mattieandmummy and @slipperly how long were you bf for? This is what I suspect I'll have to do, finding it really difficult to cut down on the feeds

I had to go down to just a bedtime feed, started getting periods back when she was about 15 months old and on a morning and bed feed but didn't get anywhere TTC til we went to just the one feed at 18 months. Only took a couple of months after that and I just gradually stopped feeding her at about 12 weeks pregnant because I'd had enough and wanted a break before the next one!

Two years and four months..... It took me 6 months to stop completely

And then four months for my cycle to go back to normal after that 🙄

Could you go down to one feed a day OP rather than giving up bf completely? That might be enough for your period to come back.

YES!!! I got pregnant wjth a five month old after a month at most of tapering off bf. you are at you most fertile at this point, be careful ladies!

@BeansMeansBeans for me I stopped after a year, and my period came back almost exactly a month after I stopped. I was pregnant three months later

I managed to cut down relatively quickly between 10 and 12 months, but had to make a real effort to give solids before and then instead of milk on all the occasions she would have milk.

Good luck!

Thanks all - sounds like I need to cutback to one feed and then be prepared to stop altogether. I’m sure we can do it I’ve just been dragging my heels. My DD loves milk and she’s a bundle of energy so she doesn’t have much patience with cuddles unless a feed’s involved 🙂

Plus I know feeding to sleep is a no but it’s nice to have it as a sort of cheat code for the days when you really need it!

I fed to sleep right til the end! I always felt like I was doing it wrong but honestly it only took a week, she was old enough to understand it's nearly gone, only a little bit left, that kind of thing. Then a couple of times she fell asleep with a cuddle because she was shattered and that helped break the habit.

My periods didn’t come back when I wanted to ttc when I was breastfeeding my daughter, she was 2+ years at the time. I took the mini pill (cerelle) for a couple of weeks and it kickstarted my periods (finally). Did the same when my son was 2 years old as still no sign of af and now my periods are like clockwork every month since despite him still breastfeeding quite a lot. Currently ttc number 3.

Btw I haven’t had to cut down on feeds at all. He still feeds in the evening and overnight if he wakes.

YES. My gp gaily told me "breast feeding is a form of contraception"...I'm currently putting to bed the prime example of how this is not the case 😂

Sorry nrtft.

I’m still feeding twice a day and am ovulating (pregnant now actually )
You can track ovulation using thermometers if your not sure when or if you are ovulating, I used OvuSense. It’s quite pricey, but I’ve had problems conceiving before so was worth it. I think they have a monthly subscription option. I paid for a year and got pregnant the second month though!

I was ovulating ok but couldn't get anything to stick, had a couple of chemicals. Gave vit B6 a go as a cheap and low risk option and it worked but did coincide with dropping that feed so it's hard to say which worked better!

@DotCottonsFagButt sorry really old thread but I saw your comment. How many weeks of the mini pill did you take to help trigger your period returning?

My DS is 13 months still feeding a lot at night and in the day if I'm with him though im back to work 4 days a week. No period back yet