TTC whilst breastfeeding - cycle 4

[ThatNimbleOP]

Hello,

Is there anyone who’d like to join me…

Currently on cycle 4, CD11. Still breastfeeding my nearly 2 year old and co-sleeping, wondering if it’s having an effect on fertility as we conceived in a blink of an eye the first time…trying not to overthink it all.

Anyone welcome to join, don’t have to be breastfeeding, just any support welcome!

Thought last month was the month but here we are again… :/

Hi @ThatNimbleOP I could have written your post! Exactly the same position - have a nearly 2yo who was conceived on first try. This time we are 4 cycles in and no joy yet, I’ve been wondering also if ovulation has been affected by breastfeeding.

From what I understand as long as your periods have come back you are likely ovulating, which gives me some hope. Are you tracking ovulation or anything? We haven’t yet as I stupidly thought I’d be pregnant by now, but am thinking of using ovulation test strips next cycle (I’m cd27ish of cycle 4).

Hi! I'll join!

Also ttc #2 whilst bf my 10 mo.

Quite different to you both as my DD took 6 cycles/7 months. I have slightly irregular and longish cycles which I thought was why it took a little while.

Thanks to illness over Christmas I'm counting now cycle 1, CD20 and I think ov is due any day now.

I'm a breastfeeding peer support worker. Many of the mums who come by and are in our chat community have conceived and gone onto tandem feed.

https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/breastfeeding-pregnancy-tandem-nursing/

Please don't deny your current child what's working for you both because you think it will help a future child. It's very likely that if your periods have returned bf has nothing to do with it taking varying amounts of time. Most people will fall pregnant in a year. Give it more time.

Hi, I just wanted to say that if your cycles have returned and you're ovulating, you definitely stand a chance. We managed to conceive our second whilst still breastfeeding our first on cycle 5 of trying

Hi @Strongbrewplease, sorry to hear you’ve been ill - so annoying over Christmas! It’s nice to have ttc companions whatever the circumstances. Good luck with ovulation week!

@Flittingaboutagain thank you this looks really useful! Off to have a read

I’m in a similar situation, DD is 17 months and feed to fall asleep and throughout the night. My cycles only began again in October but have been up to 36 days long with very late ovulation. My luteal phase has been very short and I’ve read this can impact chances of falling pregnant. Are you all using LH test strips?

I think that I have ovulated in the past few days and may have been late DTD unfortunately.

@Cinnamonbunn I used the strips with DD with various success, never really got a super strong positive but clearly was ovulating!

I've heard they can be a but inaccurate whilst bf still and we're still doing a lot of feeds, especially over night. Having said that probably will do a bit of tracking!

I started ttc while breastfeeding in September. Had no period until October, then my cycles were really long and had a super short luteal phase. I concieved at the start of this month super early in my cycle, whereas the month before I ovulated around day 30! I’ve never ovulated so early and I wasn’t testing ovulation then either as thought it was too soon in my cycle. So definitely worth starting to test ovulation as soon as your period is over or dtd every other day just in case!

Congratulations @BGxxx !!

It really does seem to cause havoc with your cycle. Mine wasn't particularly predictable at the best of times but since my period returned 4 months after DD was born I've have anywhere between 27 - 51 days!

We must be living the same life 🤣 my little one is nearly 18 months. My luteal phase was only 5 days, how short is yours??

@Strongbrewplease thank you! I was very shocked to have concieved as I’d really set myself up for it taking a long time!

With my first son I conceived on my first cycle so I naively thought the same would happen again the next time round.

We TTC number two whilst I was still breastfeeding my first son and to be honest I didn’t think it would cause any problems as you hear of women getting pregnant all the time whilst breastfeeding.

My periods had been back for over 18 months at this point (breastfeeding hadn’t stopped them unfortunately) and my cycles were regular so I assumed I was just as fertile as I had been when TTC number 1.

However, after 10 months (so about 11
cycles) of negative pregnancy tests I went to see my GP.

She told me that the act of breastfeeding can affect conception in some women, not because it affects ovulation or fertility, but because of the hormonal effect it can have on the endometrium wall. She explained that for some women, the hormones produced alongside breastfeeding can cause the endometrium wall to be thinner and/or of a lesser quality than usual, and as a result it cannot maintain a pregnancy.

She said that for all of the 11 cycles I had been TTC I could have conceived each and every time, but that if the endometrium wall wasn’t of a good enough quality to allow the fertilised egg to embed within it then pregnancy could not occur. She said if this were the case then the fertilised eggs would come to nothing and I would be having my periods as normal.

She came from a background of gynaecology so I trusted what she said and she seemed to know her stuff.

Anyhow, after thinking about it for a few weeks I decided to stop breastfeeding and then much to my happiness, I got a positive pregnancy test 6 weeks later.

@BGxxx wow yes our timelines are spookily similar, so pleased to heard you’re now pregnant. This does give me a lot of hope. Mine is 7/8, based on when my app is predicting ovulation from the positive LH tests. In theory I only have four days left till my cycle starts again. Perhaps it could be worth me DTD more regularly from the end of my period.

Looks like there are a few of us in a similar boat. I’m going to try testing for ovulation I think next cycle as they can be a bit irregular, so hopefully that might shed a bit of light on when I should be focusing on.

Hi! I am TTC and have been for a while. I am breastfeeding my 31 month old. I have managed to fall pregnant twice but I miscarried both. I am going to continue trying. I found that as soon as my cycles returned, I started to feel ovulation happen again every month. It took a good 18 months plus for my LP to lengthen and everything to get back to normal. My cycles started again when my little one was 11 months old x

How's everyone getting on?

Think I'm now 2dpo based on a "peak" LH and ewcm (never actually had a super strong peak so it's peak for me).

Welcome @BabyBorn ! My cycles returned when DD was just shy of 4 months, I felt cheated at the time as it seemed like I didn't get much of a break! As I haven't been tracking LH before now I've no idea in my LP, should be interesting to see how I'm actually doing.

@Strongbrewplease wow! That was early! Were you topping her up with formula? Mine have always come back around the 11-12month mark. I do like my cycles to come back as I like to know where I am with everything 🥴 How old is your LG? Have you been trying for long? X

@Strongbrewplease how are you feeling?

I’m 6/7 dpo so my period will be due in the next few days. This time I didn’t have a super strong peak either, but I could have missed it as I wasn’t testing as regularly. I’ve had a lot of PMS symptoms so I think AF is on the way. We had planned to take a break till late April/May after this cycle but now it’s come to it, I’m finding that harder than I expected.

All good here! It's my birthday later this week (33 😱) so hoping that's a nice distraction for this tww! Symptoms spotting is inevitable though...

@Cinnamonbunn my DD was conceived a month when I didn't have that strong a peak so perhaps you'll be lucky🤞🏻 hopefully AF doesn't show up this month.

@BabyBorn she was EBF so it really shocked me when AF arrived! I'm taking it as a sign that my body is wanting to crack on with ttc.

@Strongbrewplease wow! That's quite amazing! Suppose everyone is different but never heard of a cycle come back that early before EBFeeding!

Hope your celebrations keep your mind off the TTW. I've still got until the 9th until I ovulate 😮‍💨 Happy Birthday for next week too!! 🥳🎂🎉🎈 xx

Hi @BabyBorn, I’m so sorry about your losses and welcome to the thread. Wishing you the best of luck this cycle.

happy birthday for this week @Strongbrewplease! Hope it brings you luck.

@Cinnamonbunn i love your user name so much! Wishing you luck for the next few days, hopefully you won’t need to decide about a break

Hi @G0ldfinch thank you! Where are you upto with things?

I've been food shopping for a variety of very healthy low sugar foods and snacks! Bought nothing to tempt myself! I need to lose a little weight, maybe half a stone. I've noticed my stomach being a lot flatter this last few days since cutting down on lots of junk!

@BabyBorn I’m on CD2 of cycle 5 I think, last one was a bit of a write off as DH was ill. Hoping this one will be better! Ive bought some ovulation test strips as I have no idea when I ovulate or how consistent I am.

Your day sounds productive, well done in resisting the treats! Great you can see results already!

Hi @G0ldfinch, exciting! Hope he's better now so you can get back to it! 😮‍💨😂 I would test at least 3 times a day to get your peak. I luckily don't have to test as I am pretty much bang on time every month with ovulation, it's always on day 16. I feel the pain of it too. Going to have to start BD tonight as I'm on CD10! 😱 I am so tired. Been none stop today and also still co sleeping with our LG 🥴

Seeing results but it's likely just water retention 🥴😂😂 x

Oh thanks @BabyBorn that’s good advice re testing 3x per day. I’m intrigued to see if clue and premom are right or if I’ve been trying at the wrong time for the last 4 months. Too tired to DTD throughout the month!

Sorry to hear you’ve been non stop and hope you can get a good nights sleep for the energy required for the upcoming week! 😂

Hey @G0ldfinch, I used to test at midday, 2.30pm and 6pm. Would usually get my peak between 2.30 and 6pm every time! Sometimes I would just do them randomly between those times and usually get my peak closer to 6pm. Good luck and let us know how you get on with it!