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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

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Original poster

I haven't had a period for 18 months... how on earth do I work out when I can conceive?

17 replies

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 21:33

My last period was 15th Dec 2006 (I remember it well, I cried cos I wasn't pg.... I was two weeks later though ) and ds is now 9 months old. I'd like to start trying for #2 but I don't know how on earth I'm supposed to know when I'm at my fertile time. I'm still bfing ds 2 or 3 times a day but I know people do get pregnant while bfing. If you're actively ttc how on earth do you do it if you don't have any periods? Or do those who get pg while bfing only do so by accident? I have noticed in the past couple of months i've been having a couple of days of ewcm, does that mean I'm still ov'ing on those days? My skin has started to go back to it's greasy former self so I wondered if together with the ewcm my hormones were going back to normal.

OP posts:

LuLuBai · 10/06/2008 21:52

I didn't get a period until 2 weeks after I completely stopped breastfeeding when dd was 10 months old. I'd only been doing 1 feed a day for a couple of weeks but my body didn't readjust until I had totally stopped.

Just got pg on 3rd cycle since periods recommenced.

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 21:55

Hi Head Fairy

Check out my recent thread on similar subject

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1364/538959

I'm in the same position, still bfing and no af yet. My understanding is that there is no rhyme or reason as to when different women become fertile again, some do straight away, others not till stopped bfing completely. Night-weaning often helps because that's when we ovulate, as does dropping a feed suddenly. If you get pg when bfing before having a period it's because youv'e got lucky and caught the first egg iyswim. Like you I've got a bit greasier and ewcm is back but still no period. Don't fully understand it and looking forward to other replies you get but maybe body just getting back to normal. Very rarely you can ovulate more than once before a period but no likely.

Anyway, there are some more helpful links in replies on my thread.

Good luck!

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 21:57

useful kellymom link:

www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html#transition

Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 22:07

oh that's very interesting alittleteapot... I'm still doing a dream feed at about 10.30pm, I wonder if that's doing it. i'm only doing that because I'm back at work and sometimes I don't actually get to physically feed ds (I'll do a quick pump to keep things going) other than just before bed. He doesn't feed at all at night though, sleeps through I'll go back to reading your other thread now.....

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alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:15

Well it doesn't work for everyone but worth a try...

Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 22:22

having read the rest of your other thread alittleteapot I think I might be slightly different as I'm feeding much less than you and not co-sleeping. Are you still co-sleeping? Ds hardly takes anything from me any more, a tiny bit in the morning, a little bit before bed and his 10.30pm dreamfeed. I guess I might be one of those who doesn't get their periods back either until I totally stop bfing. I'm also in my late 30s so I've got half an eye on the calendar too, however I'm trying not to sweat it too much, don't want to get worked up about it just yet. I was hoping to get ds to one year and then give up bfing when he can go on to cow's milk.

It was interesting what whomovedmychocolate said about getting pg three times without having a period in 3 years... perhaps I should go out and buy a bumper pack of opks to see what's happening. I'd have to get loads because normally I'd start testing on cd 10 but I have no idea when that is... actually this has really aroused my curiosity about what's going on in my body so perhaps I'll do just that.

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alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:29

I was thinking of getting a pack of opks too but then thought better not had just better go with flow as getting obsessed is not going to help matters!

I saw a friend yesterday who has just had DC2. She didn't get her period until she stopped bfing DC1 completely at 15 months, and she had been down to one feed a day for at least three months.

As I said, no rhyme or reason.

I'm really curious about the ewcm though. There's obviously something happening. I've already done three pg tests just in case. Sad cos last time I only ever had to do one!

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:30

ps yes still co-sleeping and not getting very far in moving things on... as I said on my thread, v happy with the way things are if only af would return.

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:31

pps or rather than buy opks why not just have lots of sex? if your ds is sleeping through youv'e no excuse

Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 22:38

loads of sex... hmmm ds might be sleeping through but I'm working full time back on shifts too so I'm still shattered, or maybe I'm just getting too old for all this malarky

Sounds like you had a rough time ttc last time alittleteapot. Although I was actively ttc, and had all the usual hormone tests and investigations when I hadn't conceived after 6 months I was determined not to get upset or test myself too often. I did one pg test when I got a bfn, but when I did conceive I didn't even need to test... I'd had such strong implantation pains and I was three days late, I've never ever been late. Not by one day.

I might start keeping a note of these changes to see if some kind of pattern reveals itself. I did have some spotting three weeks ago, I thought that might have been a period but it didn't really get started.

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Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 22:40

oh and wow aren't you good keeping up the co-sleeping and bfing? Although I'm still bfing, ds gets a bottle of formula a day at the cm. He slept in our room to 6 months in his cot, but since then he's been in his own room.

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alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:41

Sounds like things are getting moving for you.

No, no prob ttc last time, got pg first month of trying. So shouldn't be worrying this time really, but am, just a bit...

Anyway, good luck with it all. Hope we meet again soon on the pregancy thread!

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:44

x-posted

co-sleeping started out as needs must, then we fell in love with it. and bfing, it's always been on demand and don't even know how to impose a pattern on it. she does have a bit of a pattern now - fed every hour for first three months! and hardly feeds in day except when teething.

Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 22:48

oh that's good, sorry I thought you were trying to avoid too much testing as you'd had problems last time. I took 15 months to get pg last time. I do hope we meet up on the pregnancy boards soon, I'd like to get pg soon as I would love to have a baby in the spring... purely selfishly of course, I'd like to have my maternity leave start just as the weather's getting nice. It was quite hard doing mat leave during the winter, I got such cabin fever when it was miserable.

The more I hear of other people's experiences the more I realise that my ds is a dream baby, such a great sleeper and generally a great feeder. Oh and I saw your comment about eating chocolate during pregnancy on the other thread... I read this in an NCT magazine when I was pg, I'd been eating tons of chocolate, every day really. DS is the happiest, smiliest baby ever. Must have been the chocolate

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whomovedmychocolate · 10/06/2008 22:54

Headfairy - best idea is just to have a lot of sex - I know it's obvious but if there are eggs kicking about, you just need to point the sperm in the right direction at regular intervals.

alittleteapot · 10/06/2008 22:57

we brought dd home the week of wimbledon. was perfect! and yes, dd is just SO smiley. so i'm keeping up the green and blacks, as well as the folic acid

oh just one more thing about ttc while bfing - in some women bfing causes you to ovulate too late in cycle to conceive. as it took you a while last time might be worth monitoring even if/when period back. having said that if you're going to wean at one you should be ok to crack on soon anyway...

Original poster

HeadFairy · 10/06/2008 23:28

sounds perfect. My best friend had a baby in March and she's just coming out of the first three months which are always hellish in to lovely summer with a baby that's just beginning to take an interest in the world. At the same stage I was getting in a sweat trying to do Christmas shopping with a baby that needed feeding every three hours. The funny thing was I thought it would be great doing it over winter, all those snuggly evenings with hot chocolate and marshmallows, lovely shopping trips with twinkly lights everywhere. The reality was very different....

I will keep an eye on things when it does all start up again. I don't think there was any reason why we didn't conceive straight away last time, I just think we didn't have enough sex. I got pg when we switched from doing it every other day during fertile period to doing it every day for five days around the time of ov. First time we tried it it worked.

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