Trying for another baby while breastfeeding and periods have not returned

[PoppyPeaches]

hi!
I am 37 and have a beautiful baby boy who is 6m tomorrow! He is exclusively breastfed and my periods haven’t returned yet. As it took 18m to conceive him, and we are keen to try for a sibling, I am worried about leaving it too long as I am fully aware it may take a while, or not happen at all, but I want to give it the best go.
I really don’t want to give up breastfeeding yet though! I know it is possible to get pregnant whilst breastfeeding and before your period returns, however what are my chances of this? I gather the breastfeeding hormones technically stop ovulation but it’s not fail safe, so I wondered if I reduced breastfeeding but didn’t stop (say at 9m when we want to start properly trying) would that make it more likely? I always thought I’d start weaning off BF at around 6m but now it’s here I don’t want to, and my little man loves it so much so I also have guilt about stopping to try for another baby rather then because he’s ready.

Does anyone have any advice or experiences around this?

thanks so much!

It is possible to get pregnant before your periods return but you may have more success if you wait. It also would make dating the pregnancy easier if you wait until your periods come back. You might not have long to go. He’s only 6 months old. Periods often come back when the baby starts eating more solid food. Mine came back when my son was 10 months old. I didn’t have to stop breastfeeding to have another baby. I still breastfeed him now and his little sister is 4 months old.

My periods came back at 7 months! I have 2 friends whose periods also came back at that point too, all breastfeeding

Mine came back at 6 months and regular since, and I'm still BF at 22 months - I only stopped feeding on demand when she was about 14 months. Once he starts food you might find he reduces BF, or you can more comfortably reduce over the 6-12 month period as he gets more calories from food. Although this absolutely did not happen for me... We're not having a 2nd tho.

My periods came back at 16 months with my first and at almost 2 years with the second and third. I was still breastfeeding with all of them. I was still breastfeeding when I got pregnant with my second

If you could drop or reduce the night feeds your body could adapt faster.

I am 6 m pregnant w dc2 and dc1 about to turn 2.

I had period like bleeding every 6 months after dc1 was born. I am still "breastfeeding" (mostly for comfort I guess, no way to measure what comes out, as breast is very dry and painful probably due to pregnancy hormones).

Most people i know had af return after they night weaned or if they didn’t night wean it was after 1. Mine didn’t come back until 16 months but my baby (toddler!) was feeding round the clock still at that point. I think once you start weaning there’s a chance it’ll come back since you will be feeding less in theory. Could you start doing OPKs now to see if you’re ovulating?

I remember looking into that because I wanted to (and got) pregnant while I was breastfeeding. Remember breastfeeding is considered an effective contraceptive if you meet the criteria (baby under six months, exclusive, no more than so many hours between feeds, no periods, double check but I think that’s it) and so you might be only just coming out of that. As your baby starts getting calories elsewhere and going longer between feeds your periods will return.
You can get pregnant without your period but it’s kind of unlikely as I understand it you’d basically have one ovulation first then into your maybe irregular cycles it wouldn’t be like regular ovulations no periods. So you can just have lots of sex to try and catch that when it comes.
you might not have to night wean I didn’t and tandem fed. You can take longer gaps in the day if it works better for you especially with food and being out and about.

I looked at this after my first. My periods came back at four months, and my cycles were regular, but I personally didn’t get pregnant until I stopped completely. Same for a lot of my friends. And I was pregnant the month after stopping.

However, the articles I read said breastfeeding suppressed fertility, rather than prevented it altogether, and some women do get pregnant. But higher prolactin levels while breastfeeding can suppress progesterone, lead to thinner luteal phase womb lining etc, and impede implantation.

One study showed that you could trigger your periods by eating a lot more calories (300-400 extra) than usual for a period of 3-4 weeks. Probably coincidental but my periods came back both times when being away travelling and eating out loads. You could try that maybe

I think the average for periods returning is 8 months when breastfeeding. It was true for me! And then I got pregnant at 10 months, still breastfeeding and kept going until I was 30 weeks pregnant.

It took 12 months each time for my periods to return. You may also not ovulate for a while, but it depends on feed frequency. Around a year is common for a breastfed baby. Six months is a bit early as you are only just introducing solid food and your baby will be feeding a lot.
I waited until my first was 18 months before trying again as I’d had a c section.

Oh should add I was still breastfeeding when I got pregnant, and I fed through the pregnancy.