TTC whilst breastfeeding support thread - join me to share your ups and downs!

[smallblackflowers]

Hi!
A little about me - I'm pushing 34, have a 10 month old DD that I'm still breastfeeding and really want to conceive no.2 asap!
I am on my second cycle since AF returned and am temp / CM / CP charting using fertility friend and have OPKs!
I ovulated on day 29 of my last cycle, and am on day 21 at the moment.
Have been having fun and games with very fertile signs over the past week, so lots of BD, but no ovulation, poor DH is full of a cold and not feeling very energetic but I keep insisting that he perform until my temps go up

So anyway - hoping that there are others out there in a similar boat who can help to keep me sane and hopefully share some good news in the coming months.

Oops! - think I'm on CD30

Dita - I think I'm only on 3DPO. When did you notice the EWCM when you were pregnant? I would assume it's still lingering from ovulation, although I read that it usually dried up quite quickly.

How many dpo are you now?

I'm trying to remember ... Last time I got my BFP early, at 3+4 I think and I noticed the EWCM a few days before that, because I remember thinking "WTF? I'm OVing NOW?!" then a couple more things clicked into place and I did a test. About a week past OV I guess, but that really is a guess! Might be worth SWI again tonight, just to make sure?

Think I'm 11DPO today but I haven't been brilliant at keeping track this month.

I get my tests from the local pound store 3 for a £1 means I can test a few times to make sure I can't see a line!

DS only has 1 feed during the night and thats about 4/5am now so hopefully he will soon drop that although he does still sometimes have one at 11pm too. I think I am going to tackle his daytime feeds and try and get him to take more from a cup. I want to keep the morning and evening feeds but not bothered about the rest. Any tips?

BFN again. Will test again (with my last test!) on Saturday if still no AF by then.

QueenFee we are still feeding loads in the day so can't help I'm afraid!

well I managed to cut down to just 1 day feed today by introducing snacks and drinks in a cup. It will be interesting to see if it has any effect on his night feeds. I wonder how many I need to drop to have AF return.
Bizzarrely I have been feeling a bit pregnant this month so hopefully there are some changes going on.

DVC sorry about your bfn

Sorry to hear about BFN, Dita.

I've only recently cut down on daytime feeds but I explained to ds that we were only going to have milk at bedtime from now on, and I managed to distract him with snacks too. He seems to have accepted it pretty well, and althought he occasionally asks for milk he doesn't make a fuss when he doesn't get it.

Well, it seems that I did ovulate on Sunday so any EWCM was just a weird anomoly. The evening primrose oil certainly seems to have made a difference so maybe it was something to do with that. Who knows...

Right, I have decided to stop being a lurker

I'm sure one of you directed me to this thread, but I can't for the life of me remember when or who, so apologies for that

I'm not technically TTC yet, sadly DS was born 6 months ago and I had a nasty 2nd degree tear and a whole load of stitches. The midwife who sewed me up was a little enthusiastic, so subsequently we are having a little trouble getting DH to 'fit' . The GP has suggested that it might be bfing which is delaying the healing of my scar (it's not just that it's tight, but is also very sore along the scar) and has prescribed me with oestrogen pessaries, which I haven't yet started using as there is a risk of my bm supply being reduced.
Added to which, I have only just started weaning DS, so am still mainly bfing and have not had my AF yet So even if I was able to do any SWI, I'm not fertile anyway!

I'm not very old (28 in the summer) but we did want to get cracking fairly soon as I am currently a SAHM and we can't afford to do that indefinitely, so wanted to have 2 fairly close together.

It does feel a little bit like the odds are stacked against me and breastfeeding
I was sort of hoping that once DS is sleeping better and feeding less at night that my hormones would kick back into action, but it's looking unlikely. He currently feeds twice between 7pm and 6am, and has gone from 10-5 or 6 on a few occasions. I had heard that not feeding between 12 and 4am can help to become fertile again, but I'm guessing this needs to be regularly? Argh, I just know I'm going to one of those people who can't conceive until they have fed their last drop of milk I love bfing so much, I don't want to have to stop before we're both ready

Anyway, too many sad faces here, sorry about that!

Sorry to hear BFNs still , although maybe some of us could still have something in the post?

Hello Trotters and LifeofKate, good to see some more new starts!

Nightweaning going well with me. DH has only been needed a few times in the last fortnight so that means in addition to not feeding 3 days a week because I'm at work, I'm now not feeding between 7pm and 5am at the earliest.

Surely this will tip the balance and help crank my rusty old ovaries into life sometime soon?! Or am I going to hit 2 years without an AF in August?

My jeans feel a tiny bit looser so I'm hoping that my body is registering the change already. Or maybe not and it's just wishful thinking

Love that expression Beveridge Unfortunately the postie has been with nothing but junk mail and pizza menus for me - AF arrived on Friday. On the plus side, it's 14 days exactly since I OVed (I think) so hopefully that's me more or less back to normal ... Trying to get in touch with my acupuncturist to schedule a couple of sessions this month. I met up with someone I know last week who is (a) pregnant but still bfing and (b) has been pg three times and had acupuncture every time, so hopefully will work for me too.

Welcome LifeofKate and good to hear that cutting down is going well for you - hope that things settle down soon (and you can still be fertile before your AF returns, as my SIL learned recently ). Good luck also with the cutting down coconutfeet and Beveridge. Nightweaning was going okay here but DD has been ill/out of sorts the last couple of days so it's all gone tits up (so to speak) again

Evening all. Been really busy at work and this thread fell off my Threads I'm On.

Welcome lifeofkate. Sounds like you've had a tough time recently.

Beveridge - well done with the nightweaning. Hopefully it'll tip the balance and your periods will start again soon.

I'm having a weird month - Took agnus castus and EPO earlier in the month which caused me to O a day or so earlier than usual. I'm now 10 dpo and had a huge temp drop this morning right down to my coverline. Not sure if this means af is imminent or if it's something else. If it is af this means my luteal phase is the shortest it's ever been.

I did an internet cheapie test this morning and it was a BFN, so I'm not feeling too hopeful. Gah!

Hi all.. sorry for BFNs but great news that your LP is back to normal dita - after my normal LP last month, I am really hoping this month will be it for me. Have had three friends tell me they are pregnant in three days! I also think the fact that the founder of this thread sbf had a bfp finally is a great omen and so we should all stick with it until we finally get there....

That's great news with the night feeds bev, fingers crossed it will make the difference.

So, CD13 here, am about to start the opks and hope it's not too late (no ewcm at all though, not even a hint, and o on cd16 last time). Last cycle, I had ewcm just once, and we should have gone for it at that very moment I think.... instead of waiting till the evening by which time it was too late I think.

Still mega feeding though (ds 17 months) - throughout the day, evening and night! I really think it would be very hard to stop or even cut down without actually absenting myself, and that seems a little extreme but if I don't get pg this month, then I think we will have to bite the bullet and go for night-weaning.

Hello lovely ladies just popping my head around the door to say hi.

dita great to hear about your LP being back to normal.

coconutfeet fingers crossed for you

missjackson have you tried grapefruit juice / fresh grapefruit to increase your EWCM - it (and the evening primrose oil) made a difference to me.

Well I'm in the full throws (pun intended) of terrible morning sickness. Had to see my doc today for medication, as finding it really difficult to take care of DD and myself. BF is really sore too, but am back to pretty much feeding on demand, which = 2 or 3 times per day at the moment.

Just want to say that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you all, and hope you don't mind if I pop in every now and then to say hello.

Hi SBF - You poor thing! Did you get morning sickness last time round?

I second the EPO suggestion. I took it this cycle and it certainly made a massive difference.

My temp shot up again today and was the highest it's been all cycle so who knows what's going on. I got another BFN again today though (another internet cheapie - supposedly 10miu). So I don't know if I'm testing too early or if it's just a weird blip.

Sorry to hear about AF Dita, acupuncture sounds intriguing. Hopefully that combined with a good length of cycle will get a result soon.

missjackson I can recommend grapefruit juice from personal experience! Had to dilute it with gingerbeer as I really don't like it but I got a BFP with DD the month I tried it!

Oh the joys of morning sickness SBF, I think I've blanked out how rough I felt in the early weeks. Hope it doesn't last too long and you can start glowing properly v.soon

DD seems to have got the hang of sleeping through (yay!)but the flipside is she was up and grooving at 4am Tuesday morning and barely made 5am on Wednesday. So DH and I have fallen into bed shattered this week, with no inclination to do anything other than sleep - the irony!

Met up with friends today, 2 of whom are pregnant. It was lovely to see them, talking about scans, birth plans, etc. has made me quite impatient to get on with the task in hand

Coconutfeet waiting to hear what happens...

I'm out. Got AF this morning. Not too fed up though as my temps we nice and high and my LP is back to pre-children length, so all in all everything's moving in the right direction, and cutting down the feeds seems to have made a real difference.

I bought grapefruit juice this month and kept forgetting to drink it. I found Evening Primrose was really good for the CM though. Beveridge, how much grapefruit juice were you drinking?

Aw, sorry to hear that coconutfeet . But you're right, it sounds like it's all moving in the right direction as you're seeing real progress.

I drank a large glass of grapefruit juice a day,one of those tall cartons from tesco did me about 3 days. I went for pink grapefruit, not for any scientific reason but because I thought it might be slightly less disgusting than the plain kind.

Ironically, by the end of that month I was quite liking it!

Aw, sorry she got you coconutfeet, though it does sound as though things are starting to happen for you.

I'm on CD9 - have an acupuncture appointment tomorrow and might pick up some grapefruit juice (blegh!) while I'm at it. Can you all please keep your fingers crossed that DD sleeps through my appointment or it probably won't be very relaxing

coconutfeet sorry about AF.

sbf hope the sickness stops soon

DVC How did the appointment go?

I am very confused. Still no AF here but feeling really sick and dizzy for about 2 weeks now and can't understand it. Have had 3 BFNs now though so can't be that I wonder if it is my hormones settling down and AF may be on her way???? Hopefully.

lifeofkate Just wanted to say I would be suprised if BF was affecting it I have had 2 3rd degree tears and 2 episio's and have not had any problems with healing, more likely to be a stiching issue? Just my IME though no scentific knowledge!

It was a bit of a disaster! My brilliant plan was to go to the playground with DD early on to tire her out, then walk around with her in the buggy until she fell asleep. Nearly flawless. Unfortunately, the front wheel fell off the buggy minutes after getting out of the car, so I spent most of the morning dragging the damn thing around town in the baking sun trying to find a cycle repair shop and DD was not asleep for my acupuncture session, though she was just chatty rather than screaming and I managed to relax fairly well in the circumstances. She then fell asleep minutes after getting in the car to go home - grr! Didn't get any grapefruit juice either. Pfff.

Sorry about AF coconutfeet

QueenFee - GP said it was something to do with a lack of oestrogen which can delay healing, which is why I've been given pessaries. Just got to stop wobbling and use the bloody things! Even if they don't work, I can go back to the GP and demand a referral, I just need to try them before I can do that.

Dita - How annoying!! I hate when you have a perfect plan and it all falls to pieces! I often have days all planned out based on when DS usually naps and then they all fall apart (like today, he is still asleep )

So, we have just had the 4th night in a row of sleeping through So that is 4 nights of no milk between 11.30 and 5 at a minimum (9.30 til 6 one night though!), I am so so so hoping that it will give my system a little kick start! I think I'm finding this difficult because DH and I just had to look at each other without contraception to get pregnant last time, it is hard accepting that it won't be as easy this time
Also feeling a bit glum as SIL has just announced she's pregnant again... it is great news, but still feeling a little and It was followed by lots of 'are you having another one, you should have another one, when are you going to have another one, it would be good for you to have another one soon'

Any news Queenfee?

LIfeofkate - Great news about the sleeping through. Hopefully this will be the push your body needs. I got pregnant really easily last time too and I agree it's a bit of a shock to discover that it's not always that easy.

Dita - You've just reminded me that I need to get some grapefruit juice!

lifeofKate We were the same we have had 3 without any problems but never tried whilst BF before

I am still
Still no AF
3 -ve tests
and still sick and dizzy.

I think if this goes on much longer I need a trip to the GP as it's driving me crazy!

I am currently wobbling between let's wean DS and oh well it will happen eventually. We haven't used anything since Christmas and at 1st I was glad it didn't happen straight away as DS was still so tiny, but now I am starting to get to the point where you think it will never happen although I know I am probably being unreasonable!

dita sorry your plans didn't work out but glad you managed to have the acupuncture all the same

I knew that was too good to last, DS woke up in the night once last night, grr! I bit the bullet and used a pessary for the first time last night. Just got to see if it's going to work now
Off to see SIL again today, got to steel myself to deflect all her pestering about us having another baby I managed to offload to a good friend yesterday who was lovely and totally understood

QueenFee How old is your DS? Have you had regular AFs since Christmas? Sorry, you've probably said all this already, I'm just being lazy! You can be pregnant and still have a negative test. DH knew someone at work who kept having negative tests, so her GP sent her for a scan to 'shut her up' as he said she couldn't possibly be pregnant after a negative test She was rather pleased to go back and shove a scan picture of a 20 week foetus in his face

at the 20 week scan and -ve test. In my dreams !
No ds is 1 on friday I have always tested +ve before af due with the other 3 so 4 -ve tests prob is correct in my case. Anyway ds is still feeding loads and even more so in this weather so that's not going to help matters.
I am wondering if giving him a bottle at night (if he will take one) would kick start things.