Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Messed up period post pregnancy

14 replies

littletree · 06/04/2004 20:23

I'm trying to figure out what on earth is going on with my cycle and would appreciate any incite you may have. Pre-pregnancy I was regular as rain every 28 days- always starting on Wednesday in the morning. After I had ds I breastfed for 6 months and as soon as I finished my periods started again. The first 2 cycles were normal and the next was 3 days late. The last cycle was a week late and the pmt has been horrendous. Everything seems to be getting worse and on top of it, it seems like I am ovulating all over the place- sorry for the graphics but the usual sticky secretions can be happening for up to two weeks and don't seem to correlate with my cycle any more. Any clues???

OP posts:

emmatmg · 06/04/2004 20:32

Hi littletree (BTW like your name), I'm terrible at keeping check on when I come on/ovulate but what I do know is that after each baby my periods have been different in every way, each time. Cycle length, how heavy/light it is/, sticky stuff( ) etc etc etc.
How i've managed to have 3 children so easily is a mystery to me.

Not much help I know but just thought I'd tell you.

samwifewithkid · 06/04/2004 23:58

This happened to me too, I bf for 6 months and my first 2 cycles were fine. Then things suddenly went pear shaped, including my hormones. It went on for quite a while! I wouldn't expect things to get back to normal for ages yet, so bear with it. They say it takes up to 1 year for your body to sort itself out afterwards, but I'm sure mine took 18 months. My dd is now 22 months and I've been back on the pill for 3 months, as I felt it was the right time for this. But go with your gut instincts on things, you'll know when things have sorted themselves out. And (sorry to be gross) my secretions seem to happen for 2 weeks out of the 4 now?? not sure why, but they are clear with no infections. Make sure you take care of yourself if your hormones are up and down. And you will get there eventually, I feel OK now and am starting to think maybe I'd like to have a 2nd child!! (why do we go through it all again)

prettycandles · 07/04/2004 00:10

Things can take a long time to settle down, and may not be the same as previously. Before ds I had a fairly long cycle, about 31 days but not regular, and a fairly regular pattern with the bleeding itself. When my periods started again at 6m, they were about 22 days apart, and phenomenally heavy. Then since they started again after dd was born (about 7m even though still bfing) they have been fairly irregular, anything from 21 to 35 days so far, but with more-or-less the original pattern in the bleeding. Before babies I had regular PMT, between babies I had no PMT, and since then I have had occasional PMT. I think you just have to wait and see.

Original poster

littletree · 07/04/2004 07:36

What an absolute pain! (no pun intended) I really feel that literature could be more explicit about what happens to a womans body after she gives birth. It seems that everything is geared towards the build-up to producing the baby- the end. Knowing what happens wouldn't have deterred me from having my beautiful ds but it would have helped me feel prepared. I am seriously broody again but don't feel my body is ready to cope yet with a new pregnancy Hell, I don't even know how I could make a baby with such a wacko cycle. Thanks for your commisserations.

OP posts:

GrannyPants · 07/04/2004 08:46

I could have written your first post almost word-for-word. The only thing missing from it was the terrible panic when one period was a week late and I was convinced that my contraception must have somehow failed. Ds is nearly 18 months old now and things finally seem to be calming down at last.

I agree that there should be info about this sort of thing.

Hulababy · 07/04/2004 08:52

Post pregnancy my periods were all messed up too. I had my first at about 8 weeks after pg. I then had 3 very litle ones, and then had nothing at all for over a year, despite taking the pill. Since then I know have them more or less regualarly (still on the pill) but they vary on timings, length, etc. And I now get more pains than I used to before being pregnant.

samwifewithkid · 07/04/2004 12:24

I think there's a lot the health professionals don't tell you about your body after pregnancy. We should be entitled to know as it is our body after all. I wish I was more informed before I got pregnant, then i could have made better decisions being armed with the correct information. In retrospect I will be acting differently after my next pregnancy!

prettycandles · 07/04/2004 21:07

My mum always used to tell me 'They will get easier after you have a baby'. And you know what? It's true! They may be irregular, heavy, light, unpredictable and confusing, but they are no longer painful, and that makes everything more bearable.

popsycal · 07/04/2004 21:09

oh hell - i know i posted on this thread but where has it gone!?!?

popsycal · 07/04/2004 21:10

oh no i didnt - it is here - very similar though

Original poster

littletree · 08/04/2004 11:42

popsycal- That is almost the same thread!
Grannypants- I did have the same panic as you did when it was one week late- I thought I'd lost my mind for a while there. We are using the dreaded condoms and they've never let me down before.

OP posts:

GrannyPants · 08/04/2004 11:46

We were using condoms too! I think at one point in my hysteria I even accused dh of sabotaging one on purpose! The poor man was as horrified at the prospect as I was!

Original poster

littletree · 08/04/2004 18:05

Granny- Are we the same person?!? Maybe I'm losing my mind again- probably hormones again

OP posts:

hana · 08/04/2004 18:38

littletree - my periods post dd have also been a lot different than before she was born - PMT much worse, much crampier (I had always thought 'what a wimp!' when I heard of how women would complain about painful cramps during their periods..........oh how I know how bad they can be now!! Must be pay back time!) and they are a little longer as well. But they are still pretty regular and I keep an eye on secretions etc ( ttc right now) I think it's perfectly normal

Flip