no period yet post partum, just discovered I'm pregnant again

[alexpolismum]

Has this happened to anyone else? My son is now 7 months old, and I was breastfeeding him exclusively until last month, and he's still mainly breastfed. I was under the (as it turns out mistaken) impression that exclusive breastfeeding acted like a contraceptive, and also thought that I wouldn't be fertile until after my first period post partum.

Well, I still haven't had a period, and the doctor says I'm 2 months pregnant and should think about weaning my son from the breast.

Congratulations! No experinece myself but it's very common as bf is not a good method of contraception. There is no reason to wean your son off the breast if you are not ready yet.

this happened to me twice. once unexpectedly and once kind of on purpose.
congratulations, and you do not need to wean your baby yet unless you want to. You can feed right up until new baby is born and just carry on if you want to!

Congratulations!

Exclusive breastfeeding has to be really really frequent to be a contraceptive of any kind.

But you know that now

Your dr is talking rubbish - you don't need to stop breastfeeding your ds unless you want to for whatever reason. PLenty of women carry on a nd breastfeed young toddlers and newborns, so there's no reason for you to stop whilst pg!

All the best!

Congratulations.

It is not that uncommon - I'm amazed that the GP didn't point this out when you had your post-birth check-up tbh.

You can do a search on tandem feeding, but I wouldn't absolutely trust your GP's advice re giving up breast feeding. I know many women who have breastfed during pg and then fed toddler and newborn.

I was exclusively breastfeeding and my periods returned after 8 weeks and every month thereafter!!!!!!!!! You know for next time though!

Congratulations!

Too late to mention now, but exclusive breastfeeding is only an effective contraceptive if you are doing it every two hours without fail (according to some sources you are allowed one four-hour gap overnight). For most women that stage doesn't last very long.

You will have your hands full (can I have a prize for being the first out of approximately 500 people who will say that to you over the next few months?) but two children close together in age will be fantastic once they are a little older.

By the way, there is no need to wean if you and your DS don't want to it's not harmful (lots of medical research shows that) and plenty of women breastfeed quite happily through pregnancy and tandem feed once the new baby arrives. If doing that is something that might interest you, check out the book Adventures In Tandem Nursing it is a fantastic resource (and, for a book called Adventures In Tandem Nursing, remarkably even-handed on questions of whether doing it is a good idea or not in your individual circumstances).

Thanks everyone for the congrats and breastfeeding comments. I don't mind admitting that my initial reaction was shock and 'yikes', but now I find I'm quite looking forward to baby no2!

to LadyMuck re doctor advice after birth - I don't live in the uk, and it doesn't seem to be routine here for your doctor to discuss contraception with you.

I'm going to do a search on tandem feeding. I get the impression here that most doctors feel that breastfeeding is not worth too much effort, and it has been a real struggle up to now, even the paediatrician was unhelpful and said why don't I give supplementary bottles.

I have a 14 month gap between my middle two and it is absolutely wonderful

to lemonaid - thanks for the book idea - I'll look for it on Amazon.

You do get the prize! You're probably right, I already feel like my hands are full with just one baby!! I don't know how mums cope with twins!

to CarGirl - did you tandem breastfeed them? And did the older one accept the younger one easily?

No, sorry, you ovulate before the first period. Friend had 2 dc's 13 months apart in same circumstances. I'm sure she continued to bfeed her ds while pg cos he was really hard to settle at the best of times.