Confused if I'm even ovulating...while breastfeeding toddler

[Wnt2beAMom]

Hi,

I'm still bf my 18 month old quite a bit and haven't had a period yet. However, I've noticed my cm is sticky then turns creamy after a full moon. I ovulated on full moons when TTC with my first. I haven't noticed any "noticeable" ewcm though and no period....so I'm just confused as to why it goes from sticky to creamy as it would when I was ovulating during ttc#1.

Any insight?

 

[OilyMamma]

You dont ovulate as normal while breastfeeding. Your body will slowly start to return to normal as baby needs less and less milk.
So at 18 months you might be feeding less than you did at 5 months so your body will be starting to prepare for a cycle to return.
You can still get pregnant while breastfeeding though, even without a period or normal ovulation.
The body is truly an amazing thing.

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Thanks,
It's so weird because I feel I get all the symptoms like clock work throughout the cycle but no ovulation or period.
I get crampy around what should be ovulation and my period. I breakout after "ovulation" and get moody and super hungry ect.

 

[OilyMamma]

I remember that quite well. Its definitely confusing. I bf until ds was 2 yrs old and i remember just before my period came back id have serious nursing aversion.
It was very strange

 

[flyingduster]

So I'm feeding my two year old with no cycle too, but I've had much the same as you; ovulation signs and symptoms followed by..... Nothing.
My personal take on it is that in order to ovulate the body has to do a hormone switch, and I reckon our bodies are doing a gradual hormone shift at the usual times but just not quiiiiite enough to actually trigger an egg to be released. It isn't until we finally get a big swing in hormones that'll trigger that egg to finally drop and THEN we can get pregnant or it'll become our first period.

I've been symptom spotting and NTNP for a few months now, and I've consistently had some minor O symptoms with nothing. And now the past few days the O symptoms have ramped up SO MUCH and all combined it's the strongest symptoms I've had yet so I'm hooooopeful now I might actually be ovulating for sure!!

After my first baby I never ovulated until a couple of weeks after his second birthday. I got pregnant with that first egg, and now my second baby is three weeks past her second birthday and it seems I'm ovulating again. I will literally laugh out loud if I get pregnant now again, but I'm happy if I don't and instead I get AF, cos at least then I know I'm back in business and I could spot O by symptoms alone!! And really, 5.5 years free of AF is pretty good innings, I'll cope having her back again for a bit. Lol

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Wow, that's so cool you got pregnant again with that first egg! And no AF for that long!
The body is so amazing. I've read a couple different articles now and they say how gradual weaning makes it take longer for you to ovulate again and also the frequency of the nursing vs. how much milk and the times you nurse.
My son drinks less milk now but nurses probably more frequently than he did at 5 months....I'm his pacifier pretty much. And he nurses at night while cosleeping.

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Flying duster: have you ovulated?!
My ovulation symptoms are ramping up again this month. I'm really hoping it happens! I really want a June baby!!!

 

[flyingduster]

Yes, I assume so anyway, cos 12 days after those super strong symptoms, AF hit for the first time in 5 years 8 months!!! Hahaha. So I am confident I Od then as suspected. I am now temping as well as symptom watching and I hope I can spot O again, but have temps to confirm!

 

[flyingduster]

And interestingly I went and looked it up; my first O after my first baby was approx 107 weeks after his birth, maybe a couple of days short of that. This time around, my O was a few days over 107 weeks!!! It's like a blimmen timer going off in my body!!! Haha. Two years and 2-3 weeks. Lol

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Wow! So cool!

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Hey flying duster, are your cycles consistent now that they are back? I think I might have ovulated now finally! I had a strong pinching pain where my left ovary would be on the 24th. It was very unexpected though. I didn't notice any cervical fluid changes. We will see in about 10 days if AF comes...is that what ovulation felt like for you too?

 

[flyingduster]

Yep my cycles went back to my old normal immediately really. I O on cd 18 (give or take up to one day) and AF comes along 14 days after that. Only time it's changed was last month when I had a BFP and then an early miscarriage (AF was 4 days late) and then as a direct result of that, this month O was 3 days earlier on cd15.

I can't be certain what I feel is O, but I get significant EWCM when I O, and then the temp shift to confirm it. I do get crampy around my hip which I assume might be O. It's definitely on the side more than the central AF cramps so maybe?? I don't seem to get pinching, just loads of one sided cramps right at my hip for half the day.

 

[Wnt2beAMom]

Congrats on your new pregnancy flyingduster!
Just wanted to check back in with this thread because I've finally ovulated now!
We did start night weaning DS after his 2nd birthday in February and 10 days later I ovulated and 5 days later had a very light period. Now this month I missed what day I ovulated (sometime between 6-9th) but I'm on cd2 now of a more "normal" period.
Thank you again for the helpful information that helped me wait this out

 

[flyingduster]

Woohoo for ovulation! Fx it all pulls together for you soon!