TTC while breastfeeding - anyone else?

[freddie]

Hi ladies! Seems crazy to be back in this section lol! I finally plucked up the courage to tell DH that I want to try for number 2 and am so pleased that he is on board

I am breastfeeding my LO who is coming up to 8 months. My periods started again at 5 months and I'm in my third cycle pp now. My first cycle was something like 50 days long and second was 29 days (my normal before pregnancy was 28-30). If this cycle is also to be around 29 days then this week would be my fertile time... Exciting! I've just ordered myself an OPK as I want to find out if I'm actually ovulating while breastfeeding so we will see...

Anyone else trying to conceive/ conceived while breastfeeding?

 

[Wishing_well]

Yep currently on 7th cycle of trying.
I'm still breastfeeding my 12 month old and my periods came back at 6 months and started ovulating on the 2nd cycle. I have a short LP now of usually about 7-10 days which is making it harder.
I had a chemical last month and am now taking b6 and agnus castus to try and help.

Now I'm in the tww again!

 

[Tacita]

I'm also breastfeeding my almost 8 month old. We started 'not preventing' in Jan when he was 3 months, but my cycle hadn't returned so I started taking agnus castus to encourage it to come back. It returned 2 months ago, so we are now on our 3rd cycle of trying properly. Had my first properly positive opk a few days ago, so I am currently 2dpo. Feeling kind of optimistic this month, just hope these 2 weeks go by quickly.

 

[Mork]

Hey !:wave:
Just to give you encouragement, my second was conceived whilst breastfeeding my first and I am tandem feeding to this day (almost 11 months after second child was born). Goodluck!! xx

 

[freddie]

Yep currently on 7th cycle of trying.
I'm still breastfeeding my 12 month old and my periods came back at 6 months and started ovulating on the 2nd cycle. I have a short LP now of usually about 7-10 days which is making it harder.
I had a chemical last month and am now taking b6 and agnus castus to try and help.

Now I'm in the tww again!

Oh yeah I've read about the LP sometimes being too short while breastfeeding - how long should it be? I guess I will find out what mine is if I get a positive opk. What do B6 and agnus cactus do then?

I'm also breastfeeding my almost 8 month old. We started 'not preventing' in Jan when he was 3 months, but my cycle hadn't returned so I started taking agnus castus to encourage it to come back. It returned 2 months ago, so we are now on our 3rd cycle of trying properly. Had my first properly positive opk a few days ago, so I am currently 2dpo. Feeling kind of optimistic this month, just hope these 2 weeks go by quickly.

Oooh fingers crossed for you!

Hey !:wave:
Just to give you encouragement, my second was conceived whilst breastfeeding my first and I am tandem feeding to this day (almost 11 months after second child was born). Goodluck!! xx

Thanks for the encouragement! What age gap do you have between your 2?

 

[Wishing_well]

Yep currently on 7th cycle of trying.
I'm still breastfeeding my 12 month old and my periods came back at 6 months and started ovulating on the 2nd cycle. I have a short LP now of usually about 7-10 days which is making it harder.
I had a chemical last month and am now taking b6 and agnus castus to try and help.

Now I'm in the tww again!

Oh yeah I've read about the LP sometimes being too short while breastfeeding - how long should it be? I guess I will find out what mine is if I get a positive opk. What do B6 and agnus cactus do then?

I'm also breastfeeding my almost 8 month old. We started 'not preventing' in Jan when he was 3 months, but my cycle hadn't returned so I started taking agnus castus to encourage it to come back. It returned 2 months ago, so we are now on our 3rd cycle of trying properly. Had my first properly positive opk a few days ago, so I am currently 2dpo. Feeling kind of optimistic this month, just hope these 2 weeks go by quickly.

Oooh fingers crossed for you!

Hey !:wave:
Just to give you encouragement, my second was conceived whilst breastfeeding my first and I am tandem feeding to this day (almost 11 months after second child was born). Goodluck!! xx

Thanks for the encouragement! What age gap do you have between your 2?

Ideally it should be 14 days.
B6 is meant to help lengthen it and agnus castus helps regulate cycles I think.

 

[ssjad]

Hi. my first two are 13 months apart and i was breastfeeding when i conceived.
Im trying to get pregnant again now while breastfeeding, but haven't had a period yet.

 

[xxlovexx]

I have a 9 month old and am TTC #2. My son doesn't really eat any solids yet, so still EBF, and we co-sleep/bed share and he doesn't STTN, BUT, my cycles returned when DS was 4.5 months old! My cycles used to be 28 days, now they are 26-37 days :/ DH also has a terrible work schedule, so not much time to BD, either...that and DS is very attached to me and won't let me put him down long enough for DH and I to BD most of the time!! lol. I'm on CD 14 now...been testing for ovulation since CD 9, the tests on days 11 & 12 were dark, but definitely not positive and now they are a lot lighter...don't know if that means anything, maybe I'll get lucky and ovulate on CD 17 since DH will be off work **baby dust**

 

[freddie]

I have a 9 month old and am TTC #2. My son doesn't really eat any solids yet, so still EBF, and we co-sleep/bed share and he doesn't STTN, BUT, my cycles returned when DS was 4.5 months old! My cycles used to be 28 days, now they are 26-37 days :/ DH also has a terrible work schedule, so not much time to BD, either...that and DS is very attached to me and won't let me put him down long enough for DH and I to BD most of the time!! lol. I'm on CD 14 now...been testing for ovulation since CD 9, the tests on days 11 & 12 were dark, but definitely not positive and now they are a lot lighter...don't know if that means anything, maybe I'll get lucky and ovulate on CD 17 since DH will be off work **baby dust**

Yeah my son is the same, we are BLW so he eats very little of what's given to him at the moment - most of the time he just enjoys playing with and squishing food! So hes's still probably 95% breastfed I'd say! He also feeds normally 3 times overnight too... I wonder if this will affect my fertility but I'm hoping that the return of my periods means maybe not... fingers crossed! Good luck to you!!

 

[Wishing_well]

My daughter is nearly 13 months and pretty much 95% breastfed! And we cosleep which means she feeds every 2 hours.... Or 30 minutes last night!
I think I was quite lucky (or unlucky however you look at it) that my cycles returned at 6 months pp.

 

[xxlovexx]

We're trying BLW, too. We've tried applesauce, but had to help him and he HATED it, lol..also tried banana and he wouldn't even look at it...so yeah...only tried solids twice and won't be rushing it until he's a year old...so I'd say he's about 99.99% breastfed! haha! he has a pediatrician appointment today and I'm worried his doctor will freak out on me for not trying to make him eat solids...so we may have to do purees. (His doctor has been telling us to start solids since 4 months...so I'm nervous about his appointment since we've only attempted to give him food twice) Sorry that got way OFF TOPIC

Anyways, he nurses A LOT! Like every 1-2 hours at night, and every 30 minutes - 3 hours during the day! He refuses a bottle or sippy cup.

I really think the only reason AF returned at 4.5 months pp is because I got a tattoo and piercing that day AND I went 6 hours without nursing/pumping. (A friend watched DS for me) But yeah...later that same night, AF arrived. A lot of the moms in my FB group haven't had a pp AF yet and they all feed solids regularly, most don't bed share, and some supplement with formula. So who knows...at least AF has arrived so we're on the right track.

 

[freddie]

My daughter is nearly 13 months and pretty much 95% breastfed! And we cosleep which means she feeds every 2 hours.... Or 30 minutes last night!
I think I was quite lucky (or unlucky however you look at it) that my cycles returned at 6 months pp.

Wow and I keep telling myself the night feeding will come to an end soon lol... Maybe not! He goes down in his cot at night but ends up sleeping in with me after about 1am - just easier! So is she just not interested in solids? When would you push them a bit more? Just wondering cos I think DS could go a long time with just having mostly boob which I know is best for the first year but don't know what the guidelines are after that?

I see it as lucky to have cycles back early

We're trying BLW, too. We've tried applesauce, but had to help him and he HATED it, lol..also tried banana and he wouldn't even look at it...so yeah...only tried solids twice and won't be rushing it until he's a year old...so I'd say he's about 99.99% breastfed! haha! he has a pediatrician appointment today and I'm worried his doctor will freak out on me for not trying to make him eat solids...so we may have to do purees. (His doctor has been telling us to start solids since 4 months...so I'm nervous about his appointment since we've only attempted to give him food twice) Sorry that got way OFF TOPIC

Anyways, he nurses A LOT! Like every 1-2 hours at night, and every 30 minutes - 3 hours during the day! He refuses a bottle or sippy cup.

I really think the only reason AF returned at 4.5 months pp is because I got a tattoo and piercing that day AND I went 6 hours without nursing/pumping. (A friend watched DS for me) But yeah...later that same night, AF arrived. A lot of the moms in my FB group haven't had a pp AF yet and they all feed solids regularly, most don't bed share, and some supplement with formula. So who knows...at least AF has arrived so we're on the right track.

Oh the bottle! My LO refuses it too - we tried a few times and he was having NONE of it! I had this lovely notion that he'd take expressed milk from a bottle and I'd go off for a lovely night out and leave him with DH - Nope! Lol. I absolutely love breastfeeding but wow it's a commitment that you don't get a break from if you have a bottle refuser huh?!

Dunno if this is a dumb question but what's the link between getting the tattoo and AF returning?!

 

[xxlovexx]

DS will take a bottle of breast milk if I'm not around! But I'm usually with him literally 24/7.

Lol...I don't know if there's really anything between getting a tattoo and AF returning, but I'm just thinking between that and not nursing for 6 hours is what brought AF back since it returned the night I got a tattoo...maybe it released some hormones or something to jump start AF.


ANYWAYS, just took an ovulation test and it's either positive or very close! DH goes to work tonight...he's working on a vehicle right now...after he's done with that, he'll take a shower and I'll have to cook dinner...I so hope we get to BD in a few hours! If not, we won't be able to until at least tomorrow night :/ If I BD tonight, is there a good chance I'll catch the egg?? Like I said, it's either + or will be very soon...so am I about to ovulate or did I already? I tested about 24 hours ago and it was not close to being positive at all. CD 15 now.

 

[xxlovexx]

For some reason, DH hasn't been wanting to BD much lately

We both want another baby, so I don't know what's up...I basically have to beg him to BD and even that doesn't usually work. His work schedule changed a couple of weeks ago, so now he has 3 different shifts every week, maybe he's just tired and sore. His job is pretty physical. Ugh.

 

[freddie]

Hmmm from what I have read about the OPKs you will ovulate about 24 hours after you get the positive result. Add to that the fact that the sperm can survive for up to a few days inside, if you bd tonight I'd say you have a pretty good chance but maybe even better if it's properly positive tomorrow?

Ugh tiredness is a bit of a mood killer isn't it... That's the bit of ttc that I don't like - feeling the pressure to bd because it's the right time in cycle but reeeeeally feeling like you can't be bothered! Maybe I'm just lazy ha ha...

Hope your hubby isn't too tired for you tonight lol!

 

[xxlovexx]

Okay, the test line is just a little lighter than the control, so maybe it will be positive tomorrow? I'll still try to get DH to BD tonight anyways.. *fingers crossed he's up for it*

DH being tired and sore + having a baby that always wants held = no mommy & daddy time! lol. Hopefully DS will entertain himself for at least 30 minutes later..he needs a brother or sister DH wants to BD on his terms, never when I want it :/ And BD once every 6 weeks is not working for me! Maybe watching our son being born traumatized him...I know if DS slept/napped in his own bed, I'd get it more... *sigh* How do other mamas bed share, have an overly attached baby that won't entertain him/herself, and find a way to BD?? MIL lives behind us and has offered to watch DS specifically so DH and I could have some "alone time," but I don't trust her to watch him.

 

[freddie]

When he's asleep in your bed could you not have "alone time" downstairs or in another room?

I have also just informed DH that he has an important job to do tonight LOL, he's not totally impressed as he's super tired so says it'll have to be "efficient" ha ha ha.

How comes you don't trust mil?!

 

[xxlovexx]

He won't stay asleep unless someone is holding him :/ DH wouldn't BD tonight took another test and it's lighter don't know if that means anything I have a lot of reasons not to trust my in laws or most of DH family!! lol I won't go into detail...I just won't let any of them around DS unless I'm there to supervise. Anyways, now I'm worried that I either already ovulated or I'm not going to.

 

[Celesse]

Hi Ladies,

I'm TTC#3. Breastfeeding #2 and stopped nursing #1 8 weeks ago. I've been through the whole cycle of TTC whilst breastfeeding, Breastfeeding during pregnancy and Tandem Breastfeeding and now I'm looking to do it all again!

 

[wouldluvabub]

Hey girl, wondering if I can join?? I'm currently TTC #2. DS is 14 months now and he is still having a BF before bed. That's probably only been for week now though. I decided to put my foot down as I wanted to stop feeding but he is very persistent.. We both seem to be coping well with one feed now and I was really excited yesterday when my first AF finally arrived!! Much later then you ladies!! I'm currently really confused though as it seemed to stop that night!! I've had some spotting today.. Not sure if its actually AF though.. Can't wait for a cycle to be able to class myself as TTC!! I have PCOS which made me have very irregular cycles when TTC number #1. I'm hoping now that I'm 14 kg's down from the frist time my cycles might be a bit more regular!!