LO is 3.5 months old, and I'm breastfeeding and pumping at work. We were hoping to get pregnant between 6-9 months (ideally) after he was born, but AF has not returned. Most of the women I know didn't get their cycles till after weaning, but I've heard that it can come back anytime, even with breastfeeding. How long was it before your period came back, and were you still breastfeeding?
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AF returned at 7 months PP. I'm still nursing around the clock at 1 year pp. No baby #2 yet!
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@shellio: Also, my cycle hasn't regularized yet. Some months it's 40 days, last month it was 29. Haven't gotten AF yet and I'm on day 31 or 32 of my cycle.
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@chopsuey119: I think that even when AF returns, you don't always ovulate, especially the first few cycles and if still BF.
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@shellio: Yeah, that's what I read and heard too. Pain in the butt having her back if I'm not even ovulating all the time!
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Mine only returned when i fully weaned LO at 8 months.
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16 months and I still haven't gotten my period yet. I am breastfeeding though.
My friend got hers back after 4 months while still breastfeeding as well.
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I'm breastfeeding and I'm pretty sure I ovulated this month and my LO is only 2 months old... I'm not exactly happy about it
I was hoping to go longer without getting it.
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15 months. I think baby wearing and co-sleeping contributed to the delay.
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2-3 months after weaning around 1 year.
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I'm breastfeeding & pumping and AF arrived 29 days after my C section.
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EBF and mine came back 6 months!
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I got mine back after 4 months (while EBF) but have had incredibly wonky cycles since then -- one 3 weeks later, then nothing for 3 months. Doc says it's normal if you're EBF and on the mini-pill, which I am.
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@Mrs. Jacks: any idea how that would delay ovulation/period?
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@miss-spunkin: I think the constant closeness with the baby causes more milk letdown and thus more lactational amenorrhea. Breastfeeding delays the resumption of normal ovarian cycles by disrupting the pattern of pulsatile release of GnRH from the hypothalamus and hence LH from the pituitary.
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oh wow, I didn't even think of these!
we want to get pregnant a year after LO is born, and I hope to still be BFing by then.
good food for thought! -
@Mrs. Jacks: yeah I knew that about breastfeeding but I know it's not completely reliable as a form of birth control. But I do know one EBF mom who baby-wore and co-slept and didn't get pregnant for three years! She didn't use any birth control.
But I'm too scared not to because I really dont want another one anytime soon lol -
@miss-spunkin: I never used it for pregnancy, but it was great for period suppression!
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@Mrs. Jacks: I know you can still ovulate without having your period, so that's what I'm afraid of. You can't tell if it's working or not! I guess I'll see how long my period holds off since we're doing co-sleeping and baby wearing as well.
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I got AF back when DD was 7 months old & she was EBF but slept through the night, which is why I think I got it back so quickly.
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Thanks for all the responses. LO is sleeping through the night but I still wake up a couple of times to pump, maybe once I feel more comfortable with my freezer stash and stop waking up it is more likely to come back.
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@shellio: I also wanted to get a large stash & so I would stay up about 3 hours after LO went to bed & pump & then go to sleep & then try to wake up before LO in the morning & pump then as well to keep my supply up
I was hoping to go longer without getting it.
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