Ttm about birth control while nursing

[huckleberry08]

I used the minipill. I didn't have any supply issues but I also had an oversupply. My doctor told me that I really had to take it at the exact same time every day, that having diarrhea or other GI problems could cause it to fail, and that as soon as LO started consistently going more than 8 hours between feedings that I shouldn't expect it to be very effective. If worked for me, though. I started the mini pill at 8 weeks, then nursed and pumped for LO til he pretty much self-weaned around 11 months.

I will go for an IUD this time around because I don't plan to get pregnant again, so I'm less worried about any complications. I would be worried about charting to avoid, just because my own ovulation window is so variable and because another pregnancy would be Very Not Good for us.

[musicalsilver]

We used charting to avoid. My cycles were fortunately pretty regular after LO, so I felt pretty comfortable doing that. I used VCF (vaginal contraceptive film) which we really liked. We were very conservative and used it more than we needed to (we only didn't use it for about a week after my period and from a week after O). Worked for us, but we were also comfortable with the idea of an oops.

[vitafelix]

I have a non-hormonal IUD and was really unsure about it until after I had it put in.

That said, my concern with charting to avoid would be some irregularities from natural changes during nursing and motn wake ups. If you're 100% consistent with condoms, it's probably the better choice if you don't want to risk it interfering with your supply.

If you're decide on the Nuva ring and it does diminish your supply, there's nothing wrong with supplementing or switching to formula.

[musicalsilver]

Jun 29, 2015 12:43:18 GMT -5 @coffeeismylyfe said:

Jun 29, 2015 12:40:06 GMT -5 musicalsilver said:

We used charting to avoid. My cycles were fortunately pretty regular after LO, so I felt pretty comfortable doing that. I used VCF (vaginal contraceptive film) which we really liked. We were very conservative and used it more than we needed to (we only didn't use it for about a week after my period and from a week after O). Worked for us, but we were also comfortable with the idea of an oops.

I've never heard of vcf. That would make me more comfortable cta. Is it a spermicide? Just a barrier? Easy to use?

It's a spermicide.  You have to insert it 15 minutes before you have sex, which wasn't a problem for us.  Pretty easy to use, though you have to be comfortable with inserting it.  If you have a low cervix (one you can reach), it's best to put it right up against it (as far as you can reach).  I had to be super quick and efficient at it, or it would get stuck to my fingers.  Once I got the hang of it (generally had a to get at least two fingers involved), it was super easy though.

[kames12]

I was on the mini pill while EPing. It didn't effect my supply as I had an oversupply. I was pretty confident that I wouldn't get pregnant on my own due to my IF issues. I have switched to an IUD (hormonal) because I need to be on some sort of hormone even though pregnancy isn't really an issue

[musicalsilver]

Jun 29, 2015 13:02:05 GMT -5 @coffeeismylyfe said:

Jun 29, 2015 12:55:01 GMT -5 musicalsilver said:

It's a spermicide.  You have to insert it 15 minutes before you have sex, which wasn't a problem for us.  Pretty easy to use, though you have to be comfortable with inserting it.  If you have a low cervix (one you can reach), it's best to put it right up against it (as far as you can reach).  I had to be super quick and efficient at it, or it would get stuck to my fingers.  Once I got the hang of it (generally had a to get at least two fingers involved), it was super easy though.

Thanks for the info, I'm going to look it up and see where I can find it around here.

I found it at CVS.  If you go to their website (just google VCF), you can get a coupon for you first box :-)

[anustart1]

With G we used condoms exclusively for the year I nursed him. So we know we had sex at least 100x since we went through over two boxes of 50. The fact we could count always cracked me up. I couldn't look the Cvs clerk in the eye while DH bought the 2 large boxes.

With Lo I used mini pill because poor second child didn't get "no hormones for my baby!" Treatment.

Condoms obviously worked but I hated having to have one around. We forgot them every time we traveled and it was so annoying.

[babygsmommy]

I used the mini pill. Didn't have any supply issues but I broke out really bad and ds got some acne on his face for a couple of weeks. I felt so bad but it was just our bodies adjusting to the hormones