TTC after breastfeeding and first cycle

[roeni]

I posted this on The Bump TTGP forum but realize everyone has left!



I am returning to the bump after a long hiatus. My son was born March 5th last year and I've been breastfeeding him. Recently I have started to slowly wean in hopes of getting my period, and it finally came (I am on CD16 today). This period was not how I expected it to be...it was not heavy and only lasted 3 days with only 1 being kind of heavy. I began testing for LH surge on CD 10 and so far have not gotten a positive! I've read it can take a while for things to get back to a regular cycle. Can anyone share their thoughts or experiences here? Might I still get a positive in the next few days or could I be testing for awhile and not even get my period regularly for awhile?

[URMySunshine77]

My first couple of PPPs were a little wonky. I think that I had a two day period the first time. Also, my first three or four cycles had 11-day LPs. However, the cycles were not awful or bizarre. You can see my history in the chart icon starting with April 2014.

Edited to add: I weaned within a month's time, so I have to confess that my cycles probably normalized within four or five months because I wasn't BFing anymore.

[pismoduo]

I've never breastfed, but I'm relatively sure it's totally normal for it to take a while for your cycles to regulate again, much like after you stop taking BC.

[bunnyfungo]

It's really hard to say. Your first few post partum periods might not be normal. You said that you have started weaning. Are you still BFing at all? If you are, it's possible that you'll have a shorter than average LP.

[lazyreader]

I'm BFing my first still and have not had a cycle 10m pp (also birth in March) I have been down to 2 feeds a day for two weeks now.

Sparkly bunnyfungo

your cycle length, LP length, and heavy/light flow are all up in the air. They may be similar to pre-baby, they may not. All normal. I've also heard that for the first few cycles it can be wonky, but things level out after that to whatever your new normal is.

[lazyreader]

damn bunny is fast.

[bunnyfungo]

Also, are you temping? I've never been big on OPKs because I don't like peeing on my money. For the first few cycles you might want to try just temping because it's possible that you won't O for awhile and that's a lot of OPKs to blow through. But it's really a personal preference.

[bunnyfungo]

Jan 30, 2015 16:59:35 GMT -5 lazyreader said:

damn bunny is fast.

Duh. I'm a bunny.

[lazyreader]

Jan 30, 2015 17:03:28 GMT -5 bunnyfungo said:

Jan 30, 2015 16:59:35 GMT -5 lazyreader said:

damn bunny is fast.

Duh. I'm a bunny.

punny pun is funny, bunny.

[Sparkly]

Hello! What PPs have said, things being out of whack is totally normal. You might get a positive OPK, but that doesn't mean you will ovulate, you also might not get one, and you might O anyway. Are you temping to confirm? If you are in the process of weaning, your cycles will probably regulate, but it's also possible they won't be completely "normal" for quite some time.

Here's my experience: I just had my first cycle PP (13 months out, EBF, DD still nurses like a champ and I pump at work). It took almost 3 months from when I started noticing a possible return of fertility for my body to finally get over that threshold and O. I had a relatively normal period at that time.

Because we were hoping to be able to conceive in a certain timeframe, I started temping, OPKs, and checking secondary signs in November. I had multiple patches of fertile CM and even had + OPKs without ovulating. I like POAS and it gave me something to do while I waited. All of this definitely gave me a clue as to what was going on, which was great, but because of breastfeeding I imagine, I had a short LP and no pregnancy this cycle. From what I've heard/read that's totally normal, and it will lengthen naturally with time.

I also had super light spotting in mid-December, without ovulation. It wasn't a period, but it was another sign for me, of things gradually happening. Because we are not weaning (I cut back some on pumping, but that was it) I expect my cycles to stay long and probably continue to have episodes "gearing up" to O, but not. On the other hand, who knows. I used to have textbook cycles, so maybe I'll just go right back to that. Only time will tell.

HTH.

[octavia65]

Agree with PPs but will add my experience. I got my first period at 11 months PP. I'm not sure I ovulated the first two cycles because I wasn't tracking anything. My periods were definitely a lot lighter and shorter than before. My third cycle I used OPKs and got a positive followed by a CP. My LP that cycle was pretty short (for me). I've read that the production of prolactin can mess with ovulation and with your production of progesterone which can make implantation more difficult. I personally am planning to wean completely to increase my chances of getting pregnant. I was supposed to do it this month but am still doing one session before bed. Hope this helps!

[roeni]

Thanks for your answers! I've never done temping and know nothing about it. Anyone have a good link to share? I figured if I'm using LH surge tests (wondfos) I don't need to, but we really want to get pregnant again so all the help I can get. I am still nursing him morning and night and with two pumps at work. I plan on dropping that down to one pump in a few weeks with maybe also trying to drop the morning feed. I don't want to stop nursing but I might have to do an FET which will require hormones if we don't get lucky on our own

[anonymouseliza]

Jan 30, 2015 16:57:51 GMT -5 @katerli said:

After my daughter I got my first PPP at 8 months. It was really short, and the next was over 60 days long. It took about 6 months for my periods to become "normal" again i.e. within my normal 35-40 day range. I also breastfed until my daughter was 17 months old.

Pretty similar for me, though I was EP'ing.  When I stopped the overnight pump session, my cycle returned, just before 9 months pp.  My cycle became fairly regular by the fourth cycle, at which point we were completely weaned and no longer pumping.

Just give it awhile.  If you are still bf'ing, it may take a little longer to become regular, but maybe not.  I know that doesn't really help you in terms of ttc.

[anonymouseliza]

Jan 31, 2015 17:11:12 GMT -5 roeni said:

Thanks for your answers! I've never done temping and know nothing about it. Anyone have a good link to share? I figured if I'm using LH surge tests (wondfos) I don't need to, but we really want to get pregnant again so all the help I can get. I am still nursing him morning and night and with two pumps at work. I plan on dropping that down to one pump in a few weeks with maybe also trying to drop the morning feed. I don't want to stop nursing but I might have to do an FET which will require hormones if we don't get lucky on our own

fertilityfriend.com is what most of us use.  They have fantastic tutorials that explain things and it's free (though there is an upgraded version for a small charge).

[peanutmuse]

Everyone is going to have such different experiences with this. I am such an oddball when it comes to this. My son was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of his life -- no formula, no solids -- yet my period came back before I was even 3 months post-partum and was immediately regular. I am still breastfeeding, actually (12 months and 2 weeks!) and I still have regular periods. I did have one strange bout of mid-cycle bleeding when he started to wean himself.

I think charting is a good idea so that you can see what is going on. It can take a while for your body to regulate from the hormonal changes, for sure.

The ovulation tests don't show whether or not you have ovulated, they only show that you are having an LH surge. It can actually happen without ovulating. And even if you do ovulate after an LH surge, it can happen within 12-36 hours after the positive test. A temp shift is a better way to determine both if and when ovulation has occurred.

[wanderingheart]

roeni There's a newbie blog pinned at the top that will explain charting and temping as well. It's really informative.

[regal]

With DS 1 I was regular by 6 months post partum but my lp was only 9 days until 10 months post partum. I got pregnant the next month (ended in mc) and again two months later. All while bfing.. This time around we have been trying for four months to no avail and I'm nursing 3-5 short sessions a day. My lp is 14 from what I can tell but I can't temp because of erratic sleep patterns so I'm not 100% sure when I'm ovulating. I do have very obvious pain which I'm counting as my o.

[Deleted]

I breastfed my son for 12 months and like a previous poster, my period returned somewhere around 4-5 months and became fairly regular pretty quickly. Are you still feeding in the middle of the night? I think that was the big factor for me, once he was more consistently sleeping for all or most of the night (we did just a 4:30am feeding for awhile) that's when it seemed to kick back in. My lactation specialist had told me that is common. But everyone is different! I agree that temping would be your best bet right now to see if you will ovulate without having to totally wean (if that's not what you want to do!)