pp periods

[MadiMamacita]

i think this is an appropriate place to put this- i apologize if there is a better place.
i was talking to a family friend who is a nurse and who breast fed her own children to a year. when i mentioned not having a period at almost 7 months post partum, she seemed very suprised and asked if i was *sure* that I'm not pregnant now!
i'm reasonably sure.. but now she's planted the seed of doubt.. but it doesn't seem like 6+ months is THAT out there.. he was 99.9% EBF for the first 6 months, introduced some solids at 6 months, rarely has taken a paci, had only a handful of expressed bottles..
i'm not out of the realm of strange here, right?!?

[ChetMC]

Wouldn't Worry

I think the average for your period to return is 14 months... for women who don't wean before then. However, the average doesn't mean a lot because it's so, so variable. My period usually comes back between 4 and 5 months postpartum. There's certainly nothing wrong with being 7 months postpartum and not having your period back. Many women wait a lot longer.

That said, it's certainly not unheard of to get pregnant without having a period between pregnancies... and the guidelines for breastfeeding as successful birth control are very strict. I have NEVER come close meeting them.

[jmo]

No, totally normal. I didn't get my first pp period until 21 mos. The average of my mama friends tended to be between one yr and 18 mos.

[georgia]

Mine didn't return with my first until around 20 months, 12 months with my second and I can't even remember with my third : I think a year is really typical, but it's so variable Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives has a great chapter on postpartum periods if you do a google search, I'm pretty sure you can find some more info! Here's also a link with more info, too

[plum tree]

I had PP return of AF at 5 months, both times. I was EBF both times, the second time I was EBF TWINS and still got AF at 5 months! Some people just return to fertility quickly, I think. No worries.

[MadiMamacita]

thanks ladies!
i know its possible to get pg while bf- not even attempting to use that as our family planning method. i wouldnt trust myself to be strict enough. just wanted to make sure i wasnt nuts.