Trying to Conceive while Breastfeeding

[de_luxe]

Hi, DS is 17.5 mths and still breastfeeding a lot day and night. I thought he would drop to 2 feeds by now but around 13-14 months the feeding frequency increased although some feeds are very short. He hates formula and only drinks a little whole milk.

We have been trying to conceive since Nov/Dec with no success... my periods have not resumed at all and I've no idea how to track ovaluation without having a period to guide me. I know it's possible to conceive while breastfeeding but it doesn't seem to be working for me. Do I really have to wean to conceive? Ideally we'll like a 2-yr age gap btwn #1 and #2...

[LROM]

Hi there, I don't have an answer but I suggest you cross post this (copy it and repost) in both the "Breastfeeding Beyond Infancy" section and the "Trying to Conceive" sections, where women in similar situations have done a lot of research.

Best of luck Momma!

[annettemarie]

Moving to TTC.

[contactmaya]

I read somewhere (on the la leche league forums, which i cant seem to find anymore) that the night time feedings repress ovulation the most-between 1am and 6am. Try to avoid those times if you can. Also, a sudden big gap in daytime feeding, of say 6hours, can jump start ovulation. My ds wasnt nursing much at night, and had a few of these jumps when he was 20-23months. I remember for eg, he didnt want to nurse after his nap, and was so busy playing, that there was at least 5-6 hours between nursing. By then, i was ovulating, but had a short luteal phase.

Apparently, once you start to ovulate again, your luteal phase might be a little short. If it continues this way, you can always take progesterone (safe while nursing), or vitex, or vit b6, to extend your luteal phase without having to wean.

I take progesterone now, its a pain in the butt, but id rather do that that wean ds2. I dont even know how long my luteal phase is anymore, because i take progesterone (this month a very small dose) rather than risk losing a possible pregnancy. Your luteal phase has to be at least 10-11 days to allow for implantation of the zygote. (i think thats what its called)

I cant give you exact dosages, it depends on the woman, but there are plenty of things you can do other than wean. Every woman is different though.
Good luck-check the nursing mamas thread too...
Maya

[Smidge]

I agree about night weaning s:

[lkmiscnet]

I'm in the same boat with a 13 mo old. I had been getting him to go 4-7 hr stretches without BFing at night and 6-7 hr stretches during the day. However, even with those gaps that occurred over about a month or so, AF has not returned. And now, he is going through a nursing marathon and back to nursing every 2 hrs at night.

I thought I might try red raspberry leaf tea and red clover tea to see if they impact anything though I need to research to see if they are safe to drink while nursing and to see if I'm even thinking of the right treatments, as I may have confused them with something else I read. Anyone know? I'm still experiencing drenching night sweats when I nurse at night even after all this time. I'm not comfortable taking vitex or maca while BFing, which are purported to normalize hormones.

I never thought I would be so happy to see AF one day!

Best of luck to you too!

[NJKim]

Same situation here with my 26 month old. We nightweaned when he was 21 months, a month later he got a cold so we ended up back into nursing all night (never got my period). At 24 months, nightweaned again and then at 25 months, day weaned except for first thing in morning, naptime and bedtime. I think I may have ovulated 2 weeks ago, going to test this weekend

Hang in there, your prolactin levels naturally start to drop with time so you may not even need to partially wean to get your cycle back and if you do partially wean, you still might not get it back. Another friend in the same situation just got pregnant at 27 months without doing anything.

**Update on 8/9: I tested that weekend only to get a BFN and then an hour later, got my period! I never thought I'd be so excited to get it back! Now back in the 2ww before I can test again....