8-month-old and Possibly PG?? eek. (maybe TMI)

[NWnewmom]

My DH and I have a wonderful, almost 8 month old baby boy and are really happy.  DS is such a wonderful baby, early on I joked that we should have another because he was so easy.  I have EBF since day one yet got my cycle back when he was three months old.  We have been pretty careful due to the fact that we think we would like about 2.5-3.5 years between DS and his sibling.  We are taking it day by day and will decide to start TYT when the time comes. 

So, my cycle was off by a week the second month after it returned but has been regular since.  I am now 8 days late and a little concerned.  Two days ago I took a pg test to ease my mind which only created more confusion.  There was the one solid line and then a very, very light pink line next to it...very light but noticeable.  The following day I thought I got my period but the whole day it ended up being more like light spotting (more brownish in color). This is not like my regular cycle which is pretty heavy.  The spotting continued yesterday and now has seemed to diminish.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this?  Is it just that my cycle is wacky being 8 months PP and EBFing.    If we were PG I'm sure we could handle it (after the initial shock and finally feeling normal again), not what we planned but what is really?  One of my main concerns is what happens to BFing?  I have read that it drys up your milk supply, DS doesn't eat many solids yet and nurses a ton (he's a healthy boy).  I would not use formula and I don't want to push solids on him.  Is there any way to keep your milk supply while pg?  Anyway...I'm getting ahead of my self.  Maybe I'll wait a day or two and get and other test if I don't get my period by then...           

[Kindermama]

Yes, I experienced the exact same thing when my third was 8 months old (first PP cycle at 3 mos like you) and I turned out to be pregnant with our fourth!!! I was able to nurse dd3 until she was exactly 12 months to the day! My milk dried up in that week (I was 4 months along). 

Considering that you saw a pink line, I'd definitely keep testing for the next week to see if the line gets darker! You could still be pregnant if it's negative. Sometimes it takes up to a week for the test to turn positive after implantation. 

[NWnewmom]

Thanks Kindermama, I'm so glad to here that you BF until a year, that gives me hope,  I am going to get another test soon, it looks like the spotting has pretty much stopped...

How challenging is it having kids 17 months apart?  I feel like my DS is still just a baby and the thought of going through it all again so soon is really intimidating.

I may have nothing to worry about but it's hard not to let your mind get carried away with the "what-ifs".  

[NWnewmom]

UPDATE:  I went to the clinic today and DS is going to be a big brother!!!!  DH is freaking out.  I am in a bit of shock.  Especially since we only DTD exactly 2 times last month and no where near day 14!  Guess I'll be joining Sep. 2011 DDC!

[Kindermama]

Congratulations!!! My two that are 17 months apart are the best of friends so any hard times are so worth it! It was hard to have two babies at one time but it goes by so fast....so fast!!! You'll get through it!! Happy and Healthy 9 months to you! 

[lookatreestar]

unfortunately it is the luck of the draw if you lose your milk or not.. i did somewhere after the first trimester for sure. dd just dry nursed and i saw her solids/water intake jump quite a bit. she was 1.5 so i didn't feel like i needed to give formula. luckily we ended up tandem nursing so she is going on 4 years of bfing but i still felt like she was such a baby when i got pregnant! good luck mama 

[NWnewmom]

Thank you!  We are focusing on the positives, once they get older I do hope they can become close friends.  I would REALLY like to breastfeed at least until DS is one year minimum, that's my biggest concern, but I guess we'll just have to see what happens from here on out. 

Thanks for the words of support mamas! 

[elus0814]

My second was just 15 months younger than our first then our third and fourth are only 17 months apart. I was able to ebf the first and the third while pregnant but it was difficult and I began giving them cow's milk, just a few ounces a day, starting around 10 months. Not ideal but it kept the baby from getting nasty corn syrup solids and whey in formula. We also used some goat's milk as well.

[HulaJenn]

Congrats! Things have a way of working out. You have 9 months to let it settle! :)
I wanted to add for future reference that not every woman ovulates on cd14, so unless you were temping to know when you ovulate, then DTD without protection even if not close to the middle definitely can result in pregnancy (as you can atest to!)

[NWnewmom]

Re: Jenn, Isn't that the truth!

[Katie T]

Mine are a bit farther apart (21 months) and I was terrified but I couldn't have planned it better had I tried!!! It was busy don't get me wrong but so amazingly wonderful it didn't seem so much like work. They are 4yrs and 2 1/2 now and the very best of friends! Congrats and I am sure you will be happy with the spacing once you settle into the idea.

My DS was nursing when I got pg and continued (dry nursing in the end) and nursed on and off. He did take a nursing break when DD2 was 5 wks old but started back up several weeks later and nursed till he was between 3 and 3 1/2 I don't even know when he officially weaned. I would have to look back at the dates on pictures.

[texmati]

congrats!!! my two will be 16 mos apart. So far I'm not thrilled about the spacing-- but let me tell you; I can visualize it so much more now than when DS was a 7 mos old. He is still a baby, but very, very different now, and much less needy. DS also weaned at a year, and I know I should be thankful that we nursed for that long.

[NWnewmom]

Thanks for the perspective texmati...I've been thinking about the fact that DS will be 16 months when baby is born and not 8 months and it's helping me realize that he will be such a different kiddo (DS will be twice his age now)!  It's going to be a challenge but I'm getting excited.

Congrats to you, blessings on your birth. 

[texmati]

Originally Posted by NWnewmom 

Thanks for the perspective texmati...I've been thinking about the fact that DS will be 16 months when baby is born and not 8 months and it's helping me realize that he will be such a different kiddo (DS will be twice his age now)!  It's going to be a challenge but I'm getting excited.

Congrats to you, blessings on your birth. 

thank you for the congrats and good wishes! TBH, it's really  hard to find other families with similar spacing. I've spent the entire pregnancy polling everyone I know to see how far apart their siblings/children were. There seems a huge difference (to me) between 2 under 2, and 2 under 1 or 1.5, especially in terms of nursing.  Maybe we should start a tribe!

I was re-reading your op, and I should clairify-- we weren't able to go without supplementing, first from my own stash of breast milk, and then with bottles of formula/whole milk. My supply dropped all through the first half of pregnancy; and then my son stopped latching when my colostrum came in. I think that's one huge difference between having just a bit larger spacing-- you can afford to reduce your supply without supplementing. DH and I worried and cried over it a quite a bit, but decided it was more important for him to have his belly filled than to keep him off forumula. We 'bottlenursed' as much as we could; and I'm packing my pump to take to the hospital so I can pump for DS as soon as my milk comes in.

Edited by texmati - 1/9/11 at 11:23pm

[NWnewmom]

That's a great idea, I would love to talk to other mamas in similar situation that can share some words of wisdom. 

Regarding breastfeeding, I'm getting a few books on tandem nursing and I'll talk with my midwife about it, but I realize that it's very individual so we'll just have to wait and see...