when did you get your first postpartum period?

[bunny's mama]

okay, a poll. dd is 13.5 mos. old, still BFing like a newborn (almost!) and i still haven't had my period (counting pregnancy, it'll be 2 years since i've had a period on jan. 26th!)

so how long did you go without your period after you had your babe/s?

if you went 20 months or longer, please say how many months you went.

i'm starting to get a little worried and i just need a reality check.

[flminivanmama]

whaah - you're just lucky! I heard so many wonderful stories like yours but alas - with Ben and Max I had lochia for 6 weeks and got a period at 8 weeks!! and with Jake I had lochia for 4 weeks and got a period at 12 weeks (got a little break there LOL)

[momacat]

I got it back at 6 months PP with my daughter.

and 14 months with my twins.

I must admit tht I was bummed both times! I thought for sure, nursing as much as my dd did, I should have gone a year! And while 14 months with the boys seems nice....I was nursing two! I think I should have gone a year. *sigh* Oh well. :

[flminivanmama]

Hi Momacat! I love your website!!

[Rastamom]

I didn't vote because I still don't have it back. DD is 15.5 months.

Sweet Bunny's Mama, don't worry. Totally normal!! Lots of people go even more than 2 yrs!!

[LukesMum]

17 months and like a clock every 20 days since!

[lisamarie]

My ds was 18 mo. when I got my 1st period. He weaned himself at 20 mo . My dear friend, didn't get hers back until her ds was over 2 yo.!

Warmly~

Lisa

[Jazmommie]

With my first child-he was 27 months.
2nd child-22 months.
3rd child -15 months.
A book called Breastfeeding & Natural Child spacing had a list of 7 things you need to be doing to keep period free for as long as your body lets you!(people are different)
One was a daily nap /nursing your child(you napping along with your child).When I stopped naps due to company with me for a week,I got my period back in 2 weeks.

[momacat]

Thanks flminivanmama!

[Firemom]

My son weaned at 10 1/2 months and I got it back 3 weeks later.

My daughter who has been nursing for 5 years. Mine returned 2 weeks after I stopped pumping at work. 17 months

[karenpl]

With most of my kids I got it back at 8.5mo. This time I am still waiting for it to return and the baby is 11mo already. I am hoping it will return soon!

[3 little birds]

I got mine exactly 24 months after the twins were born and got pregnant two weeks later!:
It took me 18 months to get pregnant with the twins. Go figure.

[3 little birds]

Momacat, I think your site is great, too! I wish I had known about it before I had the twins!

[bunny's mama]

i wish i could enjoy this infertile time, but dh doesn't trust that i'm not fertile, even tho i haven't had a period ( he thinks it could come on any day and doesn't want ot chance getting pg before we're ready, and before dd is ready), so we're still using the f_@&*^g diaphragm for sex. and i hate it.

i guess i won't worry about it til we want to TTC again (in august) so dd will be 22 mos. then. if it doesn't come before thjat i know my homeopath can do it naturally and gently (a friend of mine took sepia and her period returned)

keep the answers coming, i'm really getting comforted here knowing folks have gone longer than me.

[simonee]

Hey bunny's mama, check this thread out, too!


I wish I'd been like you. 5 months was it for me, but I've heard from several happy moms who went much longer

[sagewinna]

I went 21 months with ds, and 16 months with dd.

[teachermom]

ds...3mo.
dd...15mo.
ds#2...21mo. but I am tandum nursing and I think that helped,it returned 2 weeks after dd night weaned.

[momacat]

Hi, 3 little birds! Thanks so much!

I have a friend in real life who needed help to conceive...They had tried for almost two years, before conceiving her twins....She nursed them until they were around 25-26 months....A month or two later, she was Pregnant! What a wonderful surprise for them! Her new baby was almost born on the twins third birthday!

[alpinegirl]

I became pregnant while bf my 1st withOUT ever having a period.
My 1st was 1 yr old when I became preg. I nursed thru the preg. and then tandem nursed, finally got a period when 2nd child was 14 months. So I was period free for nearly 4 years!! Still bf babe #3, period started when he was 27 months!! My midwife told me night time nursing helps keep periods away.

[Deb]

My periods returned when my son was just about 38 months old - that's right, he was 3yo!!! I had gotten very concerned by the time he turned 3 and sent a note to the Couple to Couple League (www.ccli.org) and asked them if I was normal or if I should be worried about it. They wrote back and told me that, although it was unusual, I was at the high end of the normal range (don't remember how high it goes). Just a couple of months later my first period appeared. My sister went over 2 years (don't remember how many months).

I think there are several factors that determine when our periods return. My friend was nursing far more often than I was and her periods returned when her son was 18 months. It's possible that genetics plays a part in it, since my sister and I both went so long. We don't have any family history of extended nursing (my siblings and I got six weeks each - pretty good for the 60s) so we don't have any way to find out if it runs in our family - until my niece grows up.