Menstrual Cycle So Soon?

[littlebeagle]

With my first 2 babies, I didn't have a menstrual cycle until 6 months post partum. With my 3rd baby, I'm about 7wks postpartum, and I think I'm having a menstrual cycle already. I'm a little puzzled because I'm exclusively breastfeeding and quite often, I might add. I always thought that meant your cycle would be at least a little bit more delayed. Anyone else begin their cycles this soon?

[OnTheFence]

Originally Posted by littlebeagle

With my first 2 babies, I didn't have a menstrual cycle until 6 months post partum. With my 3rd baby, I'm about 7wks postpartum, and I think I'm having a menstrual cycle already. I'm a little puzzled because I'm exclusively breastfeeding and quite often, I might add. I always thought that meant your cycle would be at least a little bit more delayed. Anyone else begin their cycles this soon?

I have exclusively breastfed two babies, no pacis, night nursing, etc. and I always have my period back within 8-12 weeks. Which is odd, because I have annovulatory cycles EXCEPT when I breastfeed -- then its like clock work, every 28 days. Go figure~!

[teachinmaof3]

Add me to the list.

[mightymoo]

I got mine back at 3 months, but DD slept through the night very early, so I imagine this played a role.

[Yummymummy74]

I seem to get mine back at 7-8 mos PP with ecological breastfeeding.. so some of us are just programmed that way I think!

[SABE]

Originally Posted by mightymoo

I got mine back at 3 months, but DD slept through the night very early, so I imagine this played a role.

Same here, only change DD to DS!

[stayinghome]

I always got my periods back right away- at 6 weeks, even though I bfed exclusively. It's been my opinion that it was because of excess estrogen- don't know if there is any "scientific" basis to that or not...

[my5girls]

Littlebeagle,

With my first two DDs I didn't get my cycle back for a year. With both DD #3 and DD #4, I got one cycle at 7 weeks PP, then didn't get anymore for a year. I exclusively breastfed all four. (I got preggers while BFing and using some BC three times, but that's a whole new thread :LOL )

Anyway, the same may happen with you; I've heard that it's more common to have an early cycle and then nor more for a while the more children you have (?) Not sure why though.

[luckymama]

i got mine back almost immediately (4.5 wks pp). i exclusively bf'd, no paci, no supplement, and my son nursed (and sometimes continues to do so) every 1.5 hours. it happens. i had initially kind of been counting on the break, but as an older mama, i decided i was happy to see that my body was willing to return to fertile so readily.

[Braann]

I got mine at 6 or 7 weeks with my first DS. I'm waiting to see what happens this time.

[EmmalinesMom]

11 weeks PP here, and I've started my cycles again, even with exclusive nursing on cue and throughout the night.

With my first daughter, it didn't return until 4 months PP, when she started sleeping through the night.

[sincitymama]

I had pp bleeding/lochia for about 7/8 weeks. That stopped, one month later(so about 3 months pp) I had my first pp period-they've been clockwork ever since. Same as most everyone said, exclusively nursing, day and night, no bottles, no pacis, co-sleeping, etc..
A little irritating, I had thought it would be longer, but I guess everybody's body works differently and even baby to baby things change for a mama. Sometimes I wish I could, like, trade fertility with someone. I always see people worried that maybe they should wean their 3 year old so they can get pregnant again or something, when here I sit, regular cycles, not wanting any more children. Just doesn't seem fair for anybody.

[littlebeagle]

Ugh! (orig. poster here). I just don't want to get pg again!!! I know that, even if I didn't start my cycles yet, I'd still have to be careful because who knows when the cycles would start, ya know? But GEEZ talk about stress!! Before I was figuring 6mon like my previous 2 children (although not assuming)!

So NOW, not wanting any more children (and you know how that feeling of not wanting any more children is heightened after just having a baby?), I'm kind of nervous about getting pregnant because I don't want to!!