ivf while nursing? - Page 3

[marlee]

:
My RE appointment is next week.

[marlee]

RE appointment is next week. Looking to do a unmedicated FET while BF. I'll let you know what RE says.

[momuveight2B]

We are getting ready to FET again with transfer December 4th. I really appreciate all the input on this board. We are still nursing. I really thought we were making progress with weaning and then DD got an upper respiratory infection a few weeks ago and you know how that goes. Now I am working on allowing bedtime only for a few minutes each side. I have not been able to hand express milk for several months and now not even a drop. I think she is just dry nursing.

[jasper28]

What did your RE say? I am going to try a natural FET in January and I am still bf my son. My RE said to wean, but I am going to go ahead while nursing anyway. i figure it is my money to lose if it doesn't work. Weaning has been slow and my son clearly isn't ready.

Let me know what your Doc says. I am curious whether he gives a different perspective.

[momuveight2B]

He hasn't talked to me about bf since dd was nine months old and then he told me to wean. She is now almost four and we haven't discussed it. I haven't kept it a secret, it should be in my chart somewhere but I decided if he didn't address it then I wasn't going to either.

I know it may be lessening my chances but I don't think it is nearly as risky as other behaviors that many women engage in.

I did get pregnant with my fresh IVF cycle last February while nursing but miscarried at 10 weeks. I consulted with another RE and my OB for a second opinion and they agreed nursing was not a factor in the miscarriage. It was due to advanced maternal age and most likely a chromosonal error in the developing fetus. For our FETs we are doing donor cycles.

[jasper28]

My RE will tell you that an unmedicated FET is no different from a 'normal' cycle. I figure if women get pregnant while nursing, than the chances of a FET working while nursing should be about the same. I am currently weaning....but really slowly and gently. He will not be weaned by the time my cycle takes place, but he will -- hopefully -- be nursing only once a day.

I don't want to mislead my RE. He is wonderful, but I have researched and don't believe it will lessen my chances enough to rush my ds into weaning. Only time will tell. I don't plan on bringing this information up to my RE unless he asks.

[marlee]

Just back from RE

Well a lot was discussed at this appointment and I'm still trying to sort it all out. The BF wasn't an even an issue. He asked as part of his questions when I stopped bf and I said I still am I think I used the word occasionally. He wrote something down and went on to the next question. I wanted him to know my dd doesn't spend alot of time at the breast so used the word occasionally, expecting him to ask what that meant. But I guess he didn't find it relevent. We also don't expect to do the FET until the spring.

We spent alot of time discussing the use of hormones. The protocol he recommends involves estrogen before transfer. I argued this as I have no know fertility issues, we have male factor. His argument was that I have never 'proven' my fertlity: Then his argument was that I live so far away that I would have to wait around for so long, the estogen would make my ovulation time more perdictable. I said that I ovulate on day 9 or 10 the estrogen would change that timing and would it make me a more fertile women to ovulate on day 14 with administered hormones or on day 9 or 10 on my own? We didn't get to a final agreement. As the meeting went on he said the chances of pregnancy would be that high and I would need to take that risk. That is all I wanted to hear! That it is MY decision, MY 'risk', MY life. I believe that my body can function at the highest level with as few interventions as possible. I don't care what the stats say at this point in my life.

There was so much that was said at the meeting I don't even know what was figured out but I think I can work with him in the future and I hope that he feels the same way about me:

[twindaze]

Did my FET

I finally did my FET, my last one as this was the last of the frozen embryos. My toddler is 2.5. The RE wasn't worried about the nursing and said my hormone levels and lining looked perfect. However, the FET did not work and I didn't become pregnant. It was the first IVF procedure I ever did that didn't result in a pregnancy. My RE doesn't think it was the nursing though, just the luck of the draw, or as I said "I guess I can't expect to win the lottery FOUR times." I'm sad, but dealing with it. I found out a month ago.

I did do a hormone override cycle with the estrace and progesterone. From what I've read, unmedicated "natural" cycles are a lot less likely to succeed.

[momuveight2B]

Twindaze~ Sorry that your FET didn't work out.

I am transferring today and not feeling confident at all. I have tried and tried to discourage dd from nursing but we are still not weaned. So I worry about how this will impact todays FET.

I hope I have not screwed up my best chances at pregnancy by continuing to nurse.

[simoneopp]

Twindaze, so sorry that your FET was not successful...
To Marlee, and momuveight2B, and those who are reading but not posting
These are all very difficult and personal decisions. It's wonderful that some are so open to share their experiences. I so appreciate the stories as well as the opinions (even if I don't always agree with them).
Please, bfers, keep us posted on how all of the IVF procedures go -- our good thoughts are with you!!!!!!!
Simone

[Yulia_R]

Many hugs to all of you who go/went through the difficult road of infertility! To those of you who ttc I wish you to hold your little one in you arms very very soon...like in 9 months or so !
I just want to encourage you as far as nursing while ttc by shearing our story. I have a condition called unicornate uterus (50% of normal size) and only one tube (right one) leading to a lazy not ovulating ovary (it's 1/3 of a normal size and is not functioning properly; perhaps due to a surgery to remove a cyst from this ovary about 9 years ago). My left ovary is fine, but there is no tube on this side, so it’s basically useless unless I go with IVF. So, we did IVF and got pg from the first cycle.
We had our baby boy. When he was about 8m.o. he was still exclusively nursing like crazy, day and night. Best nights it'd be every 2 hours and the worst nights it was every 30 min or so. Same thing during the day, nursing NON STOP! And yet, we didn't even try to conceive and had sex only once that month (as I was exhausted from endless sleepless nights), and we did get pg!
We had our baby girl on Nov, 2. Jonah successfully nursed throughout the pregnancy and now I'm tandem nursing.
So, it is absolutely possible to get pg while nursing!
A lot of pregnancy vibes to you guys!
Yulia.

[momuveight2B]

We transferred 1.5 embies today, not even sure what RE meant by 1/2 of an embie but I imagine it was not growing well. We'll give it a chance anyways. These cycles in my experience often do not go all that great so I really can't see forcing weaning when there are so many other factors that effect outcome anyways. We are not feeling optimistic.

[momuveight2B]

BFN once again. We limited nursing to less than two minutes a day this cycle and did not nurse at all for 36 hours after transfer.

[jasper28]

I'm so sorry about the bfn. I have been there alot and it stinks. I am scared to start treatments again simply because I hate bfn days. You have to keep going in order for it to work at some point, but the downs are terrible.

Hugs...

[momuveight2B]

Well the test was wrong....

Got bloodwork today and it is BFP! Holding my breath and going to tell DD we need to cut back on nursing again.

[momuveight2B]

I am eight weeks and doing great so far. Down to nursing about two minutes a day. DD was funny yesterday while we were waiting for the doctor to do the US she said, " Don't tell her I've been nursing!"

[simoneopp]

Momuveight2B,

Congratulations!!!!!!!

[katies_mama]

wish us luck

We are doing an FET about a month from right now, flying out to CA to have it done. It will be a managed cycle. DD still nurses 10+ times per day--she will be 23.5mo at the time of transfer. I'll update in six weeks!

[Pookietooth]

bump

[katies_mama]

I started the injections (for FET) on Friday. My 23mo daughter has been nursing 20x a day lately. I've decided not to limit nursing at all through this process (and to actively encourage her and offer), other than sending her off to the zoo with dh and such the day of/after transfer.

My biggest fear was that the reduced milk supply would cause her to wean, but that seems impossible to me right now.

Our transfer is scheduled for February 15th. We are at an impasse in terms of number of embryos to transfer. They are frozen in two vials of two. I will not discard and my husband will not transfer more than two unless I agree to a reduction if three take, which I won't. So, if we thaw one vial and only one makes it, then we cannot thaw the second vial (since I will not discard and he does not want to put in three), and we'll transfer only one.

So we'll see how that goes for us. . . transferring perhaps only one and breastfeeding 20x a day.

Hey, if it doesn't amuse me, I don't know who it will amuse. . .