When has fertilility come back for those who CLW?

[Synchro246]

In books I've read it comes back at all different times, but most of those books don't reference people who actually CLW. Ecological Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing probably comes the closest toCLW, but their average is quite sooner than those of anthropological books that talk about the Kung San in africa and other "wilder" peoples. EB&NCS says that the children will be 14-30 months apart(fertility returns at 5-21months). Anthropology books say 3-4years(fertility returning in the second or third year).

I want your experiences- say how CLW your child was, what his/her patterns were like, and when AF returned (or you got preggers). I also would like to know if you have a sister or a mother who also CLW and when her fertility returned compared to yours.

I am trying to figure out just how activly I want to avoid pregnancy right now, and if it's realistic to plan on getting prego with #2 when I am planning. My sister's were all 30 months apart, but she's skinnier than me and I think that affects fertility.

TIA!

[Ruthla]

I was doing "ecological breastfeeding" with my first, got AF after 4m and when she was 9mo I found out I was pg with #2. Tandem nursing I got AF back after 6m.

DS slept through the night younger, and got bottles while I worked, and I didn't get AF until he was 7mo. He's currently weaned/nursing about 10 seconds a month.

My GYN was surprised that I was regularly cycling while nursing. I'm guessing he doesn't have too many long-term BF in his practice.

ETA: My Mom got pg with me when my brother was only 5mo and EBF. I'm not sure when she got AF back after my birth, but I know she nursed me for 11m.

[TeaBag]

I'm with Ruth. I got my first pp af back when my first was 5 months old, but in all honesty, I wasn't completely nursing on demand. So, when my 2nd was ecologically breastfeeding, I thought for sure I was safe, but I got pregnant before my first pp af, when she was 5 months old. And when I was tandem nursing my 18 month old and my 4 month old, I ovulated.

[TiredX2]

DD was CL bfed at one year when I got AF back (11.5 months). She was still nursing quite often when I got pg with DS at 23 months.

With DS, AF returned at 25 months post partum.

[sun-shine01]

DD is 3.5 years and still nursing. She/we night weaned at 14 months and I got my first period when she was 17 months but not sure if I was ovulating then.

We started TTC about 5 months later and I was ovulating but I had to have had a fibroid removed when she was 25 months old.

We waited 2 cycles and then we got PG. My kiddos are 3 years and 1 week apart in age.

[Patchfire]

Five and a half or six months postpartum with both kiddos. Now, with ds, that worked out so that it was right after dd weaned, but I don't think that the added stimulation of four minutes a day was making a difference.

I think age of the mother does have something to do with it, also, similar to how age of the mother impacts the number of days of EWCM and so forth.

[broodymama]

I got pregnant with #2 when DS was 13 months. He was still nursing 8-12 times a day and usually 1-2 times per night.

My mom didn't breastfeed, so no data there.

[velcromom]

Ds was 22 months when AF returned, which coincided with him nightweaning himself. He was nursing probably 5x a day at that point.

[mamasgirls]

My first daughter had latch/suck issues and I EP'd and got AF back at 5 months pp.

My second daughter I "ecologically breastfed"- around the clock, on demand, and AF returned for the first time at 14.5 months pp, then I went 3 more months and it has been very regular since 17.5 months (she is 22.5 months now). She was eating very little solids at 14.5 months. She still nurses around the clock.

[Girl Named Sandoz]

I eco-breastfed.

My cycles returned when my son was 24 months old. He was still nursing during the night at this point and frequently during the day.

He's self-weaning now at 3.5.

ETA: I'm tall and slim. 5'11 and around 130 lbs.

[IfMamaAintHappy]

I got my cycle back after Grace was born when she was 20 months and had been sleeping through the night for about a month.

I got my cycle back after Lily was born when she was 16 months old, but was still not sleeping through the night yet.

I have about 6 months of short luteal phase cycles, and then it seems to work itself out. At least thats what it has done the past 2 times.

[mama_at_home]

I was eco-breastfeeding ds and got AF back at 2.5 months PP. I am eco-breastfeeding the twins and at 4 months PP still no AF!!!!!!! I hope I have better luck this time.

[malibusunny]

My fertility has just returned and Sprout is 22 months. He was always a steady nurser and still is, but I went back to work in the fall, so there's just less time. He also still nurses at night.

[sagewinna]

Nursed #1 on demand, worked part-time but he nursed a lot at night. Af at 21 months, got pg when he was almost 3. He weaned at 3 1/4.

Got af at 18 months with second babe. Cycles were irregular and sometimes annovulatory until she weaned at 3 1/4 months like her brother.

#3 is still nursing at 30 months, got af at 11 months even though she nursed a lot at night (and day!). My cycles are still irregular and some are annovulatory, but I'm peri-menopausal also.

None had pacifiers and sucked thumbs, no bottles either (#1 drank small amounts from a sippy while I was working.).

[Peony]

DD nursed ALOT, day and night, I finally induced AF back when dd was 2.5 years old, we were TTC then. I am on the thin side so I'm sure that had something to do with it, I had always had regular AF before getting pg. It wasn't until after dd was 3 that I was finally about to get pg, my fertility problems were directly related to bfing.

[~*SugarMama*~]

DS nursed CONSTANTLY in the beginning. And I started back with AF regularly when he was about four months old....about a full six weeks before he started sleeping through the night. In fact, I think that getting AF back was what helped him learn to sleep all night. :

With DD, we had to hold back her nursings to every two to three hours and be very careful with how long she spent on each breast (severe reflux). I got AF back at six months...but only every three months until she was about 18 months. Then it was every other month until just after her second birthday. Now its pretty regular but it skips around a bit every once in a while.

[LadyInfidel]

15 months to the day after ds's birth.

My other children were aroud 18 months when it came back.

[LadyInfidel]

Forgot to mention, we EBF and follow CLW and my mom didn't ever breastfeed.

[Kate522]

My period, I'm assuming that's what you're asking, came back at 18 months with dd#1 and at 24 months with dd#2.

[mom2wed]

AF returned 14 months after DS was born. He was still nursing around the clock and not eating any solids. DS is now 3.5 yrs old and DH and I just started TTC #2.