When did AF return? (I'm 22 months post-partum with no AF)

[mamameeyah]

I'm still breastfeeding and it looks like I may not get AF back until my son weans. He is an avid night nurser and I doubt he will want to wean anytime soon. So if he weans at 4 years, does that mean I won't get AF back until then? What is the longest anyone on this forum has gone without getting a period post-partum? I'm trying to determine (unscientifically) if there is an outer time limit by which time AF will come back regardless of breastfeeding. I want to get pregnant again sooner rather than later since I'm already 36, but am not prepared to wean my son to do it.

[surf mama]

My dd was an avid nurser and my cycles returned at 14 months...she was still nursing a lot then too. I remember it was hard to wait that long so I can imagine waiting 22months has been hard. You might get more replies if you post under the nursing mothers trying to conceive thread under the trying to conceive sub forum.

[mamameeyah]

Thanks, Surf Mama. I'll try posting in that other thread. I'm new here and have not yet explored all the different groups.

[kittykorat]

I got my first PP AF after DS1 at 15 months.
no PP af yet this time

Marie
Mom to David 2/1/03 and Andrew 2/13/06

[treehugginhippie]

I'm 31 mo PP with no AF Dd still nurses several times during the day & night.

p.s.-I posted a similar thread to find out the same thing a little while back. I mean really...besides catching the first PP eggie...what's the longest a mama can go w/out AF? I should look this up. I've heard some mamas not getting AF for many months after their DC weaned. I'm definately the longest w/out AF in my area of BF friends...I feel so out of place

[mamameeyah]

Treehugginhippie -- sorry to hear that it's been so long. Who knows, I may beat your record. I too feel so out of place. Nobody I know has ever gone as long as I have without a period. I feel like a freak. I don't fit in with the women who are infertile, since like you I already have ds, but I can't even ttc. When people ask me if I'm trying for #2 I don't know what to tell them. If I tell them the truth their jaw drops and they blame me for continuing to nurse ds. If I'm noncommittal I feel I'm not being true to myself because I really really want another one as soon as possible. So I have no one to share with. Please tell me, how much do you nurse? All night like I do? Since last posted I tried to night wean and it was a disaster.

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by mamameeyah

Treehugginhippie -- sorry to hear that it's been so long. Who knows, I may beat your record. I too feel so out of place. Nobody I know has ever gone as long as I have without a period. I feel like a freak. I don't fit in with the women who are infertile, since like you I already have ds, but I can't even ttc. When people ask me if I'm trying for #2 I don't know what to tell them. If I tell them the truth their jaw drops and they blame me for continuing to nurse ds. If I'm noncommittal I feel I'm not being true to myself because I really really want another one as soon as possible. So I have no one to share with. Please tell me, how much do you nurse? All night like I do? Since last posted I tried to night wean and it was a disaster.

Hi mamameeyah. Thank you for your reply. I'm glad to see I'm not alone. We share similar experiences. And dh and I want to TTC #2 soon too. How old is your ds? I sometimes get people who ask when we're going to have another baby. I also cannot lie and I just say whenever I get my period back...then their jaw drops too. Dd nurses *I think* 3-4 x's a night. We co-sleep so I don't wake up fully. She sleeps 4 hr stretches usually at night (as long as I get her to bed on time) and has been for several months. Awhile back I tried patting her back to get her back to sleep...didn't work. So I gave up the thought of nightweaning. I find it easier to cut back the daytime nursing. What I do is offer her foods before she asks to nurse...esp her favorites like rasberries. This will spark her appetite and then she'll eat the rest of her normal meal. She is eating more solids and nursing less during the day this way. As long as she's eating well during the day she night nurses less. She nurses about 2-3 x's a day. I don't want her to wean just cut out a 1 or more nursing sessions. (I've heard of others nightweaning the Dr Jay Gordon way. You can google it and find threads on it on MDC.) So she's doing about 6 x's a day...just enough to keep AF away I guess.

BTW-if you don't mind me asking...did you have irregular cycles pre-pregnancy and/or low progesterone during pregnancy? I had both and I really feel that my lack of hormones pre-pregnancy is the main reason why I don't have AF yet. I'm always the type to wonder WHY.

[mamameeyah]

Hi treehugginhippie -- Ds will be 2 in Nov. The wierd thing is I didn't have any problems getting pregnant (it happened the first time we tried) and no problems during the pregnancy. I had regular periods for a year before I conceived. Prior to that I had been on BC pills, during which time I would go months without a period. I saw a RE who thinks my infertility is a combination of a mild case of PCOS and breastfeeding. She put me on metformin in June and still no AF. I started taking Vitex on my own 2 months ago (fingers crossed).

I read Jay Gordon's online article and tried to night wean. I had ds watch me leave the house (then I sneaked back in and hid) and he was fine until he woke up after sleeping for 1/2 an hour. Ds cried, as would be expected, but after an hour he was still extremely upset and starting moaning like he was really grieving the loss. Dr. Gordon said you have to listen to your gut, which was telling me very strongly that this was not right. So I pretended to return home. I nursed ds and he was asleep 5 minutes later.

I have heard that one thing you can do to jump start your hormones is take BC for a couple of months then stop abruptly. But I really don't want to take BC ever again because of the health risks.

[kissykoko]

I had my first real fulll-fledged PPAF last month and it was 28months. With my first baby it was 20months. I am still nursing quite a bit. I am 35 and I am also pretty thin. 5'5 and 100lbs. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

[NC EcoMaMa]

With my first daughter, (23) I didn't get my AF until she was 24 months, with the second girl, (19) I got it after 8 months and now with my son Ronnie I got it at 12 months.
Each one was different.

[goosysmom]

I'm at almost 30 months and no PPAF to speak of.....and we only nurse here and there these days....

Went to see my MW a few weeks ago to chat and such as we would like to try for #2 soon soon soon and we did some testing.

Most of my friends got theirs back within 6 months, some sooner.....

[treehugginhippie]

Originally Posted by goosysmom

I'm at almost 30 months and no PPAF to speak of.....and we only nurse here and there these days....

Went to see my MW a few weeks ago to chat and such as we would like to try for #2 soon soon soon and we did some testing.

Most of my friends got theirs back within 6 months, some sooner.....

What kind of testing did you do? Hormone? Did you have any hormone issues before pregnancy? IE-irregular cycles, low progesterone? What did you MW suggest? I'm 31 mo PP and no AF either. It's nice (but not nice) to see we're not alone.

[goosysmom]

She just did some general testing for hormones, pcos, glucose and the like....

I've always had irregular cycles since I got my first cycle at 9 (thanks mom..lol) and mom had to take progesterone injections to keep me.....and out of 5 women on her side of the family (sisters...) there are only 2 with children and each has one child (me and a cousin).....I am the only one back 2 generations who doesn't take a synthetic thyroid....

All my levels came back within the normal range, some within the higher normal but normal nonetheless....except for my progesterone...it was elevated....and she didn't know why so I'm off to an endo by route of my family doc so insurance will cover most of it....she's as stumped as I am right now bc since I'm not preggo.....my progesterone should be within the normal range like everything else....

But....you sweet one nurses alot more than mine does at this point....I miss the nursing alot but she's content with the every now and then that she prefers (unless she's sick or fell down then it's a few times a day...)...I don't even think much comes out anymore.....but I ask her when she's nursing if any is coming out and she says yes.....so....guess there is some....So, the more nursing may be something for you then for me.....Maybe??? LOL

I had hoped to have my kiddos 2ish years apart...I have a step daughter who is 4ish years older and it's too much of an age difference for me....Hopefully we can figure out my mystery soon.....

[mimim]

I have no sign of my period and my DD is 18 months. My cycles returned when my first was 9 months.

With my second I started taking vitex to induce my period because I wanted to TTC. This was at 18 mos. pp. I ovulated after a couple of weeks of taking the tincture.

You can read more about vitex here: http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milks...m_c.html#vitex

[Terabith]

My mother was *five* years before she got AF; I weaned when I was 18 months. They were TTC too. That sucks. I pumped with my first, got AF back after six months when I stopped pumping. My second is still nursing at17 months and no sign of AF. While I don't care about no AF right now, I'd like to start trying soon for a third and it makes me nervous that I might not.