Nursing and TTC

What are my odds?? We are still BF'in 3-4 times a day and I haven't had a period since the last one before my twins were conceived and not using any BC. Anyone had experience with this? Will it take awhile?

Thanks!

 

It is entirely possible. I would recomend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler, they also have a forum and charting software.
It was a great book that taught me tons about my body that at almost 30 years of age is nuts!
Many women do not have to wean to get pregnant. Every single body is different.
Do you know if you are ovulating? Have your cycles returned? Menstration is not necessary for ovulation in most nursing women.

 

Thanks Dani. After I posted I noticed there are a number of women on this board that seem to have gotten pg while BFing. In my case, I have no idea if I'm ovulating or not. Haven't had a period but like you said, I guess I could still be ovulating. I'll check out that book, I've heard from others its really, really informative (I probably should have read it a long time ago!).

 

Yes, that is a GREAT book!!! Yes, definitely possible to get pregnant while nursing, especially if your twins are eating solids and are older.

 

It sounds like you haven't ovulated yet, because you WOULD get a period once you ovulate (about two weeks later), unless of course you were pregnant. It's just how it works. You can't ovulate and not menstruate unless you become pregnant. I did a lot of charting etc. several times, so feel free to ask me questions if you want. I know of several women who have gotten pregnant while nursing. Some of them had not had a period yet and just happened to get pregnant the first time they ovulated since birth of their previous baby.

 

QUOTE(Raneysmama @ Dec 3 2007, 05:44 PM) [snapback]519411[/snapback]
It sounds like you haven't ovulated yet, because you WOULD get a period once you ovulate (about two weeks later), unless of course you were pregnant. It's just how it works. You can't ovulate and not menstruate unless you become pregnant. I did a lot of charting etc. several times, so feel free to ask me questions if you want. I know of several women who have gotten pregnant while nursing. Some of them had not had a period yet and just happened to get pregnant the first time they ovulated since birth of their previous baby.


Are you breastfeeding your baby? Breastfeeding mothers will often experience amenorrhea; however ovulation may still occur and pregnancy is possible even without menstruation.



Oh and this will get you into the website and the forums!
http://www.ovusoft.com/products/

 

Another vote for Taking Charge of Your Fertility! It's an awesome book, and will help you determine whether you're ovulating right now.

Good luck TTC!

 

"Menstration is not necessary for ovulation in most nursing women"
Is this really true? I always thought you would get your period after around 2 weeks, if you did ovulate. I use to have that book also, but I have no idea where it is now. Any internet links that support this?

Thanks,
Stacy

 

Just read the information in 'Taking Charge of Your Fertility', and it is consistent with what I thought. If you ovulate you will get a period in about 2 weeks. Here is what is says:

'Can a woman get pregnant if she is not menstruating?'
'Yes, since a woman releases an egg 12 to 16 days before menstruation it is possible to get pregnant without actually having periods. Thus women who are not menstruating due to any reason are always at risk for ovulation.'

It doesn't however say that you can ovulate and not get a period. They only way this can happen is if you are pregnant.

 

Here are a few quick sources
http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detfert.html

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/gettingpr...vulationfaq.htm
scroll down a bit on that one


http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/menstruat.../lateperiod.htm

 

Maybe I'm a bit confused... I only meant that you can get pregnant without getting a period first, because you ovulate before getting a period, usually. Anything I've ever read says that you can menstruate without ovulation, but not the other way around.

In the links you supplied, Appymomma, it seems like it's just saying you don't have to menstruate first to start ovulating. The first link is a bit confusing on the subject though. So maybe I've read wrong?

 

QUOTE(Raneysmama @ Dec 3 2007, 10:54 PM) [snapback]519843[/snapback]
Maybe I'm a bit confused... I only meant that you can get pregnant without getting a period first, because you ovulate before getting a period, usually. Anything I've ever read says that you can menstruate without ovulation, but not the other way around.

In the links you supplied, Appymomma, it seems like it's just saying you don't have to menstruate first to start ovulating. The first link is a bit confusing on the subject though. So maybe I've read wrong?



It's true, you can ovulate with out first having menstrated, it all depends on your hormone levels.
It also happened to me. I went 6 months with out a period and was pregnant at month 7, my hormone levels were way off, infact I was taking preggo tests monthly and they were comming up neg ( all urine) This was after comming off birth control. Pregnancy was finally confirmed but a m/c happend at 16 weeks due to not knowing for so long and being on medications that were not pregnancy safe.

 

Nicole,

I am a natural family planning teacher...so if you have any questions...I would be glad to help.

Yes, woman can get pregnant before their first cycle, but usually woman do have warning signs that they are ovulating...such as an increase in mucus and the cervix opening and softening.

We tell anyone who is practicing nfp, and they are trying not to conceive, to avoid relations when there is mucus present. Now...that being said...there are woman who do have ongoing mucus...but, again, we teach woman how to interpret their mucus signs.

The method that I teach is the sympto-thermal method.....you chart your waking temp (same time each day), along with mucus and cervical signs (cervical signs are optional, but are so useful for woman who have on going mucus).

The site I will direct you to is ccli.org At that site you can find a teacher that is in your area, and think about taking a class. We are all volunteers and do phone consults as well.

Good luck and let me know if you ever need any help!!

 

Yes you can get pregnant while breastfeeding. However, since you are not having regular periods, you are not LIKELY to get pregnant at this time. Your body has not been ovulating during this time (or you would have had a period). You very well may ovulate before you get a period (so you're not "safe" if you were trying to avoid pregnancy), but you should wait to get more hopeful and excited about getting pregnant once you are having regular cycles (meaning 28-ish days with periods). Many women who are bf'ing have unusual cycles for a while once their periods resume. Oftentimes, they will have what are called short luteal phases. That means that you ovulate, but there isn't enough time between ovulation and your period for a baby to implant and stay.

Every woman is different and I cannot say how long your body will take to be "ready". Heck, maybe you're ovulating now and don't know it! If you start having the slippery wet cervical fluid, that's a good sign! It took us 6 months to conceive the second time around because I was bf'ing my first child and my luteal phases were just too short (even though my cycles were always 28 days!). I could tell this because I didn't have 14 days of high temperatures after my "thermal shift" (body has higher temperatures after ovulation than before it). You need at least 12 days of high temperatures.

I also recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility. It helps to look at what your body is doing and know whether or not your body is ready, so you know what to expect. Many of my friends who have been in your situation of extended time w/o a period eventually made the tough decision to cut their nursing sessions down and that triggered ovulation for them (and periods, of course!).

Good luck!

 

I did. I was nursing 5-6 times a day and never had a period in between. It does happen. The twins were around 10 months old when I got pg with this new baby

 

QUOTE(Take Luck! @ Dec 4 2007, 03:58 PM) [snapback]520208[/snapback]
Many women who are bf'ing have unusual cycles for a while once their periods resume. Oftentimes, they will have what are called short luteal phases. That means that you ovulate, but there isn't enough time between ovulation and your period for a baby to implant and stay.

This is very similar to what happened to me. I started menstrating around 8 months pp and still was nursing around the clock (10-12 times each baby in a 24 hour period). They would wake every 2-3 hours at night and I would nurse them, so LOTS and LOTS of nursing was going on. So I was surprised when I got my period! Even though I was menstrating again, it was quite different than what I experienced before getting pregnant. My cycles were really short. Between ovulating and menstrating, it would be only 9 days or so. So I really thought I was not very fertile given the short luteal phase. Also, my period would last between 2-3 days and was very light. My doctor told me that it would be very unlikely I get pregnant at this time, but obviously possible. To our surprise, we became pregnant one year pp.

 

Wow! Ladies, thanks for all the information. I think I really need to get "the book" and learn something about myself! I'm embarrassed to admit I know virtually nothing about my cycle, only that it was like clockwork since I was on the pill for so long before having the twins.

We'll see what happens. DH and I are not actively TTC right now, but in the next few months we'd like to be moving in that direction. I really don't want to rush the boys to wean sooner than they are ready. But we don't want to wait too much longer to start trying for a 3rd (and likely the last) child. And as DH so eloquently pointed out the other day, the longer we wait to have another one, the more expensive college gets...nice, uh?