breastfeeding and ttc

Were you still breastfeeding when you tried to conceive a subsequent child and if so, how often were you feeding and how long did it take to conceive?

Ashton was a year old when we conceived Ryleigh (it was within days of her first birthday). Ashton was still nursing probably 10 times a day, at night even, and my period had returned but was not regular (every other month or so). We got pregnant the first month we tried.

Good luck!

Hmmm. Well, we started TTC #2 in April. Juls turned one in May. Atfer three months of trying, I decided it was time to stop nursing. For many reasons, but mainly because I thought it was hindering us getting pregnant. I also have no patience and was ready to be pregnant. The first full cycle where I had not nursed, we got pregnant. So for me, it seemed like we needed to stop. But honestly, we will never know. However, that was the pregnancy we lost. No connection. Did that make any sense. I am very tired. Oh, and we were nursing two to three times a day and I had had AF back since 4 months post partum.

Good luck!!

with our second i conceived a few months after he was fully weaned. i nursed nora until she was 2-1/2, but the last 6 months was just sort of to say goodnight. she'd nurse for a few minutes, then she'd walk to her bed. we weren't trying for another baby while i was nursing, because i had a lot of pain weaning the first time and didn't want to be forced to do it suddenly. the month she finally weaned, i got pregnant with stella. not sure if there was a connection since we weren't trying while i was nursing her.

We concieved the day before Autumns birthday according to all the dates etc...... and I was still nursing not trying etiher! And I have not had a period sonce before I was pregnant with Autumn :) WHen it does come I don't know what I will do :)

We got pregnant with this new baby, and I am still nursing Josh. A lot of toddlers don't nurse very much, but Josh still nurses many times a day and sometimes several times at night. I got my period back four days after Josh's first birthday. It took about 4 months to conceive after we got off birth control, but I am older than a lot of the moms here and it took a MUCH longer time to conceive Josh (8 years!). So 4 months doesn't sound all that long to me. :D

Thanks for all the responses! We're planning to stop preventing when Nicholas is 9 months and officially start trying when he's a year as I want to bf a year but would consider weaning after that if my fertility's not back by then. To date I haven't seen so much as a hint of my af.:)

My period never returned while BFding. Usually took a good month after I stopped for it to return. I didn't take chances, I'm a planner. I was on a POP pill until they stopped bfeeding which was about 10 MO for each of them, then I went to the patch. My SIL got pregnant 6 mos after her first was born, she never had a period. ??? I think everyone is very different.

We found out just after Carissa's first birthday that we were expecting. I was breastfeeding about 3 times a day at that point. I stopped nursing her at 14 months.
Hope this helps. In theory, unless you breastfeed on a very regular and fairly frequent basis, nursing should not keep you from ovulating, though it can make ovulation irregular.

I got my AF back when Faithie was about 11 months old. Immediately went back on the Pill and kept nursing.

Went off bc in early November (still nursing 1-2 times a day) and conceived on the first month "trying".

I'd definitely recommend a couple of months on bc to get your cycles regular once they start up again. The first month off is very easy to predict when you're ovulating.

We conceived when Thomas was 19 months old, and he was nursing upwards of 8-10 times a day. I started ovulating again at 17 months postpartum, so it only took us two cycles and no weaning. He nurses probably 5 times a day or so now. I've tried to eliminate the boredom nursing, but we still have bed/naptime, early morning and boo-boo nursing :)

I have no comments on breastfeeding while TTC as I have no children yet. But I do want to add in that going on BCP and then off to make yourself regular is not always a good idea. I have been off BCPs almost a year and my cycle is yet to be anything but regular. In all honesty, I would not recommend going on the pill for a few cycles and then getting off of them in hopes that your cycle would be easy to predict...it does not happen for all people that way.
Good luck TTC!

I actually made a personal decision not to use hormonal birth control anymore. I believe it is the reason for my miscarriage last year and it really messed with my system so we're more into Natural Family Planning at this point, although I do have to say that it's a bit tough with no cycle.

I also had a m/c due to the BCP. A lot of women don't realize that you can still ovulate while taking them. I also had a really tough time with NFP after I had Ethan, I had to get a lot of help from my old instructor.

Angelica was long weaned when I became pregnant with Loralei. However, I have 2 sisters that became pregnant while breastfeeding and a SIL who was breastfeeding and became pregnant when her 4th child was only 4 weeks old.

Julie and Shirelle-My DH and I decided that BCPs will not ever be used again for us. They have messed up my cycles and don't seem to be getting back to normal anytime soon. Once we finally concieve and have a baby, we will seriously look at NFP for us. Happy to know I will have some resources for NFP once we get there. Did you and your DH take a NFP class through the Catholic church to get started, or just read TCOYF?

As part of our pre-Cana instruction, we went through the NFP classes, together. They were a series of 2 hour classes, I think they were once a month for four months. It was great to have my dh with me. Now he understands so much about a woman's cycle, and I really feel that we plan our family together, without the burden being on one or the other of us. The classes were great, because there are so many variables that your cycle has, and your instructor can really help you to work out all the kinks, especially when breastfeeding. Also, once you pay the one-time fee, you can go back and do a refresher course anytime you feel like you need one. I would highly recommend them!

Thanks, Shirelle. Our Diocese did not make NFP classes mandatory with our Pre-Cana when we got married. We just had about 1 hour instruction on in over the course of a weekend. I will look into the classes when we are ready.
Thanks again!

I just read TCOYF. I would love to take a class though. I'm not a member of any specific church though so I'm not sure if I can. I know that Dr. Mcdonald in Denton though, is a NFP ob/gyn, so I've been thinking about checking him out for my next annual to see what he has to say. Here's his website: http://www.dfwnfpobgyn.com/index.html. For now, I'm just flying on a wing and a prayer. We know we want more kids, so we won't be crushed if an accident happens. :)

I've read TCOYF and use NFP. We've used it both to prevent pregnancy and to get pregnant. I personally won't use hormonal bc.

Julie, Dr. McDonald is my doctor and I love, love, love him! He is the most kind and compassionate doctor that I have ever been to.

I had a m/c in September and we only have 2 ob/gyns in Weatherford. When the m/c started, I called the doctor in town that I was planning to use and they told me to go to the emergency room, because they wouldn't see any new patients for a month! I called Dr. McDonald at 5pm, and they agreed to see me the next morning, even though I was a new patient.

He told me that he tries to treat all of his patients as though he were treating his wife or daughter, and he has really been true to his word. They also never give me hassles about any insurance problems, and never turn me away because of a money issue. I wish more doctors were like him. I drive over an hour to see him, but it is well worth it.

Thanks for the heads up shirelle! It's always good to hear positive feedback for a dr. you're considering. I'm due for my annual in March so if I go to him, I'll let you know how it went. :D



Julie, Dr. McDonald is my doctor and I love, love, love him! He is the most kind and compassionate doctor that I have ever been to.

I had a m/c in September and we only have 2 ob/gyns in Weatherford. When the m/c started, I called the doctor in town that I was planning to use and they told me to go to the emergency room, because they wouldn't see any new patients for a month! I called Dr. McDonald at 5pm, and they agreed to see me the next morning, even though I was a new patient.

He told me that he tries to treat all of his patients as though he were treating his wife or daughter, and he has really been true to his word. They also never give me hassles about any insurance problems, and never turn me away because of a money issue. I wish more doctors were like him. I drive over an hour to see him, but it is well worth it.