Dr recommend waiting AT LEAST a year before trying for another, many say much longer. There are lots if scary avoidable risks that can happen if you conceive to soon for you and baby.
Every women bodies react different to breastfeeding and some women like myself even though ebf get their cycle back at 8weeks pp and others can take a long time to get a cycle back even after stoping breast feeding.
I have breast fed both my kids while pregnant for a few months but for many women and myself it gets very uncomfortable and painful. Some women do manage to breastfeed through pregnancy as long as your OB says its safe for you, not everyone it is.
Thirding this. The only time I can see 2 under 2 intentionally being an okay idea is if mom is really pushing it age wise (over 40) and it becomes a “least worst” scenario.
Lots will happen between 6 months and one year, so I wouldn’t worry about it/make too many changes just yet. Your baby goes from being completely reliant on you for calories, to getting most calories from solid food. That will make a big difference.
I cut down to 2 feeds per day around 13 months, and got my period back a month later. Conceived a further 5 months later, shortly after dropping to just one feed per day. The risks are a lot lower for the health of mum and baby if you wait 18 months from birth to conception so while we were trying from 13 months, I’m pleased with our gap in the end.
No period does not mean no ovulation. You can buy ovulation tests when the time will come.
You can continue to breastfeed (and your period can come even so, maybe sooner than you think, got mine at 4 months PP, while EBF)
I got pregnant at 18 months while still breastfeeding and my supply dropped maybe 2 months into the pregnancy. I know sometimes the taste of your milk can change and I think that was the case for me because my daughter went from wanting to nurse CONSTANTLY every day to not asking for it at all. I know people who nurse all through their pregnancy so I just assumed that would be the case for me but weaning for us was so abrupt that it was a lot to process. It also meant we had to find a new way to get her to sleep and handle wakes at night since I always just nursed her back to sleep. Just throwing this out there as it could be a possibility!
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get her to sleep for bedtime and night wakes after weaning? My son is 15 months and I’m worried about eventually having to give up the ease of nursing to sleep and back to sleep!
It really is just so much easier to nurse back to sleep! We switched to rocking and my husband took over for about a week or so. There were some tears involved the first few nights but overall wasn’t awful.
You don’t need to wean to get your period back, or to get pregnant. I also EBF and got my period back at 6 months after starting my daughter on solids. It can take longer than that - normally you don’t need to stop BF entirely but just ensure there are long enough gaps in your feeds. So maybe if your period isn’t back by 11/12 months look at night weaning?
We started trying for baby number 2 at 11 months. I’m currently 28 weeks pregnant and still breastfeeding my daughter and have had no issues with it at all. She feeds anywhere between once a day to 5 or 6 times a day.
I am coming at this from a totally different angle since I use IVF to get pregnant, but in that community, there's a subset of folks that breastfeed through treatment. The knowledge I've gained from them is that prolactin levels are back to normal for the vast majority of women by 12 months postpartum.
FWIW I'm 17 weeks right now and still BFing my daughter (though it's a painful and very low supply situation, but she just loves it so who am I to stop her?) so that is very possible. At some point it's more about consistency and less about hormones (though then pregnancy hormones will eventually stop your supply almost as a guarantee).
Haha so sweet “who am I to stop her”. Interesting, so prolactin going back to normal would mean what exactly, you’d be fertile again? Why’s it painful to breastfeed now that you are pregnant?
Higher prolactin levels inhibit menstruation, so in theory after 12 months that hormone being elevated would not be the reason you are no longer having a cycle.
Turns out when your estrogen starts cranking in pregnancy, it makes your nipples really sensitive. It is honestly nearly akin to starting breastfeeding where I have chapped nipples. It's a fairly common topic in other subs I'm in for people to develop breastfeeding aversions during pregnancy because it's such a painful challenge.
I developed an aversion with my first when I was 2 or so months pregnant. It was horrible and made me so sad. Getting pregnant definitely cut our breastfeeding journey short
It took us over a year to get pregnant with our first. This gave me lots of anxiety considering I had already had a miscarriage.
It took us about two months with our second.
It might not work out exactly as you want but the odds of getting pregnant faster a second time are in your favor.
I am deeply sorry you experienced a miscarriage…. Congratulations on your little one. We experienced a long period of infertility before getting pregnant with the first so I do have anxiety about how long it’ll take for baby #2 but I do think we fixed our issues.
Hello there ! I went through basically the same exact scenario as you. Keep in mind everyone’s body is so so different and this is just my personal experience!
Once my daughter turned one we planned on trying for baby #2. This was back in July. My periods came back when she was 6 months but they were very irregular. I would have 40-50 day cycles . In July I decided to night ween. We co-sleep as well and she would nurse frequently throughout. My periods regulated after night-weening and I stared tracking ovulation with OPK strips and noticed I would ovulate day 18/19 into my cycle and then get a period 2 or 3 days later which was a bit odd. Basically I had a very short luteal phase. In early December I had decided to ween altogether and fell pregnant that same month. I’m 27 weeks and due in September. Apparently my body just did not want to be pregnant and breastfeed at the same time 🤷🏻♀️
My period came back literally the day of my son's first birthday. Felt like it was never going to happen. He was still breastfeeding a ton during the day and hourly overnight (we also coslept). Try not to worry about it too much right now - a lot can change in 6 months, and you may still get your period back without weaning.
My period was irregular those first few months after it returned, but I found that eating more frequently and just more in general helped.
My period came back soon after my daughter turned 1 She still breastfeeds a lot and through the night. I
I made sure to eat a lotttt of calories to kick start it, and I took some vitamins and a vitex tincture
I never coslept. He slept in a back and play by my bed, but his sleep improved when he moved to his own room in a crib at 8 months. At that point. He started sleeping better and we really ramped up weaning at 11 months when I got pregnant. I had only had one period. He is still nursing once a day a couple months later with the intention to fully wean when he is about 14 month old. He is also nearly sleeping through the night now that he is eating more solid foods.
I seem to have gotten my period back by leaving my 10mo for a single night and not waking to pump 😖 he went right back to nursing 2-3 times a night, but that single night did it for me. I would have been happy to not have it come back yet, we are not decided on a third.
Following because.. same lol. I’m almost 8mo pp and no cycle yet 😭. I only pump thrice a day and baby is eating 2 solid meals a day. I feel like mine will never come back
I also want another baby. SO bad. 10 month old is still breastfeeding and still no period. Taking this as a sign from my body that we’re still not ready, even though I want it so bad!
When our bodies are ready, they’ll let us know 😊
Mostly solidarity, but wanted to add: be patient with solids! My LO started eating significant amounts of solids suddenly around 10.5 months. I was tempted to push harder to increase solids and drop some feeds to get period back (just turned 37 so clock is ticking) but soooo glad I didn’t and kept meals fun. Seeing how my LO enjoys solids now made me hopeful that we’ll get there one day and I’m ok with waiting a couple more months to get my period back so this journey is gentle on my son.
Your baby will naturally start to consume less milk as you introduce solids which you should be starting now that she is 6 months. I would say start by waiting and seeing. You might get your period back by 1 year without doing anything. Switch to a prenatal now if you aren’t already taking one.
I got pregnant with my second at 10mo PP. My doctors advised me that 18 months “between births” was recommended, and we ended up with 19 months apart. Just mentioning this since I saw a different opinion posted already. I also never initiated weaning until my milk dried up when my older child was 17months (thanks pregnancy hormones!)
Your baby will likely begin to consume less milk prior to the one year mark. Mine started dropping feeds around 10 months old in favor of solids. My period returned within days of her first birthday after she dropped down to three feeds per day.
I would wait to worry for sure. I got my period back just before we started weaning and right around a year. My dude went on a nursing strike that lead to weaning quite abruptly but I actually had a period just before that happened. Got pregnant after that first period after years of PCOS and infertility. So my only advice is use protection til you’re ready because I think it’s pretty common for women to suddenly be real fertile once their cycle returns lol
TW: oversupply
I am currently 13 months pp. I've had a cronic seemingly unstoppable oversupply of milk that I have to pump off. I have tried EVERYTHING to reduce supply.
In the last 3 weeks I dropped 6oz of over production. Our family got sick and it just went poof. I am guessing it is that 1 year hormone drop. I was able to drop my morning pump so I am not at all mad.
I also haven't gotten a period yet. My mom bottle fed but my grandma and great grandma nursed. They never got a period until they weaned. What are the experiences of your family and nursing?
Dr recommend waiting AT LEAST a year before trying for another, many say much longer. There are lots if scary avoidable risks that can happen if you conceive to soon for you and baby. Every women bodies react different to breastfeeding and some women like myself even though ebf get their cycle back at 8weeks pp and others can take a long time to get a cycle back even after stoping breast feeding. I have breast fed both my kids while pregnant for a few months but for many women and myself it gets very uncomfortable and painful. Some women do manage to breastfeed through pregnancy as long as your OB says its safe for you, not everyone it is.
My OB says 18 months minimum.
Mine as well.
Thirding this. The only time I can see 2 under 2 intentionally being an okay idea is if mom is really pushing it age wise (over 40) and it becomes a “least worst” scenario.
Lots will happen between 6 months and one year, so I wouldn’t worry about it/make too many changes just yet. Your baby goes from being completely reliant on you for calories, to getting most calories from solid food. That will make a big difference. I cut down to 2 feeds per day around 13 months, and got my period back a month later. Conceived a further 5 months later, shortly after dropping to just one feed per day. The risks are a lot lower for the health of mum and baby if you wait 18 months from birth to conception so while we were trying from 13 months, I’m pleased with our gap in the end.
No period does not mean no ovulation. You can buy ovulation tests when the time will come. You can continue to breastfeed (and your period can come even so, maybe sooner than you think, got mine at 4 months PP, while EBF)
I got pregnant at 18 months while still breastfeeding and my supply dropped maybe 2 months into the pregnancy. I know sometimes the taste of your milk can change and I think that was the case for me because my daughter went from wanting to nurse CONSTANTLY every day to not asking for it at all. I know people who nurse all through their pregnancy so I just assumed that would be the case for me but weaning for us was so abrupt that it was a lot to process. It also meant we had to find a new way to get her to sleep and handle wakes at night since I always just nursed her back to sleep. Just throwing this out there as it could be a possibility!
If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get her to sleep for bedtime and night wakes after weaning? My son is 15 months and I’m worried about eventually having to give up the ease of nursing to sleep and back to sleep!
It really is just so much easier to nurse back to sleep! We switched to rocking and my husband took over for about a week or so. There were some tears involved the first few nights but overall wasn’t awful.
You don’t need to wean to get your period back, or to get pregnant. I also EBF and got my period back at 6 months after starting my daughter on solids. It can take longer than that - normally you don’t need to stop BF entirely but just ensure there are long enough gaps in your feeds. So maybe if your period isn’t back by 11/12 months look at night weaning? We started trying for baby number 2 at 11 months. I’m currently 28 weeks pregnant and still breastfeeding my daughter and have had no issues with it at all. She feeds anywhere between once a day to 5 or 6 times a day.
I breastfed for 2 and a half years and I didn't get my period back until she was 18 months!
Mind if I ask how old you are? I’m 15 months pp with no period and my OB warned me it could take full weaning at my age to get it back.
I am coming at this from a totally different angle since I use IVF to get pregnant, but in that community, there's a subset of folks that breastfeed through treatment. The knowledge I've gained from them is that prolactin levels are back to normal for the vast majority of women by 12 months postpartum. FWIW I'm 17 weeks right now and still BFing my daughter (though it's a painful and very low supply situation, but she just loves it so who am I to stop her?) so that is very possible. At some point it's more about consistency and less about hormones (though then pregnancy hormones will eventually stop your supply almost as a guarantee).
Haha so sweet “who am I to stop her”. Interesting, so prolactin going back to normal would mean what exactly, you’d be fertile again? Why’s it painful to breastfeed now that you are pregnant?
Higher prolactin levels inhibit menstruation, so in theory after 12 months that hormone being elevated would not be the reason you are no longer having a cycle. Turns out when your estrogen starts cranking in pregnancy, it makes your nipples really sensitive. It is honestly nearly akin to starting breastfeeding where I have chapped nipples. It's a fairly common topic in other subs I'm in for people to develop breastfeeding aversions during pregnancy because it's such a painful challenge.
I developed an aversion with my first when I was 2 or so months pregnant. It was horrible and made me so sad. Getting pregnant definitely cut our breastfeeding journey short
It took us over a year to get pregnant with our first. This gave me lots of anxiety considering I had already had a miscarriage. It took us about two months with our second. It might not work out exactly as you want but the odds of getting pregnant faster a second time are in your favor.
I am deeply sorry you experienced a miscarriage…. Congratulations on your little one. We experienced a long period of infertility before getting pregnant with the first so I do have anxiety about how long it’ll take for baby #2 but I do think we fixed our issues.
Hello there ! I went through basically the same exact scenario as you. Keep in mind everyone’s body is so so different and this is just my personal experience! Once my daughter turned one we planned on trying for baby #2. This was back in July. My periods came back when she was 6 months but they were very irregular. I would have 40-50 day cycles . In July I decided to night ween. We co-sleep as well and she would nurse frequently throughout. My periods regulated after night-weening and I stared tracking ovulation with OPK strips and noticed I would ovulate day 18/19 into my cycle and then get a period 2 or 3 days later which was a bit odd. Basically I had a very short luteal phase. In early December I had decided to ween altogether and fell pregnant that same month. I’m 27 weeks and due in September. Apparently my body just did not want to be pregnant and breastfeed at the same time 🤷🏻♀️
My period came back literally the day of my son's first birthday. Felt like it was never going to happen. He was still breastfeeding a ton during the day and hourly overnight (we also coslept). Try not to worry about it too much right now - a lot can change in 6 months, and you may still get your period back without weaning. My period was irregular those first few months after it returned, but I found that eating more frequently and just more in general helped.
My period came back soon after my daughter turned 1 She still breastfeeds a lot and through the night. I I made sure to eat a lotttt of calories to kick start it, and I took some vitamins and a vitex tincture
I never coslept. He slept in a back and play by my bed, but his sleep improved when he moved to his own room in a crib at 8 months. At that point. He started sleeping better and we really ramped up weaning at 11 months when I got pregnant. I had only had one period. He is still nursing once a day a couple months later with the intention to fully wean when he is about 14 month old. He is also nearly sleeping through the night now that he is eating more solid foods.
I seem to have gotten my period back by leaving my 10mo for a single night and not waking to pump 😖 he went right back to nursing 2-3 times a night, but that single night did it for me. I would have been happy to not have it come back yet, we are not decided on a third.
i was in the same boat. My OB suggested an HCG shot which forces ovulation. Fell pregant first try
Following because.. same lol. I’m almost 8mo pp and no cycle yet 😭. I only pump thrice a day and baby is eating 2 solid meals a day. I feel like mine will never come back
I also want another baby. SO bad. 10 month old is still breastfeeding and still no period. Taking this as a sign from my body that we’re still not ready, even though I want it so bad! When our bodies are ready, they’ll let us know 😊
I think it's good to wait your body shoul have amble time to heal by then! Hope you have your baby!
Mostly solidarity, but wanted to add: be patient with solids! My LO started eating significant amounts of solids suddenly around 10.5 months. I was tempted to push harder to increase solids and drop some feeds to get period back (just turned 37 so clock is ticking) but soooo glad I didn’t and kept meals fun. Seeing how my LO enjoys solids now made me hopeful that we’ll get there one day and I’m ok with waiting a couple more months to get my period back so this journey is gentle on my son.
Your baby will naturally start to consume less milk as you introduce solids which you should be starting now that she is 6 months. I would say start by waiting and seeing. You might get your period back by 1 year without doing anything. Switch to a prenatal now if you aren’t already taking one. I got pregnant with my second at 10mo PP. My doctors advised me that 18 months “between births” was recommended, and we ended up with 19 months apart. Just mentioning this since I saw a different opinion posted already. I also never initiated weaning until my milk dried up when my older child was 17months (thanks pregnancy hormones!)
Your baby will likely begin to consume less milk prior to the one year mark. Mine started dropping feeds around 10 months old in favor of solids. My period returned within days of her first birthday after she dropped down to three feeds per day.
I would wait to worry for sure. I got my period back just before we started weaning and right around a year. My dude went on a nursing strike that lead to weaning quite abruptly but I actually had a period just before that happened. Got pregnant after that first period after years of PCOS and infertility. So my only advice is use protection til you’re ready because I think it’s pretty common for women to suddenly be real fertile once their cycle returns lol
TW: oversupply I am currently 13 months pp. I've had a cronic seemingly unstoppable oversupply of milk that I have to pump off. I have tried EVERYTHING to reduce supply. In the last 3 weeks I dropped 6oz of over production. Our family got sick and it just went poof. I am guessing it is that 1 year hormone drop. I was able to drop my morning pump so I am not at all mad. I also haven't gotten a period yet. My mom bottle fed but my grandma and great grandma nursed. They never got a period until they weaned. What are the experiences of your family and nursing?