Nursing and Ovulation (and Weaning? )

J

jgoycoolea

Cathlete
Hello. I am wondering about others' experiences with full time nursing -- and by full-time I mean unrestricted, child-led nursing day AND NIGHT-- and ovulation. More specifically, when did you start to ovulate under these nursing conditions? My daughter is now 15 months old and I still haven't had a period. This dismays me bc I'd like to get pregnant again. I've read that most women resume menses between 13 and 16 months. I've also read that if you can stop nursing at night you have a better chance of ovulating. I can't bear to wean my little girl bc she absolutely lvoes, and I believe NEEDS, to nurse. I've tried to cuddle her back to sleep at 2:00 a.m. but she cries and pulls at my shirt. I need some encouragement. I am 35 and am of the school of thought that I don't have that much time left for having babies without higher risk of Down's Sydrome. Any experiences to share? Thanks!
 
Hm. I pretty much nursed on demand for a year of each of my 3. Started solids at 6 months which led to decreased nursing (but I didn't supplement....just bfeeding and solids...slowly introduced). Id say my periods came back about 7 months. I have heard you can be ovulating WITHOUT your period though while nursing so you could still be ovulating now. Nursing moms can get pregnant without their period.

If I were you I'd check and see with your OB why you might not be getting your period at this point...my SIL had a teeny tiny thyroid problem that once corrected she got her period back (she had not had kids yet). It is possible this has happened through your last pregnancy....thyroid problems can come up during childbearing years.

If you are interested in weaning at this point you should start slowly and maybe give up the nighttime feedings. IMHO she should not need to eat at night at this point but has formed a habit. I believe good sleep habits are equally important to her as the need to cuddle.

Hope this helps!
Jen
 
Forgot to mention that the nursing schedule at 7 or 8 (9?) months was last nursing at 11 pm, resumed again at 6 am. That may be why my period resumed then, if the theory you mention is correct.

If she is sleeping with you it will be harder to wean the nighttime thing. Not trying to tell you what to do but I do think it will be more difficult if that is what you are doing. Expect it to be tough the first week while you are soothing but not nursing when she wakes, being firm but loving, but after that it should be smooth sailing, you might be able to keep the daytime nursing and still get a period and get pregnant.

Also had my last one at 36. My ob said the stats didn't really get "scary" 'til the LATE 30's for birth defects...not "35 on the button". I didn't get the amnio, etc.

Jen
 
I nursed all three of my kids, very rarely with any other milk supplement and the longest I went without getting a period was 11 months. I don't think you need to entirely wean her but maybe at night. I don't know what this will do with respect to ovulation but it may help her with sleeping through the night. I did wean my son at 15 mos and he immediately started sleeping through the night on a consistent basis. Don't worry about having to get pregnant just because you are 35, you still have 5 good years to
 
Thanks for the replies.

I am sure that my daughter's nursing back to sleep during the middle of the night is just a bad habit. But it just breaks my heart to deny myself to her at any time. She won't understand why she can't nurse yet. I feel like it will be easier for me when she is older and I can reason more with her. I get all choked up just thinking about weaning. My husband thinks I am crazy.

I am very surprised to hear that you can ovulate without menstruating. But I don't think I am ovulating based on other physical cues (or lack of them).

The hormones that are responsible for ovulation are released at night and nightime nursing prohibits their release. This according to Dr. Sears.

Who would have thought that such successful breastfeeding could have such a drawback? I never thought it through to this extent 15 months ago. Indeed, the idea of breastfeeding had made me uncomfortable for some mysterious reason. I only did it because it is so helthy for the baby. Who'd have thought I'd be like this now?

Something for other new moms to thihnk about.
 
If you wait to wean her until you can reason with her, you are going to be nursing for quite some time! I am just beginning to reason with my 3 yr, 8 mo old son.

I just remember one thing a good friend of mine said when I told her I was having a hard time with my kids sleeping through the night. She said that teaching your kids to sleep through the night is one of the first lessons of independence. If you think about it, that is what we do as parents, teach our children to be independent. Boy, did I take that comment to heart and when I had my son, I worked really hard on teaching him to sleep through the night on his own. I have two sister-in-laws that have boys the same age as mine and they are STILL struggling with the boys and getting them to sleep on their own. The reason: they never taught them as babies to sleep on their own. I know your question was about ovulation but I just thought I would provide you with this bit of advice.
 
Both of my babies loved nursing, but my daughter has always been especially snuggly (and still is now that she is almost 4). I was worried about weaning when she turned 1, but it was very easy and that is the best time, I have found, to "take" something away. Bottle, breast, binky, etc. As she never even noticed it was gone. I was down to just 2 feedings by this point of course. Then went down to one (over a 2 week period), then none. You could eliminate all feedings but the morning and the night feeding? As soon as I was down this much my period came back right away. (I was no longer feeding in the middle of the night at all, but did use binkies.) La Leche League may be a good place to talk to.

Good luck in deciding what is best for you and your baby.
 
When you say you taught them how to sleep thru the night..how did you do this?How old were they?
My boy is 6 mo. old and has never slept thru the night-he is up 2-3 times and sometimes it seems like it is just a habit.
 
Hi Smiley2,
I know you didn't ask me this question, but, may I suggest the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. The book is really good - I've started to use some of the information on my 2 month old and already it seems to be making a difference. She is much happier now that she is getting more sleep. Marc teaches that sleeping long amounts is taught - not something we are born with.
Here is a link to the book on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-4209469-9640955?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Best of luck!
 
Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

I've been teaching Natural Family Planning ( NFP ) for 13 years, so maybe I can shed some light on this for you. Women are very individual in terms of when their fertility returns after childbirth. There is a huge range of what is normal for breastfeeding ammenorhea ( lack of periods due to breastfeeding ). It can be very short ( 2 - 3 months or even less ) or very long ( Couple to Couple League's record was 42 months. ) and still be completely normal. It seems that you are one of the women who has been "blessed" with prolonged infertility while nursing ( at least many of us would consider it a blessing while not hoping to conceive :) ) Since you're hoping to conceive, your 1st step would be to cut down/out the nighttime nursings. If that doesn't spark a return of your fertility, then slowly cutting back on daytime nursing would be the next step. You should be aware though that a few women require so little nursing stimulation that they don't conceive until after completely weaning. I totally understand your reluctance to cut down on the nursing. It comes down to what your greatest desire is: another baby now, or continuing the nursing relationship as-is. Cutting down DOES NOT necessarily mean stopping altogether. However have you considered what you will do if you conceive while still nursing? Some women choose to nurse both a toddler and a newborn at once with great success, but is that something you want for yourself? If not, then you may want to start cutting down on the nursing before conceiving anyway.

Just one more quick point: It is true that you can ovulate without having a period beforehand. Many breastfeeding women have found that out by direct experience. :7 Roughly 94% of women will have a "warning period" or 2 prior to their 1st fertile cycle, leaving 6% who will not. However once you have ovulated, a period WILL follow unless you become pregnant. You will not ovulate over and over with no periods.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to email me directly if you have any other questions and don't want to post here.
 
RE: Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

Thank you Erin. Your last full paragraph was new and useful information for me. I hope I'm not one who has to completely wean to become fertile. I am prepared to nurse my toddler and newborn in tandem. Unfortunately noone in my circles can seem to fathom this. (Although it would be MUCH easier not to be nursing the toddler at night when the baby truly needs to eat.) I guess I really will have to cut out the nightime nursing. I am just not up to the crying and lack of sleep that this will take. I will just have to remind myself over and over why I am doing it. Too bad my daughter won't have the same reassuring thoughts. She'll just be confused and angry, maybe even sad. (Sigh)
 
RE: Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

I weaned my daughter at 14 months, and it really was much easier on both of us than I had imagined it would be. I was like you, fearing that she'd feel saddened, angry, or worst of all- hurt and rejected by the weaning, but it only took 2 nights of crying for her to get the message. The crying was only for a few minutes at a time, so even that was tolerable. She seemed happier in the morning when she started sleeping more, too.
I HAD to wean her because she developed bottle rot, which they can get from nursing at night!. She had never even had a bottle, but it is very common for night- nursers to have dental problems if they are still nursing at night and before naps after the frist year.

If your daughter hasn't had a dental visit yet, you might want to take her in for a check. Mine needed 8 cavities!! I wish someone had told me this before. The dentists (we had a second opinion) and their techs all acted like I should have known, but I'm a nurse, and I read A LOT about babies, plus she is my third, and still had not seen more than a quick reference to bottle rot from night nursing. Just thought I'd mention it!!

By the way, she sleeps with us in our bed, and I was still able to wean her, so don't let that stop you. I feel sooo much better now that I sleep more, also.

HTH
Sheila
 
RE: Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

What prompted you to take her to the dentist in the first place? Could you see cavities? Would she not eat? How did they manage to get x-rays? Brushing teeth is a major battle here.

2 nights, little crying, very encouraging. Thanks.

P.S. What is "HTH"?
 
RE: Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

HTH=Hope that/this helps!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
RE: Putting on my NFP instructor's hat

I saw a thin dark line where the gum meets the tooth on her front left medial incisor ( she slept on her left as she nursed to sleep), so I took her to the pediatric dentist.
Before I did the cold turkey thing(the same day I'd seen the tooth decay) I had started "training" her to fall asleep without nursing using "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley, so that helped. The author offers tips for weaning even if you share a family bed- which is a whole different deal from what most books cover. I used back rubs and shushing noises to put her to sleep, and sometimes still do, actually. I recommend the book if you are nursing and she sleeps with you.

Hope this helps. Ask me anything else if you want.

Sheila
 
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