? for those who nursed and had a delayed return of fertility?

[Soror]

Did you have this feeling that your fertility kept trying to return or am I just crazy. I've felt this way with all of them and am in the midst of it now, I keep having recurring PMS and it is really hacking me off. Or perhaps I'm just crazy but it feels just like PMS. It is accompanied with the baby nursing like crazy as my supply dips, just like it does when my period does finally returns and then it goes away again.

[momma aimee]

i nursed both boys past 3.  with child #1 AF and fertility returned at 8 weeks pp.  i was honesty not over the emotions of birth :) so i didn't notice any PMS.

 

But then with number 2 i didn't get a AF till month 18 and no; i never felt what you are describing -- but everyone is differnt

[NicAnn]

It's entirely possible. How old is your baby? I know for a fact I was fertile at 11 months, though my period didn't return until 14 months.

[carriede]

I didn't experience this, but it is possible. Your hormones are battling it out and can manifest differently from woman to woman.

[Desert Strawberry]

Yes. It's very common. It seems to be more noticeable in later babies ( 3rd , 4th and more ). Or maybe it's age. More in the 30s than the 20s. 

Anyway, you are not crazy.

[Maplecat]

My cycle has returned at 18 months, 16 months, and my youngest is currently 16 months and I'm still waiting. Every time, I've felt my body gearing up for a month or two before the return. It is almost like my body is just waiting for the baby to delay that night feeding j-u-s-t enough to launch the ovulation sequence.

 

Since I've gotten pregnant before my first post-partum period, I know that my body goes right into full fertility. I've heard of women who get their period back much more quickly often have a few anovulatory cycles.

[fairfarmhand]

yes. Even though there;s not a "period" per se, you can still ovulate, have PMS, etc.

[Soror]

It would probably do me some good to chart. With my first baby my fertility returned at 13 months and then he went back to full time nursing and it went away again and came back at around 16 months for good. The last 2 it returned somewhere in between there. When I did chart previously I don't believe I ovulated until my period came back but I cannot remember for sure to be honest.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

It would probably do me some good to chart.

 

:iagree:

[Cosmos]

yes. Even though there;s not a "period" per se, you can still ovulate, have PMS, etc.

 

You can ovulate and not have a period? What happens to the egg? Just curious. It's not relevant for my health. I just happened to be reading this thread and have never heard of this possibility before.

[Desert Strawberry]

You can ovulate and not have a period? What happens to the egg? Just curious. It's not relevant for my health. I just happened to be reading this thread and have never heard of this possibility before.

if the lining has n't built up yet,  failure to implant/ early miscarriage. If it has, you would stay pregnant with no periods in between. Failure to implant is more common while breastfeeding due to low prostaglandin. Prostaglandins make the embryo stick. Some women use prostaglandin supplements to increase fertility if they suspect they are ovulating and conceiving, but no pregnancy result.

 

Eta. In this case, ovulation occurs before menstruation. The longer your cycle stays away, the more likely ovulation will happen first. The earlier cycles return, the more likely they will be anovulatory (just bleeding, no egg).