BFing/Fertility/Ready for #2 (I'd like some input)

Jb&Jb

I've been trying to organize how to say this in my head for about five minutes, but I've only had one cup of coffee so far this morning so bear with me.

DD is 11 months and some days, and I still don't have my period back.  We're nursing roughly 3-5 times during the day, and she's comfort nursing on and off throughout the night (we currently cosleep).  H and I have been talking more and more the past week or so about our readiness for number 2.  Our original criteria was waiting until she walks or turns one, whichever came first.  She's hasn't hit either of those milestones yet but we think we're ready to go ahead BUT my cycle hasn't returned.

I've been having some fertility signs the past two or three days so I'm wondering if my body is getting back to normal.  Does CM even mean anything right now or is anything dependable?  Since we're cosleeping, sexy time needs a little bit more scheduling and creativity, so I feel like I really need to get in tune with my body this go round (I was a pretty half ass FF charter before)

So at risk of getting any more long winded......please share your experiences.

Lucky_Dragonfly

personally i think you should start to ween DD into her own bed before you move to #2. then it will be easier to go with the flow of your body's cycle.

MattsWifey<3

It's defiantely still possible to get PG without getting your period. Harder, but possible.

We cosleep (bedshare) and got PG Just think outside the box...uh... bed. lol.

Since your timeline was 1 year, it sounds like you're pretty much there. I can tell you from personal experiance having a toddler who is walking while being pregnant is not easy. DD started walking at 10months. She was 9 months when we got our surprise BFP.  It was exhausting. Totally doable, just tiring. After the 1st tri until about 2 weeks ago, I was just a huge ball of energy and everything was great.

Okay, now my post is getting long winded.

Bottom line... if you and DH are on the same page about #2, go for it! Good luck.

MattsWifey<3

Oh and we still co-sleep. I have a feeling DS will be in the bassinet or in his crib next week and DD will still be in our bed. It was kind of an 'accident' that she wound up there in the first place (nursing while sleeping was easy).

We did transition her into her toddler bed for almost 2 weeks and she did great. We went away for a weekend, she got roseolla, and it was all over - back with us in bed.

kmgourley

Just because you ovulate does not mean that you're going to be able to get pregnant.  Obviously we all know that, but I had never had a short luteal phase before and it took about 4 cycles for it to get long enough that I even had a shot at getting pregnant.  Seth was a year old and went from nursing about the amount that your daughter does to me cutting him down to only 4x per day and not at all at night.  After I did that, it was still 2 or 3 months until I got pregnant.  In my experience-- "fertility signs" while breastfeeding were crap.  Didn't really mean anything.  I didn't have much change in CM at all.

But, YMMV, of course.  Everyone's different, etc.

Plenty of people co-sleep with 2+ kids-- you might want to ask on the AP board how they handle that.  Seth does not cosleep, but wakes during the night and is generally not a great sleeper and I have to admit that I'm terrified about dealing with him and a new baby at night....

Jb&Jb

We fell into cosleeping similarly...it was easier to nurse, and she slept like a dream that way.

I pretty much figured that the fertility signs didn't signal too much right now, but I was hoping for the best.  I hadn't taken into consideration the whole luteal phase thing.  We tried for 7 months for #1 and about halfway through i figured i may have a short luteal phase (due to very haphazard charting) so i added b6 to my vitamin regimen and after a few months i got pregnant.  i'm not sure whether that made a difference or not though. 

 i guess i just don't like the unknown, and i'm really lacking in the patience department. 

kmgourley

Jb&Jb:

 i guess i just don't like the unknown, and i'm really lacking in the patience department. 

I completely understand   I hope it happens quickly for you.  FWIW, I've heard that stopping nursing at night can bring fertility back faster.  I don't know if that's something you want to consider, but there you go.  Seth was still nursing at night when I got my period back but when I cut him off at night a few months later, my cycles got slightly less long and LP's were longer.

nickoletta100

We did IVF for #1 and were told our chances of getting pregnant on our own were less than 5% so I didn't think much about trying. At the beginning of August we stopped nighttime nursing and were down to 3 times a day. This must have triggered my cycles (I had not had AF yet) as I later discovered I was 8 weeks pregnant. This corresponds to 2 weeks after I stopped nighttime nursing. So you never know! I also had CM and signs of ovulation throughout the past year that never led to AF so I wouldn't put any faith in that. I think your best bet is to stop nighttime nursing if you go on my experience. Good luck to you.