Poll: first postpartum period

erinms · November 2009

If you are exclusively breastfeeding (or were exclusinvely BFing when you got your first pp period):

When did you get your first postpartum period?

Was it awful or was it the same as/better than your periods were before DC?

anna7602 · November 2009

I got my first pp period when DD was 14 months old, just after she went down to 3 nursing sessions/day.

Before I went on BC, my periods used to be very heavy and very crampy. I remember having to miss school sometimes the first day of my period.

My first few pp periods were exactly 28 days apart and pretty light and cramp-free. Last month, I was about a week late and had a heavier flow and some cramping. This month, I was about a week early, had on and off again spotting for 3 days, then got a really heavy, uncomfortable period complete with an intense headache that is still raging.

So, I don't think I will know what to make of my pp periods until I wean completely.

risysmama · November 2009

I got mine 10 weeks pp and it hurt like I was in labor all over again, much worse than pre-pregnancy. It's taken 4 cycles to get back to normal.

julyjennifer · November 2009

I got my first pp period 21.5 months after DD was born. Yes, 21.5 months.

I was (and am) still nursing her at the time, although obviously she was eating food too by that point. She still nurses 2-4 x/day.

They were not as bad as pre-pg. I attribute some of that to the fact that I eat way better now--fewer processed food and fewer soy products.

EcoBaby · November 2009

At 10 months and I would say milder than before, I think.

Lotte134 · November 2009

I'm still nursing (DS eats plenty of solids as well) and haven't gotten mine yet.

cateye · November 2009

Almost 18 months exactly. And it was really, really light. Got pregnant that cycle, though, so I don't know if it would have gone back to normal during subsequent cycles. . .

eml569 · November 2009

5 weeks ago, right before J turned 6 months. It was cake....not a clot or a cramp to be seen. Haven't gotten it again yet so we'll see how it regulates.

jk09uhed89 · November 2009

im still waiting for mine

caeliesmom · November 2009

8 months, she had just gone to three meals a day and dropped from 6 to 5 nursing session. It was def. heavier and more cramps than I'm used to but I was on the pill for years before getting pg.

I didn't get it again for 2 1/2 months, a few weeks after dd dropped from 5 to 4 sessions a day. That one was not as bad.

ejgballerina · November 2009

I've been EBFing and still have yet to get AF.

m_and_m · November 2009

6w PP, and it was better at first then progressively got back to where it used to be (I have endo, which explains why it went from better back to bad).

DD was EBF until 6 mos and is still nursing 6+ times a day.

cobaltblue · November 2009

I'm still waiting (and don't miss it!).

Ali05 · November 2009

Mine still hasn't show up yet. I was being to wonder if I was not normal because all my other EBFing got theirs already.

LaurenNBill · November 2009

youretheonefatty:
im still waiting for mine

Me too

ncbelle · November 2009

I'm still waiting - kiddo is still a pretty heavy nurser and nurses several times a night. I'm ready for her return though as we'd like to TTC sooner rather than later ;-(

JimsBride08 · November 2009

I'm at the end of my first-it came last weekend at 9.5 months postpartum. Nothing really changed-DS doesn't really STTN and has been refusing solids, but it came anyway. It was just as heavy as it was before DS, but I had barely any cramps which was great after the unbearable ones I had before!

charlatti · November 2009

12.5 months, though obviously DD is eating solids. She still BFs at least 4x a day and once or twice at night. It was the same as my pre-preg periods.

Dobie_Mama · November 2009

I had a Mirena, so I don't know how much was the IUD and how much was BFing, but I didn't get mine until 18 months PP ... at which point DD quit nursing AND the Mirena was removed. My first PP period was seriously horror show. I thought I would bleed to death. Since then it's been normal though.

pinksweetpea2 · November 2009

I got my first one around 9 1/2 months- pretty much a month after Lily dropped from 4-5 to 3-4 feedings in 24 hours. I am sorry to say that it is much more heavy and last longer than before I was pregnant and the cramps are much worse.

Lily just weaned this past month, so I am curious to see if it stays the same or if it will get better. If it doesn't get better I am seriously considering going back on the pill.

sweetpea7628 · November 2009

I was EBFing and got my first PP period at 4 1/2 months.

It was a little longer than my pre-pregnancy periods but not any worse.

cville-rn · November 2009

Its going on 15 months and I am still waiting (I do have Mirena though).

webMistress0609 · November 2009

Still waiting, and I don't miss it.

trinny · November 2009

Around 8m-- DD started sleeping more at night and eating more solids. I also work (and pump).

Angela814 · November 2009

I got mine back when DD was 7 months old. I was pumping and nursing as usual, but that was the age I think she started taking a bit more solids.

It was pretty much the same as my pre-pg non-BCP period. It was heavy and long, which is normal for me.

angelynn8411 · November 2009

8 months, when she went on a nursing strike but didn't get a full period til the following month.

I would say they're just as mild as before. never had bad periods or symptoms.

LittleEgypt · November 2009

Around 8 months. The first sucked, and the second was much better. DS is eating some solids but still nurses very frequently - it's funny how some people nurse around the clock and get it at 6 weeks, and others take almost 2 years!

freeburger16 · November 2009

Mine just came this week after we night weaned.

It wasn't horrible, but I'm still a little bitter.

hula_lula · November 2009

12m with older DD

I feel like a moron saying this, but I don't know with DD#2. I was bleeding from birth through about 19 weeks from IUD complications and I'm not sure if any of that was a period or not. I'm on the mini-pill now so I guess I'll see in a few weeks

SoonToBeTabor · November 2009

With my first DD (whom EBF for only 3 months before my milk went away) my PP bleeding didnt stop for 3 months and then had to be put on medication which made my period start right away after I finally stopped my PP bleeding.

With this DD, my milk never came in so even though I was still pumping and "nursing" around the clock in an attempted to get milk, it came back at 6 weeks and its been heavier then before

OneSimpleMom · November 2009

DD is 13 months old & I still haven't gotten it back. She still nurses about every 3-4 hours around the clock though!

momofolivia · November 2009

When did you get your first postpartum period? I got it when DD was 13 months old. I had stopped pumping, so I was down to two nursing sessions a day

Was it awful or was it the same as/better than your periods were before DC? My periods were super heavy at first. My hormones were ALL over the place, and I was very depressed for the month before. It took about 6 months to get rid of the severe PMS. My periods are still heavier, but things seem to be leveling out now

JAWMIN · November 2009

9 moths PP. It was heavy but normal length.

Quazel · November 2009

4 months pp and they are worse than before. It sucks!

kassann · November 2009

5 months and it was WAY better than before. WAY better.?

SeaSoul · November 2009

I'm way late on this, but I got my first at 5 months pp. It shocked the he!! out of me. It was long and heavy, but they have gradually gotten shorter and a little lighter. One cool thing is I don't get cramps anymore.