STM...and post partum periods

JAM85 · February 2014

So the birth control post in 3rd tri (where i accidentally XP this because of my preggo brain...) got me thinking about the average time it takes to start getting your period back, when It started to be regular, and if anyone used breast feeding as birth control. I will be aiming to EBF but at 6 weeks will have to start pumping when I return to work so I believe that would mess up using it for birth control but I am also curious what peoples experience has been with periods returning and when etc.

JAM85 · February 2014

The thing is I had a bad experience with the mirena and I can't do estrongens or any hormones any more so that leaves paraguard or back to what I was doing before: tracking basal temps and CM and using condoms which worked for 8 months until peanut defied all the fertility awareness signs and stuck anyways.

tjkdlhb · February 2014

DD was EBF... and as soon as solid food touched her lips at 6 months, I got my period. Even though she was still nursing a lot.

busterbeagle · February 2014

I got AF back after 11 months. It was nice not dealing with it until I wanted to get pregnant again and my cycles were 45-55 days long, even after DD weaned at 15m. It finally got regular (and I got KU) at about 18m PP. I went back to work 2 days a week at 10 weeks PP. I would nurse at 6 am, 8 am, pump at 11 am, pump at 2 pm, nurse at 5 pm, and then whatever she wanted to do the rest of the evening/night. So for me it was excellent BC, there was just no way of knowing that until after the fact.

ns1 · February 2014

I bf and pumped after going back to work at 8 wks pp. I got my first pp period at about 10 months (was still bf'Iing/pumping). I tried paraguard and liked it but my body didn't and pushed it out twice. I don't like using hormones so I went old school and got a diaphragm. I wouldn't trust bf'ing as birth control and my ob seemed to agree.

Miles2Go · February 2014

Got mine back at 13 months. Had one more cycle and then ku the next one. Still breast feeding. Bf isn't infallible bc however, so you should have another plan as well.

miniray · February 2014

I got mine back when DS was 16 months old and I stopped pumping at work (was still BFin on demand when I was with him mornings, evenings, MOTN and weekends). I had one more period when he was 17 months old and and then got pregnant that cycle. I continued BFing on demand until I was 14 weeks pregnant.

MrsT2008 · February 2014

Technically, not until I had my mirena taken out at 16 months pp.

I had it inserted at 8 weeks pp, nursed until 8.5 months, and started getting random but monthly "spotting" (I'd barely call it spotting, never needed even a liner for it). I assume the spotting episodes would have been periods without the mirena.

MrsT2008 · February 2014

Oh and EBF is not birth control. So please don't use it as such unless you're ok with potentially getting pregnant again.

jane8188 · February 2014

I followed the strict rules, no bottles, nooks, nothing. I got my pp period 3 months pp and pregnant 5 months pp. my mom said she always got her period back right away despite bfing also. Eta auto correct fail

sthomas1222 · February 2014

I followed all the rules including bed sharing. Fucking got it back at 9.5w. I cried. I got it every 21-30 days, usually closer to 21 days. Which really sucked ass. I think I was slowly getting back to my usual 30 days when I got pregnant.

mmks · February 2014

Hard to remember, but I think it was around 15 months PP. I had been on the low-dose BC since about 2 months PP since I didn't trust it as BC.
Went off BC about 8 months before getting pregnant since I was spotting between periods and my cycle was all out of whack.

HARLEYSMOM2010 · February 2014

I got my period right away both times as if it never stopped both exactly 28 days after birth and every 28 after it was ridiculous and I EBF both

mrs.cjlange · February 2014

I got mine back at just shy of 5 months. I stopped EBF at 6 weeks when I went back to work, but I continued to pump and nurse. We conceived this LO when DD was about 7 months old.

FYI, EBF should not be used as birth control. A friend of mine EBF her baby and very unexpectedly got pregnant again at 6 weeks pp without ever having had a period.

Kageer · February 2014

I breasted my first for 10 months and didn't get my period until 12 months post partum. Didn't use birth control. With my second I breasted for a year but started the pill at 3 months post partum so I started having periods sooner.

kalette · February 2014

I EBF and it came back at 8 months PP. It wasn't long or horrible like some said it would be. It was basically a normal period. They were irregular for quite a while though. When we got a BFP with this one I hadn't even really considered that I could be pregnant because of how irregular my periods were. I had just weaned 2 weeks prior to my BFP (so irregular for at least 8 months).

Junebug060609 · February 2014

I EBF'd until he started solids at 6m. AF returned around 8.5 months pp...the same month I went from one meal of solids with him to two. She was pretty regular from the start. Normal period for me as well, though the PMS was something special.

jenb_99 · February 2014

BF is not reliable as birth control. You can still ovulate even if AF is absent.

I had 11 weeks of PP bleeding (7 weeks of true PP bleeding immediately followed by 4 weeks of breakthrough bleeding after Paragard placement), and then I got my first period at 13 or 14 weeks PP. It became fairly regular right away. As regular as I've ever been, anyway.

I chose Paragard after DS because it's hormone free and I've known several other women who loved it and swore by it, but it didn't work out for me. I had intensely heavy and painful long periods and quite a bit of midcycle pain.

danabsd · February 2014

I know way to many people with Irish twins due to BFing as birth control. Not a good idea unless you are prepared for them. In a year I never got a real period, I had some spotting when I quit the mini pill and BFing but in retrospect that may have been implantation bleeding. Opps.

Allibob · February 2014

I EBF & got my first PP period around 3 months. I hadn't gone back to work yet & DD refused a bottle, so I wasn't really pumping either. It was just light spotting because I had Mirena in though.

I agree with everyone to not rely on EBF to prevent pregnancy. It can be hard to anticipate your cycle, and you can get pregnant before you get your first PP period. Talk to your OB about your options.

JAM85 · February 2014

Ah le sigh so what I take from everything is that either I dont have sex until I have a reliable period to do tracking with (temps, cm, cervix) which could happen anywhere from 28 days after to over 6 months after (so NOT an option with this high sex drive lady) or use condoms all the time that blow (especially after all this awesome "free" time) or suck it up and try to see of the paraguard isn't as horrible as the mirena was for me since it has no hormones (not concerned about heavier bleeding as mine was not heavy at all before so should be manageable) and it is the only other option for me in terms of BC (again can't do hormones)

eghulse · February 2014

Yeah, I got my first pp period right away like clockwork. Bfing definitely isn't reliable as birth control, like pps have said. I wouldn't take the chance.

spinsoffresonance · February 2014

I got mine back at 9m PP. I EBF and started pumping at work at 6w PP. dD nursed every 3hours day and night until 8m old. Between 8 and 9m she dropped all her MOTN feedings and started sleeping 12 hours. That's when AF came back. We used a combination of BFing and pulling out (not very reliably) for birth control for those 9m. It worked for us. However, you should only use EBF as birth control if you don't mind getting KU again. If you want a "100%" reliable method, pick something else. We basically chose to not use birth control because we knew we had to start TTC again at 9m PP.

Ladiebug30 · February 2014

DS was EBF until 6 months and BF ( + solids) until around 13 months. I didn't have a cycle until he was 11 months. Another at 12 months and then pregnant. No periods is so awesome.

ns1 · February 2014

JAM85 said:
Ah le sigh so what I take from everything is that either I dont have sex until I have a reliable period to do tracking with (temps, cm, cervix) which could happen anywhere from 28 days after to over 6 months after (so NOT an option with this high sex drive lady) or use condoms all the time that blow (especially after all this awesome "free" time) or suck it up and try to see of the paraguard isn't as horrible as the mirena was for me since it has no hormones (not concerned about heavier bleeding as mine was not heavy at all before so should be manageable) and it is the only other option for me in terms of BC (again can't do hormones)

Diaphragms are an option if your OB will do that and you want to try. They're as reliable as condoms according to my doc. You have to be pretty "comfortable" with your body...but I like that although they're a barrier method we don't really feel a barrier and I can put it in a few hours before sex so it's a bit more spontaneous. Kind of an archaic option...but an option if you're looking for non hormonal and paraguard doesn't work.

LDQAM516 · February 2014

I get mine back within a month after I stop breastfeeding.

christieep · February 2014

I got my first post partum period at like 10 months PP. I was breastfeeding/pumping that whole time and DS started solids at 6 months. I stopped BFing shortly after he turned one and my next period came soon after, then I got KU again. So two periods since October 2011, I'm not complaining!

It is different for everyone, breastfeeding or not. And I definitely wouldn't rely on EBFing as birth control unless you are okay with getting pregnant again. Just like any other birth control, if you are having sex, there's always a chance.

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