Hello ladies!
Here's my situation: I have 4 kids. The youngest is 10 1/2 months old. With the first 3, I got my period between 5 and 8 months after they were born. It started and was regular, just like that. However, with this last baby, I got my period at 8 months (March 6th), got it again 5 weeks later on April 10th (typical cycle length for me) and haven't gotten it since. I took a pregnancy test yesterday and it was negative. Also, I am 41 and had a lot of trouble conceiving this last baby, having 2 miscarriages b/c of low progesterone. I could very likely be in perimenopause, but I don't really have any other symptoms (severe anyway). It is really baffling me...not that it isn't WONDERFUL to not have a period!! :-) Anyone have any thoughts, similar experience etc.? Thanks moms!
Edited to add:
I exclusively b/f. We introduced solids at 7 1/2 months. She nurses about 4 times a day.
Thanks, moms, for your input. I got my period yesterday, so I am just going to let it ride. I'm pretty sure the irregularity is hormone fluctuations due to nursing and my age/history. Even though I'm toward the end of my fertility time of life, since we are done having kids, we are going the permanent b/c route. I will never do the pill again...it is horrible for you. Thanks again for your input...I love this site!!
Whenever my periods are off I seek a chiropractic adjustment puts me right back . Hope this helps Mom of 4 and 47 years old.
Hi L., I am a proud, breastfeeding mother to an almost 1 yr. old boy. He is exclusively breastfed, with some table food added in here and there. I had my first period when he was about 9 1/2 months or so, and didn't have another one until last weekend. I also breastfed my daughter and experienced the same thing. However, this period has lasted over a week already and is extremely heavy, which is something I was never used to. I, too, took a pregnancy test which came out negative. I am planning on calling my Ob-Gyn tomorrow just to make sure this is normal. I'm sure it is just another one of those wonderful things that makes us women. :) Good luck and God bless!!!
Like you, I nursed. I did start to have irregular periods. I was told that between nursing and my body trying to find normalcy, that that was why. I would track it for a bit and be careful, unless you want to be pregnant again. I also, would just make the phone call, and see if the nurse in your doctor's office can answer your questions over the phone without seeing you. If there is a possibility of the perimenopausal, they will do some internal tests, at least my doctor did.
It is normal not to have regular periods while nursing. I am still nursing my soon to be 2 year old with very irregular periods. Many people have told me it might take until I am totally done nursing to return to normal. I hope this helps.
I would tell your ob-gyn. S/he will probably want to put you on birth-control just to get yu back on schedule. They should also be able to do some tests to see if you are pre-menopausal, or if anything else could possibly be wrong. But I've heard that irregular periods can be common after child-birth, I was always irregular, so my doc put me on birth control right away and fixed that problem. Good Luck!
Probably just an effect of nursing still, possibly combined with perimenopause, as you suggest. I get the impression, from talking to friends, that every pregnancy and postpartum period can be different in terms of morning sickness, how you feel, length of lochia, etc, so it wouldn't surprise me if your fertility returned at a different point too - esp if you're nursing more/less than you did with your older children. For what it's worth, I didn't get my period back until 16 months postpartum, and that was after taking Vitex (Chasteberry) to try and coax it back so that we could have baby #2.
