I have a 3 month old that I am nursing. I do pump sometimes due to working away from home. About 3 weeks ago I experienced spotting for a few days that I took for a "warning" period. I had spotting about a month before that,which I had thought at the time was due to excersize post-pardum, though now think it may have been menstrual. Any way, 14 days after my last spotting I had unprotected sex, then again at 22 days(at which point I was having EWCM). I have experienced hightened emotional sensitivity, car-sickness, nausea in the heat, decreased milk supply, extreme fatigue and other "symptoms" of pregnancy, but have gotten negative HPT's on day 21 and day 26 (today).
I'm unsure when to expect a period when I should be testing. If I continue to get negatives but don't get a period do I call my doctor? what advice do you have for me?
I'm currently on CD 33. Had another negative HPT on day 29. No period signs yet, either. I plan to retest on CD 36 or 37 if no period, as that will be 14 days past the last time I had sex, and "should" be able to get a positive if I conceived then.
It is very possible to get pregnant even when exclusively breastfeeding. I would wait another week and then repeat the home pregnancy test. Even if it comes back negative, if you think you might be pregnant, call the doctor and run the whole thing past him/her. Sometimes HPT's can have false negatives when there's other factors involved. The doc may want to do a few more tests, even an ultrasound.
Hi J., I'm a post partum nurse. If your not trying to get pregnant consider yourself lucky, if 26 days have passed. A rule of thumb is as long as you are breastfeeding your period may or may not come, but you can get pregnant nontheless. When It does start back up it might be irregular for the first couple months. Anytime you do have concerns you should see your doctor. Good luck!!!
i got pregnant with #2 while breastfeeding #1 (i had just barely begun to wean by spacing the nursing sessions farther apart). i didn't get a positive test until i was 8 weeks pregnant. i had had no period. i just felt pregnant and started taking a test once or twice a week for a few weeks until i knew for sure. not advice, just an example of what's possible.
well if you are 100% breast feeding and your baby doesn't go longer than 4 hours during the night to eat than breast feeding is 98% effective form of birth control. Woman that have their periods or get pregnant while breast feeding usually aren't breast feeding 100% they might supplement sometimes or their babies sleep through the night and therefore they get their periods back. If you are solely breast feeding and get a negative pregnancy test I would say you are not prego.
There are very strict guidelines to using breastfeeding as birth control, and if you're working away from home, it's a safe bet you don't qualify.
That said, I have 2 kids and have felt "pregnant" several times without being pregnant. I had sporadic periods after both kids. They can take time to become regular again. The amount of nursing your baby does can affect your periods - if baby is sick and nurses more, you might have a lighter or period or miss one.
Good luck! Hope your outcome is one you want.
I breastfeed all 3 of my kids. My last 2 are 18 months apart; I was breastfeeding my middle one as well as was on the pill. I had a little bit of weight gain (which I figured was because of the holidays) and then one day, I threw up and started feeling pregnant. I took a couple of tests and they came back inconclusive. I ended up going to the health department and they gave me a test there (they do it for free and you can make a donation if you can, but it's not required) and it came back with a flaming positive. One ultrasound later, I found out I was almost 4 months pregnant (good thing I was still taking my prenatals for breastfeeding and I was lucky to "miss out" on the first trimester). As long you are nursing or pumping pretty much around the clock, you might not get your period back for a while- it took long over a year for my oldest and I still haven't gotten it back after my middle. Another thing about the symptoms- they can also be somewhat normal after having a baby (at least they were to me) as your body is readjusting to the hormones, etc. My suggestion would be to check out the health department because their tests are more reliable than the at home tests, just to make sure. If that comes back negative, you probably are not pregnant and can attribute the symptoms to your body adjusting. One thing I would be worried about would be the decreased milk supply, but that could have to do with either too much excercies, not eating enough calories or the pumping (I pumped with my oldest too because I had to work and was not very successful with getting a lot). Just make sure you keep taking your prenatals because they really do help with that (and if you happen to get pregant, you don't have to worry :-)). Good luck and I hope this helps
I was told that nursing was 92% effective to use as birth control for the first 6 mos as long as you are exclusively breastfeeding, not pumping or supplementing. My baby didnt even know how to take a bottle, so he was definitly exclusively breastfed... Imagine my surprise when my period returned when he was just 4 mos old! It then skipped a month, and I got it when he was 6 mos old. I was baffled by the 2 month cycle and didn't think to check again until my baby was 8 mos...SURPRISE!! I was 10 1/2 weeks pregnant and didnt even know!! It was a relief though because I was wondering why my milk supply was just drying up completely and why I was more tired ect. The nice thing about being pregnant and breastfeeding is that I had NO morning sickness whatsoever! Thats probably not going to be the same for everyone, but this pregnancy has been SO EASY so far for me, like a cake-walk compared to my first pregnancy, and that one wasnt even bad at all either. I'm now due in Dec with my second little boy. They will be 15-16 mos appart and although its a bit earlier than we were planning to have our second baby, I'm sure my first is going to LOVE having a little brother so close to him in age! They should be best buds!
Well, good luck to you... My advice is give it a few days or a week and take another test - no reason to drive yourself crazy long before your period has even gotten here, if it even is ready to come back :-)
It's nerve-wracking isn't it? My baby is 9mos and I still haven't had a period. I don't mind, but I do miss the predictability of having one at the same time every month. I am also charting my temperature and feel that my temps have been low enough that it's safe that I haven't ovulated yet. I did read that it's not a sure fire method of birth control once you have more than 5 hours between any given feeding. So, I'm keeping an eye on my temps and mucus to help me predict when fertility returns. In the meantime, when I start worrying, I just take a test. As long as they stay negative...and I don't have pregnancy symptoms, I'm assuming I'm not pregnant.
Don't know if that really helps or not, but you're not alone in you feelings.
Breastfeeding is NOT a form of birth control. I got pregnant when my daughter was about four months old. (I am 3 months pregnant right now). I was exclusively breastfeeding, 100%. I still got my period back around three months. (It could possibly have been due to the estrogen cream i was given to help my healing. It took me a really long time to heal and I had a bunch of scar tissue). But I had two cycles and then I got pregnant. I got a negative test, but I just knew i was pregnant. I finally got a positive result on day 37 (or 38). One of my biggest symptoms was a decrease in my milk supply. I was wondering what in the world was going on. If you think you might be pregnant start taking vitamins or at least folic acid if you aren't still already, just to be safe. Everyone's period is so different especially after a baby, but if you think you are pregnant wait a little longer and take another test. Act like you are, eat healthy, that won't hurt you even if you find out you aren't pregnant.
Good luck.
p.s. don't take fenugreek to try to increase your milk supply if you think you might be pregnant.
