Hi,
I have a 7 month old son. He was born July 19. I have not had a period yet, which is totally fine with me. :) I have been charting so that I have an idea if my period is on the way or if I get pregnant accidentally I will see it on the chart. For the last couple of weeks I have been noticing cramps, very like menstrual cramps. They are not painful, but I am just curious if anyone else had these around this time period and whether you had your period shortly after. I expected something to happen, but it hasn't yet. I've had some signs of fertility in my charting, but no signs yet of ovulation and no spotting or anything. I don't think that it is very likely that I could be pregnant and not know it as my temperatures are still in the bottom half of the chart. This is my third child and the longest I've gone without my regular cycle returning.
Edited to add:
I am still breastfeeding, though he is on solids now and also gets some supplementing with formula.
Thank you ladies for all your suggestions. AF is back today, so I'm assuming that is what the cramps were. I'm sad I have to start dealing with AF again, but then again it is so much easier to chart when you have a cycle to follow.
by the way july 19th is my six year old son't birthday... that's awesome i have met several people with my birthday but never his... breastfeeding can release some hormones that will make you have cramps but the breastfeeding is probably why you haven't started your period your body can afford to lose that nutrition at the moment... your body only releases what is a overproduction
Ever since my daughter was born, I have cramps similar to menstrual cramps when I'm ovulating. Are you breastfeeding? I know some women don't get their periods back if they're nursing, but have still gotten pregnant.
Hi M., I have a little girl that is about to be nine months and I still too have not had a period. I just finished nursing her at 8 months. I too had cramps about 7 months and mine were pretty intense..more so than I have had in a long time. I expected to see something to but I didn't. It is funny that you were talking about not being pregnant and I tell you that thought was running through my mind this morning. I just started back on my original BC pill. I have been taking the BC that was safe for nursing mothers. They do say that it is very normal not to have period while nursing. I only nursed 4 months with my first child and got my period quickly after having him. I am a little worried myself. I hope knowing that I am dealing with the same thing eases your mind a bit. Good Luck.
My experience was that the cramps were contractions. Does it happen when the baby, or any baby is crying or needing you in some way, or when you're nursing? This too will lessen, but it won't go away completely, it's kind of like your milk letting down, your body will remember.
Your period will return when you stop nursing, until then it is called lactational amenorrhea it is also thought that it will keep you from getting pregnant, vasectomies work best for that! : )
A.
i have been having cramps for 6 mths. but i have a period (1-2 days) i went to the dr. and he is trying me on the bc pill that i will take for 3 weeks and then start a new back so i will not have a beriod. he seems to think my problem is my bladder. so you may want to go in and get checked. after women have babies a lot of times they need there bladder tacked up . i also have a bladder problem called "ic" so i'm sure that when i get treated for that then maybe my problems will be fixed (i hope) my ob said something about surgery but i don't want any
M.,
Yep, that sounds like old AF may be getting ready to show her ugly face. I had a similar experience abotu 8 months after my son was born in June 4, 2007. I too BF but once he started solids he wasn't nursing as much and for about a week or two, I got a little neglectful with my pumping at work and I got my period at the beginning of February. If you are still BF and you get your period soon, expect a decline in your milk supply b/c of the hormones--YUCK. If you pump and want to keep you supply up I suggest pumping after each nursing. HTH.
My baby is just a few days from being 8 months and yesterday I started for the first time. It will come soon if that is not an indicator now.
You may want to talk to the lactation specialist at a local clinic. I do know that breastfeeding often triggers the release of hormones that contribute to contractions, could be related. Since you are still nursing, try keeping up with your cramping in relation to when you feel milk "let down".
I nursed for a year after my son was born and it took 3 more months after I stopped for my cycles to resume. Oh, that was wonderful!!! It's almost worth getting pregnant again so I can skip them for 2 more years!
I never started my period until after i quit breastfeeding totally. I also started having ovulation cramps after my 3rd, took me nearly a year to figure out why i would not start my period for 2 more weeks!LOL!!! If the cramping only occurs after sex, you need to see your doc.
It could be your system "waking up." I've had similar things happen, then my period started a month or two later. And while breastfeeding, that's one of the wonderful side effects, no periods for up to a year in my experience. It's Nature's way of spacing babies out.
The down side of that is you can get pregnant without even having a period, on your first ovulation!
Same thing happened with me. It coincided with my daughter drinking less breastmilk than normal. It's your body basically saying, "Hmmmm, should I start this period or not?" The more your baby nurses the more likely your body will answer itself with, "Not yet."
are you still nursing your son? if so, that may be a contributing factor of a delayed period?
They say you won't get a period while you are breastfeeding, so maybe your are still nursing him just enough to keep your period away. I've been reading alot about this since I just had a baby and I am also breastfeeding and do not want to get pregnant right away. They say that you will most likely ovulate before you start your cycle so unless you are ready to be pregnant again I would be very carefull.Good luck!!
HI M.,
Congratulations on your little boy! Our son was born just two weeks before him and I did have the same issue with cramping when he was almost 6 mo old. Mine turned out to be another pregnancy! We are excited, although surprised to say the least! (my only sign was intuition and then some cramping)Have you taken a pregnancy test or called your healthcare provider? I am still breastfeeding too and I know breastfeeding can contract the uterus, even once it's shrunk back to pre-pregnancy size...so you may just be feeling that too. I would definitely have it checked out though, just to be on the safe side, especially if an ectopic pregnancy is involved.
I hope this helped. Good luck to you!
~EJ
BEWARE, just because you are not "bleeding" you are still hormonal and can get pregnant. Been there done that. The cramps are indicating a period or change in hormone levels. I would at least call the doctor. The breastfeeding will slow the onset of the bleeding. I haven't ever checked temperature and all of that. But it sounds to me your body is getting normal.
