Cycles After Giving Birth

Congrats!! My first 2 are 16 months apart. It is very hectic in the beginning, but they are so close now. Good luck!!
Jen

it's going to take a little bit for your body to get back to normal. But voice your concerns to your BY/GYN. He'll tell you if you should really worry. But i don't you should. Good luck and congraduations.

Hi C.,
It is totally normal to not be normal for up to a year especially if you are nursing. I have 6 children and have never had a normal cycle since my first. After my deliveries, it took about a year to actually get on a normal cycle again. I wouldn't worry. Every womens body is different and will cycle itself when it is ready to.
W.

I would expect things to take some time to even out. My son was nearly 1 1/2 years old when I started to have regular periods. If you are not on birth control, I suggest keeping track of your cycle in a little calendar, so you don't freak out regularly till things sort themselves out.

Hi, C.! Congrats on your baby!---I just realized that I think I just responded to you about the carseat!

Anyway! Are you breastfeeding? If so, you can expect that your cycles will be sporatic for a while due to the hormone fluctuations and reduced estrogen (which is one big reason why breastfeeding reduces female cancer rates so drastically).

If you're not, it may just be hormone fluctuations from giving birth somewhat recently.

Hope that helps!
A.

One question that comes to mind is whether or not you are breastfeeding. Breastfeeding can cause a delay in the return of your menstrual cycle and some irregularity at first. However, it is normal for it to take several cycles for it to even out and become regular again. This doesn't mean that you can't get pregnant but it can mean that you are not yet ovulating regularly.

Since you already have an appointment with your OB/GYN please make sure you bring it to his attention. That way he/she can monitor it in case there is something else going on. However, it is probably just your cycle working out the hormonal kinks.

Good luck and hope my input has helped.

It took me about 6 months to get normal and 9+ months to get back to being fully regular with my last son (the others I have not idea I was "normal" but was usually pregnant again).

If you are breastfeeding, it is absolutely normal to miss a period. I have not had a period since my son was born (18 months) and my obgyn told me it is because he still nurses so much (6-8x a day).

If the pregnancy test came back -, they are accurate 99.9% of the time, so there should be no problem.

Maybe something you ate, or your stress level has affected your cycle.

Good luck!
~meg

are you nursing your baby? i have a 4 1/2 month old and i pump and my periods are very irregular. every month has been very unpredictable. sometimes i get my period, sometimes not! and there is absolutely no way i could be pregnant because my husband is in the army and is in afghanistan...so it is not possible! i think it just takes a while to get back to "normal" after birth!

Dear C.,
I don't know how your cycles were before the baby. If you ever had sporadic periods that could certainly be a contributing factor. I know that for me, I've NEVER had regular periods unless I was on the pill. After I had my son, I went back onto birth control almost immediately b/c my family is VERY fertile. ;) So that time around I had regular periods pretty much right away. However, I had my daughter almost a year ago and have not been on the pill. I've only had two "cycles" since I gave birth. Mind you, prior to children and birth control, I averaged 3-6 per year. I even tried to track it during college and they were anywhere from 5 weeks (shortest time frame) to 17 weeks (longest time frame). Hope this info is helpful. God Bless and enjoy your little guy!

this same thing happened to me! I had 2 "normal" periods and then I totally skipped one, then I had one 45 days after that one. I too took several neg. tests! My dr. says it takes a year to get totally back to normal. But, since your periods are not reg. Be Careful!!

I was about to respond to your request about the car seats and saw the follow up that you definitely are pregnant (I didn't have any answers to this request). First I've got to say congratulations!! I have no advice for you because my kids are a couple of years apart each, but I wish you all the luck in the world. I also wanted to let you know that I have to admit that I was relieved to see that in your previous request you didn't mention buying a forward facing car seat just because your child is 20 pounds. I think another responder mentioned being car safety seat certified, but I just wanted to let you know that it's vital that your baby stay rear facing up until their first year. Weight doesn't have as much to do with the switch as much as age and cognitive function. Your child needs to be able to sit up right, hold himself and his head. Sorry about the "lecture", but I've had friends and acquaintences switch their kids too early because their kids hit the weight mark before the age mark. One had a bad accident and her child had to go to Children's because he was forward facing and got hurt.
Again, congratulations, and good luck.

Hi! Are you nursing your son? Sometimes nursing throws things off a little, I don't think it's uncommon to have irregular cycles a few months after having a baby. best wishes..........E.

Congratulations on your baby and your pregnancy. My third child was 7 months old when I got pregnant with my 4th. It was challenging, and still is, but I would not trade it for the world. My second 2 are a better friends than my first 2, and hate to be apart.

I am wondering the same exact thing! I have an 8-month old. I got my period back when he was 6 months, but I haven't had it since. I just took a couple pregnancy tests that came back negative. I am breastfeeding, so I don't know if my cycle is still being affected by that. So, I'm currently in the same boat. I'll be checking back at your responses to see what everyone says! (Just a side note - I'm also a teacher with a master's degree in reading -- love staying home with my son though!)

When I was about 6 months postpartum, I had skipped all but like two of my periods, and when I went in for my check up my OB/GYN told me that it's not surprising for new mom's schedules to be all screwy. I asked because I was worried about the possibility of becoming pregnant again so soon, but she said that because of the hormone changes a woman goes through during pregnancy, coming back down from it, is like going through puberty all over again, your system has to settle itself out before you'll start being regular again. And for me it took longer because I breastfed my little girl until she was about 18 months old. So, I realy didn't start being regular again for another 6 to 10 months after weaning her completely and my milk drying up. Hope this helps some.

I have five kids from 10 to 7 months and my cycle has been different after each birth. I have not had a period since my youngest was born in July, and no signs yet that it's coming anytime soon. Definitely check with your doctor and you might want to take another test in a week if you still don't have your period. Good Luck!

can be all stress related. Relax give it another week or 2.

Yes as you get older and after pregnancy can be off schedule.