Are your periods suppose to be irregular while breastfeeding? My son is 5 months old now and is still breastfeeding. I nurse him throughout the night and in the mornings when my supply is the highest, then pump while at work and in the evenings. I pump every 2 to 3 hours during the day ending about midnight, then he nurses first about 4 to 5 AM. So I am emptying my breast quite a bit.
My questions comes from this, I had one period early last month (August 8th) that was very light and didn't last but about 2 to 3 days. I guess I expected them to start back for good once they had started. I don't think I could be pregnant. My husband and I are using birth control methods. Is it normal to start back then to stop again? Thanks ladies! Everyone on here is very helpful!
Well when I was breastfeeding, I didn't have a menstrual at all (for one year). In my opinion because I have breastfed three children, it is more normal not to have one or to have very light ones when they do come. I don't think you should be worried, but you may want to by a pregnancy test to have on standby.
Hi C.,
Spotty or irregular periods are totally normal while nursing although you can still get pregnant, so it's good that you're protecting yourselves. I never missed a single period while exclusively breastfeeding either one of my kids....which is also totally normal.
Congratulations!!
I think they are irregular when they first start back. With my last one they didn't start again til she was about10 months old and they were pretty light for 3 or 4 months. BUT even with birth control, preg is possible since there's really no birth control that is 100% effective outside of abstinance...and no married couple is going to want that for long, lol.
That is totally normal, I didn't have a period until I stopped nursing at around 6 months! But if you're on the pill and breastfeeding you don't have a very big chance for getting pregnant, it's not impossible to get pregnant while breastfeeding but the odds are a little better. I know a lady who got pregnant while breastfeeding so I know it's not impossible. Hope this makes you feel a little better!!!
Yes, it is very common to have "stop and go" periods for a while before you resume pre-pregnancy-like cycles. I know most of my friends got only one or two periods over the space of 5 or 6 months when they first started ovulating again...and I'm at 15 months PP with no sign of a period at all!
This means that some of us end up taking a lot of pregnancy tests just to be sure...but it is a very normal part of how women's bodies work, so if you know you're not pregnant, then try not to worry about it.
Best of luck! ;)
Hey C.!!
Yes it is normal to have irregular periods. You may have more light ones again or you may not have anymore at all til you stop breastfeeding. I didn't have periods at all while I was breastfeeding.
I am glad to hear that you are using birth control methods. Even if you aren't having periods, you can get pregnant. I don't know what form of birth control you used pre-pregnancy and pre-breastfeeding, but if you used a pill form there are certain ones you can get that are safe for you to take while you are nursing. They are very effective, but when you stop breastfeeding you would want to switch back to a normal pill. Your doctor would know which ones you can use. If you feel that maybe your birth control methods might not be as effective as you want, I would take a pregnancy test just to be sure, especially if you were to decide to start the pill. But the irregularity is more than likely from breastfeeding.
I hope that helps. Let me know!!!!! K.
My son is almost 8 months and i/ have not yet had a period :) I know some people who nurse for 2+ years and raely to never have it either. It is perfectly normal.
Hi C.,
I know that my cycle was all out of whack after having my son. I had some pretty bad oversupply problems with breastfeeding, and in trying to work that out, my period resumed only 6 weeks after having my son. I had an IUD put in place when he was 8 weeks. After that, my periods were very inconsistent- sometimes I would skip months while still breastfeeding, sometimes I would have my period twice in a month. I completely stopped breastfeeding when he was around 5 mos. and I still have irregular periods over a year later! You can probably expect your cycle to be all out of whack for a while, but unless you are using a very effective BC method (like the pill or IUD), you might want to take a pregnancy test to be sure. I know I took several tests because things were so unpredictable (even though I had an IUD).
