Hey ladies! So I have a 10 month old son I’m breastfeeding and I haven’t had my period return yet. I’m fairly certain I ovulate each month but I’ve not been tracking my fertility the same as I did before my son (I did NFP to plan / prevent in the past).
Normally we use protection, however sometime last week we were a bit careless… And the weeks prior, we had several instances where one brand of condoms failed us each time (so frustrating!).
[name_f]My[/name_f] question: should I take a test? And how would I know when to test? I’m extremely nervous about getting a false negative from testing too early, and I can’t afford too many tests. Last pregnancy it took a while for any symptoms to come on… I didnt gain weight until I was about 6 months pregnant… And that’d be quite the surprise to find out so late in the game! I did have morning sickness last time, but each preg is different.
I recommend going to the Dollar Tree and buying some $1 tests. They are cheap and just as effective. I think my midwife said something like exclusively breastfeeding with no bottles given is like 85% effective at preventing pregnancy, but with your child being 10 months old, he is probably eating things and not exclusively breastfeeding. I would say as long as your not partaking in risky behavior, there probably isn’t a huge rush. However, with the cheap tests, you can test now and test later to be sure.
Did you have issues early on in your pregnancy? [name_m]How[/name_m] desperate are you to find out? If you didn’t have many issues I’d test about 2-3 weeks after you had your oops. I got pregnant with my daughter while nursing my 18 month old son but my period had already returned.
Thanks ladies. I’m nervous about using the dollar store tests as I got a false positive on one while I was TTC DS.
I didn’t have any issues at all on my first preg, very healthy so no worries there. I would want to get on prenatals and change my workouts a bit if I am though. And I’d like to prepare in general… And know why I’m suddenly sore all over, particularly tired, and having cravings. I think I’ll give it another two weeks and see if it’s maybe my period returning
I’m not relying on breastfeeding to prevent though I do still nurse about 6/7 times a day, and he still nurses a few feedings at night often times. He definitely eats a lot of solids though and we’ve never used bottles.
Thanks ladies, fingers crossed. As happy as another baby might be, my finances are a little too tight to be wanting another yet
I have three beautiful children. [name_f]My[/name_f] first I spent a load of money on pregnancy tests, before I realized that the dollar store had them for a dollar each. One time, a super expensive one gave me a false positive. The cheap ones were always accurate. I recommend buying three and testing whenever you feel like it!
Also, there are 16 months between my first two and 19 months between my second and third. Breastfeeding gave no protection whatsoever for us as soon as we weren’t using condoms we were pregnant!
Also, a word from the wise, every woman of childbearing age should be on prenatals, ttc or not. This can prevent a surprise baby from being disabled etc.
Take a test 2 weeks after the potential point of conception.
Breastfeeding is an extremely variable and unreliable method of contraception. The degree of suppression of your fertility varies wildly from woman to woman. Not yet menstruating again is a decent-- but far from perfect-- sign that you’re not yet ovulating (the majority of women get their estrogen/progesterone/basic menstrual cycle back before the more delicate dance of follicle recruitment and ovulation returns) but again-- EXTREMELY variable.
though I do still nurse about 6/7 times a day, and he still nurses a few feedings at night often times. He definitely eats a lot of solids though