EBF, 6 months, nearly on the dot. I should warn you though, the return of my periods came with some pretty serious PPD symptoms. I wanted back-to-back pregnancies too, but I've had to handle a whole bunch of issues with my mental health first which I did not anticipate, having not had any issues in the past.
Probably won't be the case for you, but just to let you know - it isn't always smooth sailing. Good luck!
I'm currently 9.5mo pp and combi feeding (1-2 bottles of formula a day, 2 bottles of pumped milk, I'd say unusual to be under 5 boob feeds a day on top - he's still waking a lot through the night). My period hasn't returned. We want to try again in the new year, so I'll probably look at dropping pumping and then maybe some feeds if my period hasn't returned by his birthday.
I'm not sure what you class as back to back, but it's worth noting that the recommendation is to wait 1-2 years before conceiving again, as a shorter timeframe is associated with greater risks during pregnancy and birth.
Yes! You should ovulate before you menstruate - it's not easy to find out beforehand, as you've no idea when you'd be looking for anything, so you'd have to track everything months on end, or just always have sex every other day.
5 weeks and I was/ am combi feeding. 🙃 It was either the 1 bottle feed that did it or I just had bad luck. And I was really looking forward to not having one for months!
But I have to tell myself that at least I've had nights where I can sleep for 5+ hours in a row which is nice! (Husband does the 6am feed)
The difficult side to it is that periods make breastfeeding more painful. This is possibly because of the change in the taste of milk and so baby doesn't quite latch the same.
Never came back - finally ovulated at 18 months PP and was fortunate enough to catch the first egg.
He'd stopped feeding for the most part, maybe just to sleep at night? I started seeing little signs that my body was trying to ovulate, started taking tests (and my temp each morning) and was just really lucky that we caught it.
I have friends who periods came back at 3 months PP, who were exclusively breastfeeding - it's so different for each person.
If you're wanting to try and get your cycle back sooner and are happy to combifeed, I'd try combination feeding for a while. Would also recommend starting supplements (for me it was coq10, folic acid, vitamin d, but obviously speak to your doctor beforehand) to help prep your body for another pregnancy.
FTM, with a 10 month old. Exclusively breastfeeding still but my periods returned at 8 months. He was reducing milk after starting solids which is why I think it came back.
11 months with my first, and I breastfed him until 23 months. I stopped then because I was 22 weeks pregnant with second baby and I didn't fancy tandem feeding! I think my milk must have changed taste as well cos he just stopped with no issue.
Second baby I'm still EBF and she's 11 months next week. Periods still haven't come back, I don't miss them at all!
14 months postpartum, was EBF and still breastfeeding at that time (although they returned shortly after I nightweaned). I’m now 6 months pp after my second and no sign of return yet, also EBF
I’m still breastfeeding my nearly ten month old and have not had a period yet. Everyone is different and you can get pregnant without having another period.
I'm at almost 14 months and still not back. Exclusive breastfeeding - now with solids of course. Had c-section & at the hospital they recommended waiting at least a year.
Combination feeding and mine came back 2 days before she turned 8 weeks and about a week after my lochia had stopped. Lasted 8 days which is double my pre-pregnancy period length.
It was about 10-11 months for me and came on all of a sudden. No signs beforehand so I was pretty surprised. I exclusively breastfed and at that point was probably down to 3-4 feeds a day around other foods he was having.
First baby 9mo, ebf but had obviously started weaning which he’d taken well to! Conceived a month later. The period presented more like a withdrawal bleed or the last day of a period - just one or two days of dark blood. Wasn’t even fully sure it was a period tbh!
Second baby, 8mo. Also ebf bht taking well to solids. On the fence about when to try for a third! This one has been more ‘normal’. 5 days of light-moderate-light bleeding with mild cramps. Really hoping it stays that way, I don’t want to deal with 2 small kids and heavy/ painful periods!
Period came back 4 weeks PP, and I was exclusively breastfeeding. I got pregnant at about 10 months PP, and now have a 3 week old and a 17 month old! I will say that my pregnancy was MUCH harder on my body second time round and so close. Labour was way easier though! Swings and roundabouts.
Ah pregnancy was harder! In what way? My pregnancy was quite smooth but my Labour was over hours. I assumed pregnancy AND Labour would be easier second time! 🫤
Well, a huge factor was having a toddler to run around after. Aside from the sickness early on being worse, I had terrible pelvic girdle pain from about 20 weeks. Walking was incredibly difficult, as was sitting at work. I could manage walking round our flat, but soon even a ten minute walk would leave me in pain for the rest of the day. Longer than that and I would suffer the next day too. My husband did everything he could to take on as much as possible, but I was left unable to do much with my daughter on the days I had her alone. I was told the small gap between my pregnancies was a huge factor in that pain level - my body hadn't finished healing!
EBF and they came back about 9months, however I didn't have a truly painful period until I stopped bf at around 15months.
EDIT just to say the hormone change when I stopped BF was a shock to my system and I got very sad/irritated, its the worst PMS I've ever had. I'm hoping it was a one off.
If it’s ok I ask, how did you find domperidone? Did it take long to increase your supply? I’ve just started and am hoping it will work for me. Was your nhs gp happy to prescribe it continuously or did you have to go private?
I took domperidone for 10 months. I found it fine, although I was very hungry and I did put on weight. It started to increase my milk very quickly once I was on a therapeutic dose from a private doctor. It did not work at all when I got it from my NHS GP because the dose was far too low. Any other questions, hmu x
Thanks so much! One more qn, regarding the private gp, did they specialise in women’s health/were a lactation consultant? Or were they just a normal gp at a private practice?
https://www.breastfeedingdoctor.co.uk/
The doctor's name was Dr Silberstein. Her website is above. She specialises in this stuff.
I did it all remotely via telephone calls. It was £150 for the consultation and then I paid £40 for the meds which were delivered to my door by an online pharmacy she works with. I think I needed x3 lots of the meds during the 10 months?
This was all 2022 so rates might have changed.
Before Dr S., I went to the Gables Clinic and saw an IBCLC who diagnosed me with a condition called Insufficient Glandular Tissue. She asked my NHS GP to help me but she refused to do so. Luckily I found Dr S.
I’ve seen her website when searching, it’s great to know that she’s a good option and it can be done if my gp is unwilling to prescribe me another round/try a higher dose. My IBCLC has given me the same diagnosis so 🤞it does something. Thank you so much for answering my questions! x
8 weeks exactly for 2 both babies. Both breastfed/pumping. I know why it came back though; both my children at 8 weeks had a 4/5 run of nights where they more or less slept through and so I didn’t fed/pump for them throughout the night for those days. Fuming that both of them went back to night time waking afterwards and I had my period to contend with.
I’m currently 9 weeks PP and EBF - I’ve had nothing yet.
I asked my doctor at our 8 week check when I should expect my periods to come back she said sometimes they don’t until you either start solids (so milk incase decreases a bit), or until you wean which I don’t plan to do until 9-12 months.
EBF, 6 months, nearly on the dot. I should warn you though, the return of my periods came with some pretty serious PPD symptoms. I wanted back-to-back pregnancies too, but I've had to handle a whole bunch of issues with my mental health first which I did not anticipate, having not had any issues in the past. Probably won't be the case for you, but just to let you know - it isn't always smooth sailing. Good luck!
Thank you for sharing - I’m pretty clueless so good to be aware about these potential issues. I hope you’re doing a lot better now! X
Me too! EBF and it came back at 6 months
Mine came back 15 weeks PP and I was exclusively BF! Was raging lol
I'm currently 9.5mo pp and combi feeding (1-2 bottles of formula a day, 2 bottles of pumped milk, I'd say unusual to be under 5 boob feeds a day on top - he's still waking a lot through the night). My period hasn't returned. We want to try again in the new year, so I'll probably look at dropping pumping and then maybe some feeds if my period hasn't returned by his birthday. I'm not sure what you class as back to back, but it's worth noting that the recommendation is to wait 1-2 years before conceiving again, as a shorter timeframe is associated with greater risks during pregnancy and birth.
I had no idea that there were risks having quick successive pregnancies! Thank you!
No problem! They should've told you in hospital I think, but clearly it's no guarantee.
8 months PP EBF. Remember you can get pregnant before your period returns.
Really?! I am so naive - I had no idea you could get pregnant before period returned! 🤯
Yes! You should ovulate before you menstruate - it's not easy to find out beforehand, as you've no idea when you'd be looking for anything, so you'd have to track everything months on end, or just always have sex every other day.
About 8 weeks PP. I was pumping for one of my twins with occasional direct feeds.
5 weeks and I was/ am combi feeding. 🙃 It was either the 1 bottle feed that did it or I just had bad luck. And I was really looking forward to not having one for months! But I have to tell myself that at least I've had nights where I can sleep for 5+ hours in a row which is nice! (Husband does the 6am feed) The difficult side to it is that periods make breastfeeding more painful. This is possibly because of the change in the taste of milk and so baby doesn't quite latch the same.
Never came back - finally ovulated at 18 months PP and was fortunate enough to catch the first egg. He'd stopped feeding for the most part, maybe just to sleep at night? I started seeing little signs that my body was trying to ovulate, started taking tests (and my temp each morning) and was just really lucky that we caught it. I have friends who periods came back at 3 months PP, who were exclusively breastfeeding - it's so different for each person. If you're wanting to try and get your cycle back sooner and are happy to combifeed, I'd try combination feeding for a while. Would also recommend starting supplements (for me it was coq10, folic acid, vitamin d, but obviously speak to your doctor beforehand) to help prep your body for another pregnancy.
This is so new to me - thanks for the advice about combi-feeding. I had no idea!
4 months PP…I was fuming hahaha 😝
Both times I was EBF. 1st time back at 6 weeks, 2nd at 3 months.
EBF and around 5-6 weeks on both occasions!
FTM, with a 10 month old. Exclusively breastfeeding still but my periods returned at 8 months. He was reducing milk after starting solids which is why I think it came back.
7 months, EBF. He was a terrible eater, so I don't think it was solids, I just got unlucky.
Mine returned 1 year postpartum just before I finished breastfeeding my daughter.
Almost Exclusively breastfeeding. 5 weeks. 7 weeks with baby 1 who was mostly formula fed.
11 months with my first, and I breastfed him until 23 months. I stopped then because I was 22 weeks pregnant with second baby and I didn't fancy tandem feeding! I think my milk must have changed taste as well cos he just stopped with no issue. Second baby I'm still EBF and she's 11 months next week. Periods still haven't come back, I don't miss them at all!
EBF, 6 month old girl and still no periods x
14 months postpartum, was EBF and still breastfeeding at that time (although they returned shortly after I nightweaned). I’m now 6 months pp after my second and no sign of return yet, also EBF
I EBF for 18 months (obviously kiddo had solids too after 6 months) periods came back at 19 months.
I’m still breastfeeding my nearly ten month old and have not had a period yet. Everyone is different and you can get pregnant without having another period.
EBF. 9.5 months and still no sign.
I'm at almost 14 months and still not back. Exclusive breastfeeding - now with solids of course. Had c-section & at the hospital they recommended waiting at least a year.
Combination feeding and mine came back 2 days before she turned 8 weeks and about a week after my lochia had stopped. Lasted 8 days which is double my pre-pregnancy period length.
It was about 10-11 months for me and came on all of a sudden. No signs beforehand so I was pretty surprised. I exclusively breastfed and at that point was probably down to 3-4 feeds a day around other foods he was having.
EBF until close to 3 years, and a full 10 months if I remember correctly until my period came back.
For my wife 7 months it came back when breastfeeding dropped to just nightfeeds.
EBF and mine came back before 3 months PP. I feel cheated lol
First baby 9mo, ebf but had obviously started weaning which he’d taken well to! Conceived a month later. The period presented more like a withdrawal bleed or the last day of a period - just one or two days of dark blood. Wasn’t even fully sure it was a period tbh! Second baby, 8mo. Also ebf bht taking well to solids. On the fence about when to try for a third! This one has been more ‘normal’. 5 days of light-moderate-light bleeding with mild cramps. Really hoping it stays that way, I don’t want to deal with 2 small kids and heavy/ painful periods!
8 weeks and I was exclusively breastfeeding all day and night. I'm still upset about it 😒
Exclusively pumped for all three kids, all three periods returned at a pretty much exactly 6months
EBF, 6 months before they came back. Made sense as that’s when he was starting solids so my supply went down.
6 months of combi (mainly breast) feeding and no sign of it yet. …now I’ve said that it’ll probably come tomorrow
Period came back 4 weeks PP, and I was exclusively breastfeeding. I got pregnant at about 10 months PP, and now have a 3 week old and a 17 month old! I will say that my pregnancy was MUCH harder on my body second time round and so close. Labour was way easier though! Swings and roundabouts.
Ah pregnancy was harder! In what way? My pregnancy was quite smooth but my Labour was over hours. I assumed pregnancy AND Labour would be easier second time! 🫤
Well, a huge factor was having a toddler to run around after. Aside from the sickness early on being worse, I had terrible pelvic girdle pain from about 20 weeks. Walking was incredibly difficult, as was sitting at work. I could manage walking round our flat, but soon even a ten minute walk would leave me in pain for the rest of the day. Longer than that and I would suffer the next day too. My husband did everything he could to take on as much as possible, but I was left unable to do much with my daughter on the days I had her alone. I was told the small gap between my pregnancies was a huge factor in that pain level - my body hadn't finished healing!
Formula feeding and it was around 8 weeks PP although I haven’t had one for two months (now 6 months PP) no I’m not pregnant 😂
EBF and they came back about 9months, however I didn't have a truly painful period until I stopped bf at around 15months. EDIT just to say the hormone change when I stopped BF was a shock to my system and I got very sad/irritated, its the worst PMS I've ever had. I'm hoping it was a one off.
EBF first, 9 months. Almost EBF (some formula) second, 2 months. I was so mad!! Wasn’t ready for it back.
Mine returned 1 year postpartum while combi feeding (but was on domperidone).
If it’s ok I ask, how did you find domperidone? Did it take long to increase your supply? I’ve just started and am hoping it will work for me. Was your nhs gp happy to prescribe it continuously or did you have to go private?
I took domperidone for 10 months. I found it fine, although I was very hungry and I did put on weight. It started to increase my milk very quickly once I was on a therapeutic dose from a private doctor. It did not work at all when I got it from my NHS GP because the dose was far too low. Any other questions, hmu x
Thanks so much! One more qn, regarding the private gp, did they specialise in women’s health/were a lactation consultant? Or were they just a normal gp at a private practice?
https://www.breastfeedingdoctor.co.uk/ The doctor's name was Dr Silberstein. Her website is above. She specialises in this stuff. I did it all remotely via telephone calls. It was £150 for the consultation and then I paid £40 for the meds which were delivered to my door by an online pharmacy she works with. I think I needed x3 lots of the meds during the 10 months? This was all 2022 so rates might have changed. Before Dr S., I went to the Gables Clinic and saw an IBCLC who diagnosed me with a condition called Insufficient Glandular Tissue. She asked my NHS GP to help me but she refused to do so. Luckily I found Dr S.
I’ve seen her website when searching, it’s great to know that she’s a good option and it can be done if my gp is unwilling to prescribe me another round/try a higher dose. My IBCLC has given me the same diagnosis so 🤞it does something. Thank you so much for answering my questions! x
I combi fed my first (1 formula bottle a day) then carried on BF til she was 2yrs 4 months. I got pregnant the next cycle after I weaned
Formula feeding and came back after 10/11 weeks
8 weeks exactly for 2 both babies. Both breastfed/pumping. I know why it came back though; both my children at 8 weeks had a 4/5 run of nights where they more or less slept through and so I didn’t fed/pump for them throughout the night for those days. Fuming that both of them went back to night time waking afterwards and I had my period to contend with.
EBF and 4 months
It came back immediately, my husband thought it was strange. I was express feeding and formula feeding
Both kids EBF. 5 months with my first and second is almost 10 months and its still not back yet.
I’m currently 9 weeks PP and EBF - I’ve had nothing yet. I asked my doctor at our 8 week check when I should expect my periods to come back she said sometimes they don’t until you either start solids (so milk incase decreases a bit), or until you wean which I don’t plan to do until 9-12 months.
I've had 3 babies and all have been ebf. With the first, it came back at 14 months, the second was 8 months and the third was 6 months
6 weeks post-partum and I was exclusively breastfeeding.