I am still bf my 1 y/o son. I just got my period yesturday I wanted to know, how soon can you get pregnant after the first period. We really want to get pregnant soon.
I heard someone say it could take 2 months for your body to get back on track, Is this true? Or can I start relying on my ovulation cycle now?

Hi Rakkoon! Congrats on BF'ing your son for a full year...and then some!! I know some docs recommend waiting, but honestly, I know a couple people that never had a period inbetween! And a couple that had one period! So I would say as long as you are healthy, and you and DH are ready to have another one, go for it!

You can actually get pregnant before your first period, but it's far more likely for the first cycle to be anovulatory (no egg). You can definitely get pregnant right away. For me, at least, breastfeeding seems to regulate my hormones/cycles quite well. While it took me 18 months of trying to get pregnant with my first, it took 2 months with my second--both of which contained actual postpartum cycles--and with this one we weren't even trying. I had about six total PP cycles between birth #1 & pregnancy #2, and one between birth #2 & pregnancy number three (my period took a lot longer to come back the second time).

If you aren't already familiar with it, I'd highly recommend the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Wechsler. It's a great resource for learning your signals of fertility. The method can be a bit tricky while breastfeeding, but it's still worthwhile, IMO.

ETA: I totally love having my daughters as close together as they are. The only real downside to getting pregnant so relatively quick is that it hurts to nurse while pregnant.

I had a miscarrage once and I have been getting mixed answers to whether or not I can bf while pregnant.
So the 1st period has "No Egg?"
You were able to get pregnant on the 2nd?

Hey - my friend just had her second baby 10 months after her first.... so, I think as soon as you're ovulating (before you had your period), you can get pregnant! However, I found that my periods were really irregular while I was still nursing, so it might be hard to figure out just when you're ovulating. Maybe yours will be regular though.
Good luck!
Liisa

Rakkoon, check out Fertility Friend. You can sign up for a free account to chart your cycle. They also have a pretty inexpensive plan that gives you more options, good for if you are having trouble getting PG.

I have heard that many women get PG the very next cycle after a M/C. I have also heard warnings about BF'ing if you are at risk of M/C or pre-term labor. Go with what your Dr. says!

I don't know if it's always an annovulatory cycle the first time, but I suppose there's a chance you do O.

You don't always have an egg before the first postpartum cycle. Some women do, some don't. There's really no way to know if you did or not unless you're paying close attention to your fertility signals (not just temp, since that only tells you after you've ovulated, but also cervical fluid and changes in the cervix itself if you check that). It's really a thing that varies hugely by individual, so I can tell you my own experience, but not if it will apply to you. Some women find that, even when their cycles return, they're erratic for the first six months or so, but as I've said, it certainly wasn't the case with me.

As far as nursing while pregnant--you will never get a straight answer on that. The theory is that it does slightly increase the risk of miscarriage, but I know many women who have had miscarriages in the past & then nursed through a subsequent pregnancy. That's a hugely personal decision, though. Some women find their nipples far too sensitive (I have done a lot of biting my cheek to keep from jerking away involuntarily), or find that nursing during pregnancy just takes too much of a toll on their energy. And sometimes even women with the best of intentions lose their milk completely or find their baby turns away from a changed taste.

I lost my first pg to a m/c. My seecond pg, ended much better with the birth of my Alexis. I got my period back at 7 months PP, I missed month 8 and it was back regularly at 9 months. I got pg at 14 months pp and nursed till Alexis weaned at 19 months. Sam was born 2 months ago and was health. I would not stop nursing even when the first Dr said I had to ASAP. (He was crazy. They would not let childern in the examination room.) Needless to say, I switched to a new Dr. One that did not care that I was nursing.

I nursed my 1st baby about 4 months into my 2nd pregnancy. I finally had to wean her because between nursing and bad morning sickness, I was starting to make myself sick. If I hadn't had to deal with the morning sickness making it almost impossible to keep food down, I probably wouldn't have weaned her for several more months. My midwife never cared that I was nursing at all.

If you want to try to get pregnant, go ahead and try. I've heard that it takes a couple of months for your body to regulate, but that has not been my own experience (concieved my daughter the first month we tried, and my son was a little surprise concieved while breastfeeding and using birth control). You probably already know this but you ovulate about 2 weeks before your period arrives. So if you have the stereotypical 28-day cycle, you'll be ovulating somewhere around days 13-16. If your cycle is longer, ovulation is later. I haven't used the fertility awareness method since before I got pregnant with my little girl, but I know I typically ovulated around day 18 and had a 32 day cycle most months. I have to agree with greatbigmonstermomma, Taking Charge Of Your Fertility is wonderful. I am disgusted at how much information I didn't know about my own body until I was 21 and read that book. I think every woman should read it, even if they have no interest in natural birth control, just for the information about how your body really works. It's fascinating.

I have yet to reach the postpartum stage but I wanted to give my thumbs up to the book Taking Charge of your Fertility. I have always had irregular cycles (ranging from 26-60 days) and it was wonderful to be able to recognize where I was in my cycle no matter how long that cycle was. I plan to return to that method after this baby is born.

I was B/F my daughter when I got PG with William. I had been taking the mini-pill but because of a bunch of stupid mixed up paperwork I stopped taking it since I never could get my prescription straightend out and I got PG with William within a few days of going off the mini-pill. I was still able to B/F and pump for Lilly until she was about 6 months old. At that time I was only able to pump about 1 oz. in 20 minutes so I gave up pumping and B/F just morning and night and then weekends. At 8 months, she weaned. I'm guessing my milk changed tastes again for her because I tried for a week and she wouldn't latch. I never got engorged or anything either.

I agree that if you are ready then go for it. I do use fertility friend (I still even have the free Taking charge software program on my computer at home).

I got pregnant with #4 when #3 was 9 months old. I had cut down to 2 or 3 nursings a day. Had a very minor cycle and found out I was pr about 3 weeks after it. Preg again with #5 when #4 was 10 months old. Same thing. Cut nursings back to 2 or 3 times a day and snap. Doc said not to nurse past 16 weeks because it causes the uterus to contract and he thinks it is to big of a risk. Now I know some women nurse anyway and I wanted to, but I decided that my dd was old enough to wean and since doc felt so strongly about it I would follow his advice. Good luck!

Jenn

A resource that we have been using to chart our fertile signs is found at www.woomb.org

Good Luck

I was on the fora at Mothering.com (for the magazine), and someone started a poll about whether nursing during pregnancy made anyone go into labor early, as that is one theory. Thus far, I am the only one to have had a preterm birth while breastfeeding. Far more women had only a week's difference (easily accounted for by having gone 'over' with #1), none, or a second birth that was later-gestation than the first. Just something to think about.