Baby is 1 and a half and I haven’t had a period yet. Anyone else? Does it have to do with nutrition?

[olivemcr]

He still nurses at night, still nurses a fair bit during the day despite liking solids. I hear the number of milk removals have the biggest impact on your period returning or not.

I’m not in a hurry to wean or get pregnant again, but it’s been a trip meeting parents of kids the same age as him who also have a newborn. I did not have that option!

Most of my friends got their period back within 8 or so months, and I’ve only talked to one friend who got theirs back when their child turned 2.

I’m wondering if I should be worried? I started off with some supply issues and have since been checked for hormonal issues, but everything seems fine. I eat a well-balanced diet, but I’m a bit overweight and I’m not super young (34).

Anyone else in a similar boat? Any other “late bleeders”?

 

[nikkiwhosoever]

@olivemcr It took soooo long for mine to come back, it didn’t start until we completely cut the daytime feeds when she was two!!!!

She still feeds around twice a day - one at bedtime, one if she wakes in the night (cos when I’m half asleep boobie is all I’ve got lol). I had two periods and then got pregnant again, currently 14 weeks

So in my experience there’s nothing to worry about! But if you are worried or want to start things up again though, you could always have a chat with your gp, never any harm in seeking professional advice about these sorts of things.

 

[waydodo]

@olivemcr Because i did not see another one answering.

No, it has likely nothing to do with your nutrition. But all with the hormone you produce while breastfeeding.
Prolactin. Is the hormone that lets you produce milk, it also hinders your body to ovulate. No ovulation - no period - no cycle.

Like with all hormones, everybody reacts differently to it. Some are more sensible and will have to stop or nearly stop breastfeeding to ovulate and get a period back and some are less sensible and can ovulate way sooner even if they still breastfeed a lot. I'm one of the more sensible, kid is 17 months and no period in sight.

The general rule says that most get their period back with a 6h feeding window. But it's not a fix thing for everyone.

 

[olivemcr]

@waydodo This is so helpful. Thank you!
One of my friends said it came back depending on “nutrient stores”. Her first time it came back at 2 months pp, and her second time at 2 years. Her theory was that she was “depleted” the second time.
But I didn’t feel like that was true for me, however it made me wonder.

 

[kejuli]

@olivemcr My experience was that I got my period back at 2 months old with both babies. This coincided with both babies having 3/4 nights where they slept for about 8 hours or more. Never to be repeated I might add in either instance but those
few nights where I didn’t feed them or pump for that 8 or so hour stretch, was enough to trigger ovulation unfortunately.

 

[s0ccergirl]

@olivemcr Maybe she's thinking that because women who don't eat enoughor their body fat gets too low, they'll lose their period. Maybe she thinks it the same kind of thing.

 

[zyon1]

@olivemcr I needed this thread. 18mo pp here and still nothing. We're down to one feed at night and a couple of comfort feeds during the night. Reading this has made me feel way more normal!

 

[heartboy]

@zyon1 18 months pp as well and still havent gotten mine!

 

[deeo]

@heartboy 18 mo pp and just night weaned.. still no period!

 

[somethingillusory]

@deeo 17 mo, night weaned and same!

 

[davidharvey29]

@olivemcr Consider yourself lucky. Mine came back at 8w pp and 7w with my second

 

[davidharvey29]

@robtarc Crazy right? I was also exclusively nursing and had only stopped my postpartum bleeding a week before. Currently pregnant again, we'll see how this one goes I guess

 

[alabarre09]

@robtarc That’s brutal. I didn’t even stop bleeding until around 5 weeks pp

 

[robtarc]

@alabarre09 I stopped like 2-3 weeks pp and when the period came I actually thought it was more lochia but it smelled and looked different. Then at 8w same thing. Body is like clockwork haha.

 

[thelifted]

@robtarc Same. So annoying. What’s even more annoying is I have to do IVF anyways. I ovulate and just can’t get pregnant. My period is useless haha

 

[dkwassom]

@davidharvey29 I'm just curious how much you guys nursed overnight? I keep hearing that makes a difference from people trying to explain why I don't have mine back at 9 months pp. My baby nurses... pretty much all night. We cosleep, and he is just kind of on the boob for comfort the whole night and wakes all the way up (and wakes me up for it ofc) for a proper feed every 2 hours at the longest. About every 45 minutes for half the night.

 

[annabanana1017]

@dkwassom I JUST got mine at 6mos pp and we Cosleep. She still nurses often through the night too. I was so bummed

 

[axe2fall]

@dkwassom Glad to hear this is normal. Not glad to hear it's still going to be like this at 9 months.

 

[dkwassom]

@axe2fall I think not every baby is like this, lol. My friend happened to have a baby at almost the exact same time, and his baby was sleeping 6+ hours straight by 4 months. I adore my baby, but I felt a little jealousy when I blearily read his messages about it while suffering from weeks worth of sleep debt with no coffee because breastfeeding caffeine baby digestion things.

 

[davidharvey29]

@dkwassom My first was latched pretty much all night every night till I weaned him at 18 months. Second nursed between 2 and 4 times a night till he weaned himself at 17 months.