TTC while breastfeeding?

[u/Difficult-Basil3606]

Does breastfeeding make TTC harder? My son is 13 months and is a little boob barnacle. He rarely takes solids and I’m struggling with weaning him. He maybe latches at night for less than 5 minutes 1-2x between 10pm and 5am and then frequent feeds during the day.

My periods came back in April and since then my cycles have been 41, 42, and 43 days. I don’t track much outside of apps and my ultrahuman ring, and because I’ve been told ovulation can be delayed we try every day from the first day my period ends until my cycle starts up again.

I’m currently on CD42 and my pregnancy test was negative. The pharmacist told me that pregnancy wasn’t likely while breastfeeding and that I’m either having periods and not ovulating at all, ovulating very close to when my period starts, or my prolactin levels are too high to conceive.

I’m just looking for some advice. We’ve been trying for 5 cycles now.

Thank you!

[u/ffbd39]

i’m on cycle 4 ttc while bfing my 21 month old. I only bf at night now usually 1-2 times. sometimes 3. I had a chemical on cycle 2 - so i did manage to conceive, it just didn’t stick.

Just to note - if you’re having this much sex, your cm might not be super clear. I find my cm looks different the day after i’ve had sex. Semen leaking out the next day can resemble ewcm.

You might find BBT tracking helpful as that will confirm ovulation. I find it helpful particularly with the long bf cycles with unclear cm

[u/Difficult-Basil3606 → u/ffbd39]

I’m sorry to hear that. Yes! I honestly avoid using CM as an indicator because I either don’t notice it at all or the semen makes it look different and it messes with my tracking.

We’re trying to drop down to a morning bf session and 1-2 at night only and seeing if that helps. I may just buy a BBT thermometer and track that way instead of relying on my ring because I’m not getting accurate temps from a wearable.

[u/ffbd39 → u/Difficult-Basil3606]

Thank you! It’s okay - i do get sad about it but i’m taking it as a good sign that we can conceive.

Would you consider using OPKs as well? you’ll be able to see if your LH is surging at all. It is exhausting though using all these tracking methods, i’m not gonna lie 😅

[u/Difficult-Basil3606 → u/ffbd39]

I’ve considered it but I truly never understood how they worked. I’ve heard you need to check at specific times, during multiple different points in the day, daily, every other day… it’s very confusing. My country doesn’t have them available in shops and pharmacies so I’ll need to order them online but I’m waiting to see what happens this cycle and then placing an order. Thank you!!

[u/ffbd39 → u/Difficult-Basil3606]

i just use them daily from around cd 9 until i detect a surge. i find they work best for me when i use them at noon. around 2pm as i find that’s when my LH reaches its highest point of the day. Some people find that they surge at night or earlier in the morning so it’s about experimenting really. I don’t test multiple times a day unless i get a particularly high result that is close to a positive - then i’ll test again a few hours later to see if it turns into a positive.