Uh, oh! Cycle returned early and still Breastfeeding. Help.

[thanka2]

I am still breastfeeding (exclusively) my 7-week-old daughter and have just started pumping in order to prepare to return to work next week on the day she turns 8-weeks-old.

I have a slight problem. My cycle just returned today with my first post-partum period. With my son who is now 3 1/2-years-old, my cycle also returned at about 8 weeks post-partum. I spoke with my mother and she said she had a similar experience with all three of her children so I'm guessing this is just a genetic thing in my family.

With my son, as soon as my cycle returned, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain a good milk supply. I think that the hormones that govern my cycle interfere with prolactin and before long it was hard to even keep breastfeeding--there was such a dramatic drop in milk supply--seemingly overnight.

My question is for those ladies out there who may have had a similar experience. When your cycle returned--either early or later--did you have problems with your milk supply? Is there anything you did that you thought helped?

Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Frenchy]

For both my children, my periods came back at the end of the third month, and I was exclusively breastfeeding. For my son I did bf and pumped till he was 8 months, and for my daughter I've been exclusively bfing till she was 7 months. She now takes the bottle and formula (still bf once a day though).
I didn't feel really a drop in the milk flow, but did take, all the time, some fenugreek seeds, some mother's milk tea, some fennel tea etc.... just in case.

 

[Frenchy]

Actually, I've been thinking about it... I had a drop of my milk supply for my son, as I was also pumping. But not for my daugther, who was only bf, and I never pumped... don't know if there is any link with the pumping, but I had to take a lot of milk "suppliers" with my son.

 

[thanka2]

Yeah, I will have to pump some with this baby because I'm returning back to work. Sure hope it won't be a problem. Sometimes life just isn't fair--I mean, you figure that if you go through all the trouble to breastfeed (and for me, it was absolute trouble with my son and has been somewhat trouble with this baby too) at least you'd get a break from your period as some sort of reward--but, no, not in my case. Sucks.

Thanks for the feedback, though.

 

[Frenchy]

For my son, I went to IMI, to get their milk supply "potion", that you mix with hot water, and it really helped.
Good luck !

 

[Wingwing Nyanko]

My girl is 16 months now and I'm still breast feeding. My period had return since she was 8 or 9 months old. Milk supply did drop a lot at start. I follow the traditional Chinese remedy like fish soup, peanut and dried octopus soup, ginger vinegar ect. and they really worked. Funnel tea can help a bit too but the result is less obvious.
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[Gataloca]

This might be out of the subject.. but my baby is 10 1/2 month old now, and my period hasn't returned yet.. .should I worry???? I am still breastfeeding/pumping.

 

[jvn]

Gataloca, it's pretty common for your period not to come back if you're bf. It can even take a few months after you finish for all the hormones to sort themselves out and for your period to actually return after you stop.

 

[Gataloca]

Thanks jvn! I was starting to wonder if I should do a HPT, lol!

 

[thanka2]

No, I'm the "weird one" because my cycle returns right after I give birth even though I'm breastfeeding exclusively--I think it's much more common for women to not have a period for almost the duration of their breastfeeding--or at least until their child starts solids.

It's totally normal not to have a period until you stop breastfeeding and sometimes a long time afterward.