[mama2Hannah&Leah]

My daughter is almost 6 mos old and I'm still exclusively BF, however think I'm going to try to start her on solids this weekend. I think she is ready because she is constantly staring at mine and daddy's food when we eat. She sometimes sleep thru the night, which I read will often bring about your PPAF (as well as starting solids), but it is not consistent and sometimes she still wakes up in the middle of the night to eat.

DH and I want to have another baby to be close in age to Hannah. So while we are not actively TTC which is kinda hard without an AF anyway, we have decided to just not prevent it from happening. We have not dtd much since Hannah has been born, the first 2 times we tried it was very uncomfy for me and with me working full-time, pumping, breastfeeding, and taking care of her everyday (DH works until 10pm or later every night) I am constantly exhausted and never in the mood to dtd anyway (especially since the first couple times it kinda hurt). I have had a very low libido, is this common while breastfeeding? However, I have notice recently though that my libido is increasing and so I was wondering if that is a sign that I could be Oing soon or have already O'd?

[Martha83]

I can't answer much of that as my LO is almost a year old and AF is still gone. But I knwo the first few times (like a handful of times? ) it did hurt to dtd...but it eventually gets back to normal, at least it always has for me.

I rarely am "horny" LOL....but will decide it's been long enough! ROFL...so I make myself in the mood...works for us..he knows nothing different and so he doens't feel bad or neglected or like I dont want him lol....

GOOD LUCK TTC! We are in the same boat...not preventing...but not trying....ideally I'd not get pregnant for another 6 months at least but will welcome it before then!

[wishfulgal]

Hmmm to answer your 1st question about when AF usually returns~ it's all across the board. I have a friend who was EBF with both of her kids and got AF back at about 2-3 months PP. On the other hand, my son has been sleeping through the night since he was 5 weeks old, has been having solids since 4 months and at 8 months PP I still don't have AF back. There are a few supplements you can take while BFing that *sometimes* can encourage getting AF/your fertility back: Vitamin B6 and Vitex. I've been taking B6 for 3 months with no results and I haven't tried Vitex yet b/c I've heard it can sometimes affect your supply. I'm thinking of trying the Vitex soon b/c otherwise I'm probably going to end up weaning anyway. We really want another baby close in age to our son, and it seems unlikely that I'm going to be able to conceive as long as I'm nursing (or at least not as soon as I'd like)

About the libido, BFing can definitely affect it and I'm experiencing that as well. I've had times of increased libido, but still haven't ovulated.....so I'm not sure if that is a sign of ovulation or not.

Good luck!

[lindsayb63]

I was never one to have high libido but I've had very little since giving birth. I attribute it to the non-sleeping, working full-time, BFing/pumping stuff...