Breastfeeding and no menstration

[SamHolt]

Hi there,
I would really like to know if it is normal to not have started menstrating after 11 months of breastfeeding.
My baby who is now 11 months old seemed to wean himself, he had a cold and was very congested, blocked nose etc, so he wasn't able to suck as he could not breathe. He would just cry each time I tried to put him on the breast - so I reverted to formula feeding. I had planned to wean him by 1 year so that we could start trying for anther baby, so the timing worked out okay and he is doing well, I am missing the breastfeeding relationship but am looking forward to falling pregnant again.
I would like to know when I should expect my period to return?
Thank you in advance.
Sam

[nacha]

my cycle did not return until about 11 months. i think is pretty normal not to have a cycle while nursing...

[KerryS]

Yes, it's normal. With my first two, my periods didn't return until 15 months and 22 months, respectively. If you're no longer breastfeeding, you should expect your period to return in the next few months.

[PghMom]

I have breastfed my baby exclusively from birth and my period returned at 5 months. I know this is shorter than the average - just wanted to throw it out there so moms know that breastfeeding is not necessarily soundproof birth control :) I know a couple of women who got pregnant before their periods ever came back - during their first ovulation cycle. Luckily, they wanted their children close together and were happy with the surprise of having 2 children under 2 :)

[maddymomboo]

I have am still breastfeeding my baby who is 17 months old and just last month started my period.

[bronco4grl]

My period did not return until 18 mon.; when I stopped pumping.

[MysticMagic]

I've not had a period since September 2007! I'm still nursing my nearly 2 year old :)

Whilst breastfeeding can stop ovulation and conception, it's not guaranteed for all.

Emma

[Marysmom]

I know I'm late to the party...I'm one of those mom's whose period was absent as long as I was nursing. With my son, that was 27 months.

[fredned1]

Ugh! So jealous of all you moms who still don't have a period! I exclusively breastfed my son from birth, no bottles or formula at all, and my period came back at six months. I am doing extended nursing now and get a regular period every month.

[joseiha]

im with u fredned1... ebf, no artificial nipples at all and he still doesnt sleep thru the night at 9.5 mnths. my period came back at 6 mnths too

[Peanut1207]

My baby was 15 months old when my period returned. I nightweaned him at 13 months but still kept nursing pretty frequently during the day until 18 months, then slowly cut down on those. I got pregnant when he was 22 months. Best wishes!

[emmama80]

Mine returned at 10 months

[sarahknoes]

yeah, it took about 8 months after my first born to start up again!

[tonimk19]

AF returned at 21 months with DD1. Still no AF with DD2 at 7 months...

[Samantha234]

With my first son that I only breastfed for 6 weeks while suplementing formula my cycles returned the week after my post partum bleeding stopped. With my second son that I am 100% breastfeeding my cycles still haven't returned and he's a little over 8 months old now. I had some bleeding at around 6 weeks old but that was when I had my IUD put in so I'm sure it was from that.

[reginakrys]

AF seems to come when I'm on contraceptives. I'm not sure if there's a connection, or if I'm just irregular for now.

AF first returned at 2 months when I started taking OCP. When I stopped, periods stopped also. Then just recently, I had myself injected. Then I had a period last month.

[BridgetC]

It is normal, especially if you are still night nursing as well as day. Some women find they get it back if they space night nursings out to 6 hours or more, while others don't get it back until they stop breastfeeding entirely.
I got mine back at about 19 months and my son still nurses about 4-5 times total in 24 hours.
It sometimes messes your cycle up a bit even once you get it back- some women get much heavier or lighter periods than before. It also makes the possibility of hyperovulation go up (because the hormones are still fluctuating and trying to sort themselves out)- if you get pregnant while still breastfeeding the likelihood of conceiving twins is about 15% higher than normal.

[rolienolie]

I got my first period at 17 months postpartum and didn't get my second until 22 months postpartum. That's all I have had and my son will be 2 this month.