Periods Still Not Back After 2 Years!

In regards to the infrequent periods, I read the "Taking charge of your fertility" book and was pregnant the very next cycle. I also took chlomid, but it sounds like your fertility (or lack thereof) is related to weening. I think you know the answer to that one!

I can only help with the periods, as I never breast feed my kids. It will be hard to concive another child but it can be done. I had three wonderful children and I can go 3 years without having a period. You may want to talk to your OBGYN about it, you could have cyst on your overies, which isnt a big deal. 100% common in women, but they just never know it. Which having cyst can make you not have a period. Wish you luck.

I'm not sure about your cycle(mine usually returns around 15 months while still breastfeeding) I do however have something for you to try to wean him! I just weaned my daughter last month (at 21 mo) and I never thought this would work! She also nursed at naptime and bedtime. If I wasn't there, she would go down for other people, so at bedtime, I started pretending to go "to the store" and let Dad put her down. I was stuck at naptime though, so I used a trick I remembered my sister using on her 3 year old. I put something nasty tasting (but edible!) on my nipple and when she asked to nurse, I told her it was yucky now. She of course wanted to try anyway, latched on, and immediately pulled away. I explained again that it was yucky now, but we could read lots of books and snuggle instead. She was amazingly okay with this! She asked again the next day and I repeated the mantra from the day before. It's been smooth sailing ever since. I'm sure it's different for every kid, but it never hurts to try! Also, my first daughter didn't like cows milk for the longest time; don't worry about it too much. The docs are usually more concerned when kids drink too much milk! He can meet all his calcium needs with yogurt and cheese. If you really want him drinking some milk, try adding just a smidge of ovaltine in the milk. It worked like a charm for my daughter and she has no problem drinking plain milk now.

I think that Anita has a wonderful idea about getting him to stop. My son would have breastfed until kindergarten, I think. My husband was not cooperative through the whole ordeal so I just put him in bed and let him cry it out. It lasted only one night though. It was traumatic for both of us!

Once you stop breastfeeding, your period comes back right away. Good luck! I got my son to drink Pediasure from a sippy cup.

I would HIGHLY recommend getting ahold of a book called "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler (see on http://tcoyf.com). I've seen this book for sale at both Barnes and Noble and Borders as well as Amazon.

It teaches you how to begin tracking you cycle by noticing your natural signs of fertility. Many women still ovulate somewhat regularly even though they are not having periods while nursing. Track for one cycle, take your chart into your doctor if it seems abnormal and ask him/her for help.

Your son is almost to the point where he doesn't need all the fat in his diet that he needed between birth and his second birthday. If he is on track growth-wise then I would start putting breastmilk in sippys slowly mixing then totally replacing it with rice or hemp milk. My daughter really likes when I mix hemp milk with orange juice and add a tiny bit of vanilla. It tastes just like a Julius. I agree with the other comment already made that milk is depended on too heavily in this country for it's "nutrients". Breastmilk far exceeds the nutritional content of any other milk you will encounter BUT at 2 years old, your son can easily get those same nutrients from food sources. Maybe he would prefer if you not replace the milk but you substitute it for something completely different, like a smoothie. It is also time that he learns to fall asleep on his own. Obviously he enjoys sucking himself to sleep so perhaps giving him a pacifier or introducing his thumb as a transitional tool might help. I would start with any daytime feedings and leave the night-time feeding the last one to cut. Good luck!

I would suggest you talk to your OBGYN about your concerns and get some ideas.
I do know that you can get pregnant while still breast feeding however it does effect your hormones.
I would say you need to give your son the gift of falling asleep himself and not use breast feeding as his pacifier or soother.

It seems from my friends it is the moms that have the tougher time weaning, he is almost 2 and doesn't need to be breast fed and if he does it to fall asleep he isn't learning to fall asleep himself. You can reduce feedings and finding other means to soothe him at bedtimes, music box, new stuffed friend but I personally would do it all at once and get it over with while getting him out of your bed. Make it a big deal to be a big boy, hold him, rock him but lay him down awake!!! Get him a big boy bed, let him pick out the sheets and so forth, give him a chart for every night he does well with a reward of what he likes.

It is never easy to transition a child, however you have to be willing to go through some tough nights, tears and all that comes with it. He won't be traumatized. Pump and offer only sippy cups of breast milk, or strawed cups.

He needs you to be okay with the changes and standing firm and it will be easier when your breasts dry up. He needs milk for the Calcium and Vitamin D. I think we hang on as we don't want to lose that baby connection but now you have a toddler that needs to gain some independence and learn to self soothe, sleep on his own, it is a gift you would be giving him.
Good luck, stand tough and realize it is a good thing you would be doing. Doing all this before a new baby comes into the family will help him adjust a lot better to that change too.

I responded to your other request but I thought of some other things. I forgot to mention that yes, my 17 mo old daughter is nursing. She nursing often during the day and doesn't nurse between bedtime and 5 am. (If she does wake up before that, I don't nurse her back to sleep.) My sister that I mentioned was not fertile until she weaned her son at 2 1/2 yrs. She was tracking her fertility and got pregnant right away once her fertility returned. One book I read, Natural Child Spacing, says that when a baby is nursed often, the woman gets her period back at 14 mos postpartum, on average.

Oh, one thing about switching to milk. I've heard that cow's milk (whole) is necessary as supplemental nutrition up to 2 years. After your son is 2, you don't have to worry so much about him getting whole milk.

As for weaning, I don't have personal experience but these are things I've heard. Concentrate on cutting out only one feeding at a time. The bedtime nursing is usually the hardest. Make sure to replace a nursing with some other form of interaction - hugging, reading a book, etc. Your son is verbal so talk about it a lot too - about why he can't nurse, say things like "milk is sleeping" if he wants to nurse at night. Good luck!

>weaning toddler
I had to wear a one-piece swimsuit under my clothes all the time when I was weaning my daughter so she couldn't find her snack.

>infrequent periods
Unexpectedly, Bikram (HOT) Yoga got my periods going again after having none for almost 3 years.

There's a hot yoga studio in Sandy and one in Sugarhouse. I just did the introductory month - special price for 1 month and you can go as many times during that month as you want. I think I went 4 times a week for 3 weeks. After that I had to stop....and got pregnant 2 weeks after that.

My sister has consistently had only two periods per year for a number of years. She now has four beautiful children, all of whose birthdays are either in February or August. Go for it.

I just reponded to your other request on having your period return. As for weaning... just do it slowly. Go down to 3 times a day, then 2, then 1. Then do it for 5 min. at a time, then 3, then 2.. etc. Pick your child's favorite time to nurse (at night, at morning.. whatever) and save this nurse time for the last one to go. I did this type of pattern and then my son would go a day or two between nursings. Then it was a week.. and then it was over. No big dramma (but he was 18 months and not as stubborn as he is now at 21 months). At 21 months you should also be able to discuss with the toddler that "nursing" (or whatever you call it) is going bye-bye and that he is a "big kid" now. My husband started to put my son to bed too that this changed routine was really helpful to drop the bedtime nursing. In the morning we still snuggle and he will occasionally talk about "nooing" and my "boos" but often he just wants to look or touch and then says "bye-bye". Honestly in the end, it was harder on me emotionally than on my boy. Good luck.. this is a hard one, but you can do it if you feel that the time is right for this next stage.

Your period probably won't return until after you wean your toddler. As long as you are nursing and you do not have a period, it is probably nothing to worry about. Once you wean, your period will return.

It is possible to get pregnant while nursing, but not probable. If you really want to get pregnant, you should wean your child, your period will return and you should be able to conceive.