# 2 Baby???

YES IT IS!!! This is how I got my third child, you can definitely get pregnant while breastfeeding.GOOD LUCK to you!

Be prepared for your milk to dry up, it's very common, although doesn't happen to everyone, most can't breastfeed and be pregnant for very long.

It is very possible to get pregnant while nursing. You can ovulate but not have your period. It would just depend on the woman though if you are ovulating. Jackie B asked the same question a few wks back on 5/9/08, look back at her responses. That should be helpful for you. Good luck.

I know two women who weren't planning to have another so soon but got pregnant before they got their period. So yes, it's quite possible! Good luck!

For me, when I started feeding my babies solid food, so that they were drinking less breastmilk, that was when my periods began again. This drop in milk production was the tipping point for my body for the hormones to menstruate to be stronger that the hormones to lactate. This is fairly common so it may be this way for you. Also, the one time I did get pregnant while nursing, I was able to continue nursing while being pregnant. But you have to be super vigilant about nutrition, because your body can actually deprive the fetus of nutrients if they are being used for you and for your breastmilk. You have to eat right, and eat enough to nourish three people. Best of luck with your plans!

yes. even if you're not bleeding, you can still ovulate.

I personally think you should wait before starting for #2. You'll understand what I mean once #1 is mobile. I also don't understand wanting more than 2 kids. With two kids and two parents you can do one on one defense. Once it's more than 2 kids you have to do zone defense. But that's none of my business. If you want to have #2 --- just "DO it!" It's possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding. As far as the period goes --- I don't know. Talk to your OB/GYN about family planning.

Hello J.,
I had a 10 month old, was breastfeeding and he suddenly stopped nursing. I tried different things, a quieter room, a rocking chair etc. I quickly found out I was pregnant with his sister. Breast milk changes when the body becomes pregnant, I was told it is not as sweet. That was the end of breastfeeding for my first. I had started my period before getting pregnant with #2.

Good luck!

As others have said, it is possible to ovulate without having a period, in fact you always will ovulate before you have a period. In addition to the warnings about possibly not being able to continue breastfeeding your son if you get pregnant (although I am still breastfeeding and pregnant and know plenty of women who do, it's important to know the risk), you also need to remember your body needs time to rest between pregnancies. Talk to your OB or midwife about your plans and see what they think and if you're not ovulating, take that as a sign your body's not ready yet. Good luck when you and your body are ready and if you would like a doula, check out my website www.birthfirstdoula.vpweb.com!

There is a book that I read that would help you in this case. It goes over in depth how breastfeeding can delay ovulation. It delays it if you follow 7 principles. So on the flip side, if you wanted ovulation to come back, you can start dropping one of the seven. You can probably find the book at a library or at a La Leche League library. (Just go to a La Leche meeting to borrow a book.)

Here's the book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Natural-Child-Spacing...

I see you got a lot of responses already, so I'll try not to repeat. My two are 17months apart, I got pregnant while breastfeeding, and my milk supply dried up soon after, so I nursed my first for 9 months. I have a friend who was nursing two at once - her newborn, and still nursing her two year old as well! So yes, it's obviously possible!

As for having two close together, I love it! Not to say it's not a lot of work sometimes, but it is so fun to watch them play together, and YES, it's possible to still bond with both of them! In some developmental classes that I did, I remember learning that kids adjust better to a new sibling before age two, or after age 5. Before two, they are still forming their world view and their place in the family, so they adjust pretty well. And after age 5, they are old enough to understand reason and explanations. Those in between ages can be harder to adjust. These are only generalizations, but it seems to make sense.

Good luck!

I have heard that waiting at least 6 months to try to concieve is going to be easier. That way there is time for the lining in your uterus to build up to support a healthy pregnancy. I know that it is a little more diffficult to concieve while breastfeeding, but possible. It is common for you breast milk levels to drop when you do become pregnant. Your body is focused on the fetus rather than milk production. There is an awesome herbal supplement called more milk two from Motherlove that is formulated to boost milk supply while pregnant. www.motherlove.com Good luck and congratulations on the first one and all the ones to come.

If you haven't had your period again it is possible--but unlikely--you have ovulated yet. Enjoy this break. It is not unusual for it to take a while for your period to return.

One theory is that this natural break from fertility allows a woman to recuperate from pregnancy, which is a real stress on the body. This recuperation time can be beneficial to both mother and to the next pregnancy.

You are also giving your first baby great health benefits by breastfeeding him. You already know this, I'm sure. It is standard in many parts of the developed world to breastfeed for about a year, much longer in undeveloped areas.

That said, I do not know your age or family history and perhaps you are concerned about the number of child bearing years that you have left. If this is the case, perhaps there is a good argument for weaning so that you can become fertile again as soon as possible. If not, there are a number of good arguments for waiting at least a year to do so.

On the personal side, I easily conceived a child while breastfeeding. However, my first was much older than yours at the time.

Best of luck on your bountiful family!

Much depends on your body's rhythms, but it is definitely possible to conceive while breastfeeding and before your cycle makes an appearance. From what I've read, about 10% of women do not get a "warning period" before fertility returns. And two of my friends, one whose boys are only 12 months apart, and one whose girls are 15 months apart, are proof that it is possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding and period free.

Still, if you have to choose between closely spaced babies and breastfeeding, I hope that you will choose breastfeeding for at least the first year. It is one of the best gifts you can give to your children. So if it is working for you (and I do understand that it doesn't work for all women) I encourage you to keep on breastfeeding.

First off you can ovulate without having your period. I was exclusively breastfeeding my son when I didn't think I was ovualting yet and got pregnant with baby #3 when my son was only 11 weeks old. You can buy the over the counter kits to tell you when you are ovulating, but you might also get your period back by when you want to start trying as well. My period started back with my first when she was 4.5 months and my third just this week and he is now three months old. I will offer you some advice though since my boys are 12.5 months apart- give yourself some time with your baby now. Two babies is very hard and even talking to several mothers of multiples even harder than having twins. I would just tell you to wait a bit longer to enjoy your time with your little one because the moment you have more than one in the house, especially when they are both babies, you don't get one on one time with them again, no matter how hard you try. And she is right I had to stop breastfeeding #2 at 6 months because my milk dried up putting everything to the new baby inside.

Why do you want to have children to close together? Just wondering. Yes, you can conceive if you have not had your period and still breastfeeding. If you give your baby only breast milk, your period will be delayed. I breast feed my daughter for year and did not get my period back until she was over six months old. When you begin giving your son solid foods and less breast milk....then your body begins to ovulate even before you have your period. Talk with your doctor for more advice.

Hi. I found when I wasn't nursing as much through the night that I did eventually get my period. We had our 2nd 16 months after our first.

Good luck!

J. G.

Why are you in such a hurry to have another baby? I know it is none of our business, but why not enjoy the baby you have for a while and let your body recover from having the first baby. And your milk supply is affected(decreases)when pregnant. Are you ready to cut down or stop Breastfeeding? My first two children are 2 1/2 years and that is perfect (for me) my middle and last are only 18 month and WOW that is hard. He was also an oops while breasst feeding (so yes it CAN happen whie breast feeding). I was just getting to enjoy my middle child and see her personality come out and I had another baby to care for and I just couldn't bond the way I really wanted to with either of them, and the middle didn't understand why she wasn't the center of my attention. But it is your choice, whatever you decide to do...good luck.

J., I'm not sure WHY exactly you want to have another baby so quickly, but to answer your question, Yes, it is possible.

Please consider all of the ramifications of choosing to conceive so early though. The second pregnancy is not the same as the first. You have another person to take care of, so naps or bed rest are a bit more complicated.

Much more importantly though, you are breastfeeding your little one--do you plan to tantum nurse (breastfeed both babies) or are you going to take that away from your first baby? This is such a special and wonderful time for you and your baby now, you'll never ever gain anything like it again, are you sure you want to compromise/sacrifice it so early?

Have you put much thought into the demand on your body to create a second baby before your body has had the actual time to heal that it really needs? It's not about if your CAN get pregnant or if your awesome enough to love and provide for more than one baby, I'd bet you're amazing. Your body is very, very busy rebuilding, healing, and providing the most complete and complex nutrition source your baby needs. Purposely adding the strain of constructing another human body, sustaining it with nutrition that you're body needs for strength and your baby now needs might not actually be the best idea YET.

Having children close together is nice and has benefits; I, myself have children very close. Each pregnancy pulls from your resources and stores of minerals and nutrients, the more you pile on the less time you have to replenish and fortify yourself for the quality you and your children deserve. This also includes emotional health and balance, each additional child--especially in the early years--adds exponetial stresses both good and bad. Try to keep it all into perspective when planning--it won't be all bad and it won't all be perfectly blissful.

Why not wait until your son has had a full year with you just focusing on him, where he gets to be your "baby" until his birthday, at least, without having to share his first with your pregnancy? You cannot gaurantee you're going to have a perfect and easy gestation and let me tell you from experience it SUCKS to miss out on major milestones because you're in bed to keep a new little one baking.

I am not trying to talk you out of your decision, I just hope to raise some things for you to consider and weigh just in case these things haven't been brought up.

If you are determined that this is the only way life will be right for you, I plead with you to focus intently and seriously on making absolute sure you are getting the most abundantly nutritious diet possible, supplement your diet with HIGH quality multivitamins such as SHAKLEE, drink only pure fruit/veggie drinks and water, be strict in getting the proper amount of rest each and every night without making your baby pay a price of losing time or experiences with you he'd have without you trying to conceive.

I'm sure you are a fabulous Mom who just LOVES being a Mommy. (obviously) You don't have to cram it all together and wear yourself out though. :o)

Anyway, I wish you all the best--whatever form that takes.

Yes yes yes! I'm sure not for all but my sister-in-law just got pregnant in the same situation as you.

Hi J., I got pregnant when my first was 7 months old. He quit nursing, and I 'made' him continue nursing anyway. When he started biting me, I said, "Okay you want to stop! We'll stop!" And I found out shortly after that I was pregnant. I did not have a period, but I think I spotted for a couple of days that month (which was normal for me because I had spotted every couple of months since he was born). I love having my boys so close in age. It was difficult at first, but now they are so close (they are 2 1/2 and 1). I would't have it any other way! May many more Blessings be added to you! =) ~S.~ P.S. Get 2 baby carriers! I wore my older son on my back in an Ergo baby carrier, and I wore my younger son on my front in a Moby wrap--at the same time. Worked great! And I had my hands free! =)www.ergobabycarrier.com www.mobywrap.com

This is one of those things that varies greatly from woman to woman. I have friends that have had an "oops" baby while nursing, before they get their period, and also friends that don't seem to be able to get pregnant until after they wean. So, it depend a lot on you, your activity level, your eating habits, and your body fat percentage. Good luck getting pregnant, but I would think long and hard before ending a nursing relationship in order to try to conceive.

I did not breastfeed but did get pregnant with both of my children while not having periods-so yes,you can ovulate while not menstrating!

It is possible, though not common, to ovulate and conceive before you have your first period after the birth of your previous child. What I don't understand is why you would want to! Just enjoy the baby that you have, I feel that it is a bad idea to rob your child of their babyhood by having another baby so quickly. Not to mention the fact that you may still be nutritionally depleted from your previous pregnancy, which is not something that you can determine from body weight. I would recomend waiting a while and not stressing too much over when you will have your next baby, just take good care of yourself physically and emotionally so that you can be truely ready to have another baby when the time is right. Of course the decision of whether and when to have another child is something that is deeply personal and should be given a lot of thought by you and your spouse. Good luck with whatever course of action you choose.

i went 4 yrs without a period because of either being pregnant or breastfeeding. as soon as i started weaning my first, i became pregnant. i just started spacing the nursing times a little farther apart each day until i was down to the two that were most important to him (afternoon nap time and bedtime). then i think the flavor of my milk was changed by the pregnancy hormones because he started only nursing a few minutes, looking at my breast funny, and getting down to play or get a different snack. my milk supply was still pretty good, so i know it wasn't for lack of milk. but it was fine with me because i was ready to stop nursing him. both of my kids took about 2 months to wean this way and my period returned 2 months after the second was weaned. but i probably could have gotten pregnant sooner if i'd wanted to. so from my experience, i would not try for a pregnancy until you are ready to wean the first baby.

It is definately possible to concieve while you are breastfeeding, even if you don't have your period. I got pregnat with my fourth baby while I was still breastfeeding my third, and my period hadn't returned between the two pregnancies. For me it took a little longer to become aware that I was expecting again, and figuring a due date was a little more tricky, because there was no last period to determine it from.

Four to six is where I'm aiming, too! I know you've got a lot of advice, but I'll say one thing--it depends on your particular body. I haven't taken birth control since before my first. They are all about 2 years apart and I've nursed them all a year. I didn't get my period back until I had COMPLETELY stopped nursing and then it was immediate. So, you may have to decide which takes priority: nursing #1 or expecting #2. Good luck!