[amyjohns]

"Hi, I'm currently nursing my 10 month old, although I've gone down to only 4 feedings per day (roughly 5 hours apart). My period has not returned but I am very anxious to get pregnant again. Aside from stopping nursing completely, is there anything I can do to restart my monthly cycle or speed up fertility? Could I do a progesterone challenge as I have in the past to restart my period? Thank you!"

[DoulaLC]

How long is your baby at the breast during each feed? Sometimes cutting the amount of time at the breast, even for just one or two sessions, can be enough to foster change. Other women find cutting down one extra feed each day does the trick. It varies from person to person, so it really is a matter of trying something for a bit and see if it is enough for your cycles to return. You certainly do not have to stop nursing completely.

I would try either cutting out one more feed at the breast each day, or shorten the duration at the breast for a couple of them, or both even, and see what results you get.

You could try a progesterone challenge, it won't be an issue with breastfeeding at this stage, but it is more for getting periods going again, which does not necessarily equate with ovulating..
Have you had any feelings as though your period is getting ready to start? Sometimes that is a sign that your cycles are preparing to get going again.

[amyjohns]

Thank you for your response! She's nursing for about 5 min on each side. That's signifcantly less than it used to be but I have no idea how average or "normal" that amount of time is. I will take your suggestion of trying to reduce just a little more.

I have no signs at all of starting my period any time soon and my periods were very irregular before I got pregnant with her (we had some fertility issues), which is why I'm worried. But I guess I need to let nature take its course! Thanks again!

[DoulaLC]

You may very well run into fertility issues again then. Was anything specific determined? Were fertility treatments, something like Clomid, necessary?