Breast feeding question. Help baby very unsettled before my period!!!!!!!!!?

Question

My son is 4 months old and my cycle has returned quickly. When he was 9 weeks old I got my first period and now the day before and the first day of my period he is so unsettled. I've had 3 periods, and each time this has happened. Has anyone else experienced this? What could it be?

i'm exclusively BF, no solids, no water and around the clock. Only 1 break of about 6 hours at night as bubby sleeps well.

I love feeding my bubby and I do not want to stop. I'm just interested as to why Marley is so unsettled around this time.

Answer 1

Hi Sweetie,
Rest assured that your baby is not starting to wean himself if he is only four months old! Now if he was closer to 12 months old that might be possible but no baby wants to be weaned at only 4 months old, he really needs the incredible, wonderful qualities of your breastmilk for a long time yet!
I am really puzzled at to why your periods would return so quickly. As long as you are totally breastfeeding your baby it is very unusual for you to have a period before your baby is 6 months old. Have you added solid foods too soon? Are you seperated from your baby for some reason for too long? Is someone giving him an occassional bottle? All of these things can interfer with your milk supply and cause your hormones to be "off" a bit. This can cause your periods to return earlier than they normaly would. Having a period when your breastfed baby is only 9 weeks old is truly unusual. From the book, "Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing" it says that "only an exceptional few will experience a return (of menses) before 6 months postpartum". The fact that you have had three periods since you had your baby is very odd. Even if you were not breastfeeding it would be unusual for your periods to have resumed so quickly, but for a breastfeeding mother it is very strange. One of the things I would do would be to try to find out why breastfeeding is not supressing your menstrual cycle. In the four years that I breastfed I only had a handful of periods. I never had one before 6 months and that was usually around the time I was starting to add a bit of solid food. The first thing you should do is to find out why you are having your periods to begin with.
Having said all that does not answer your question tho does it? Women used to be told to expect their baby to object to nursing while they were having their periods. It was said that your period caused the milk to taste odd to the baby. That is pretty much considered to be an "old wives tale" at this point in time. In fact you will be hard pressed to find any mention of it in the prominent books on breastfeeding. There is nothing about it in the book published by the La Leche League, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". As you probably know the La Leche League is considered the foremost authority on breastfeeding in this country if not the world. I think it would be safe to say that there is no reason why your baby would be "unsettled" as you say before your period. I do suppose that the hormones that you create could have an effect. I breastfed all four of my babies until they were well over 1 year old and while I did eventually have periods toward the end of that time I never noticed any reaction from my babies. They nursed just as happily as always. I would pose the question to other breastfeeding mothers at one of the wonderful message boards that out there on the net and see what answers you get. I never heard of a mother who had a problem of this sort but that does not mean that someone else would not be able to identify with your situation. Contact LLL if you would like, they do have a website. I am sure you could find someone who would have the answer to your question.
My answer would be just to nurse him as usual and try not to let your own tension about it be conveyed to the baby. Keep things as normal as possible during this time. Maybe it is nothing more than the baby reacting to your PMS if you have it. I just don't know.
Most important of all do not let it interfer with your nursing relationship with your baby! He is much too young to lose the health and the emotional benefits of your fantastic breastmilk! He really needs your especially during the next few months so that he can continue to be a happy, healthy baby. You are giving him important immunities against many childhood diseases, of course I am sure you know that.
Treasure this time that the two of you are still a nursing couple. It will be over all too soon. Do not let anything get in the way of that. He needs your breastmilk now as much as he did when he was a tiny infant. If you can continue to nurse him until he is 1 year old, or longer it will be wonderful for him and for you.
Be sure when you are accepting advice from another mother that she is a breastfeeding mother, other wise her advice will not be useful to you. It takes another breastfeeding mother to really understand what you are feeling and what you are going thru. Some of the advice that you get from bottlefeeding mothers is just not helpful to those of us who are breastfeeding. The needs of breastfed mothers (and babies!) are different and tho the advice may be well intentioned it is often not condusive to successful breastfeeding.
Love and Blessings
Lady Trinity~

Answer 2

There are a couple of reasons that he may be reacting this way, the hormone shift could reduce your milk supply or the ease with which it flows a bit, the shift could change the flavor slightly, or a change in mood and the way you smell may make him a little fussy. There are other, less obvious things, that could be the problem. Do you find yourself craving salty things just before your period? Or other foods? These may change the water content and flavor and can cause him to be fussy. This reaction can be common, not that hearing that will help you much. The best thing for you to do to fix it is pay attention to what you are eating during that time and how your mood seems to be. Drink a little extra water just before and during your period and if you feel a little cranky yourself (as we are sometimes prone to) then fake the feeling of cheerfulness when it is time to feed, change and care for the baby. If you are watching what you eat, and there really isn't a change in mood, and it happens anyway, talk to his doctor or yours, at least it will make you feel better. Good luck and best wishes.

Edit: My periods returned when my babies were 6 weeks old despite exclusive nursing, it usually means that you are not only rather fertile but have strong hormones too. I would wager you probably had morning sickness that was fairly intense in early pregnancy as well. There isn't anything wrong with you or the baby, and I agree that taking advice from mothers who haven't breastfed really won't help all that much.

Answer 3

Baby Fussing At Breast

Answer 4

The flavor of your milk may be slightly changed by the hormones or your supply may take a very small dip during this time, and then correct itself within a day or two. This is very normal, and won't hurt your baby at all. Try eating a mild galactogogue (milk stimulant) like oatmeal during this time; it could give your supply that tiny boost that will keep you baby from getting so fussy.

He may also be sensing your own shift in moods. If you are very emotional during your menstrual cycle, he could be picking up on that!

Keep up the good work!

Answer 5

If she's chuffed while you're retaining her then carry her. At 10 weeks old she should not be estimated to be left by myself and be advantageous, she has no concept on the thank you to self soothe yet. And, quite, you may desire to no longer pass away her to "cry and cry". She's nonetheless adjusting to her new ecosystem and all she quite knows is you and your husband and you 2 are what comforts her. Our son for the 1st 4 months could cry and scream from 7 PM to eight PM each night. definite, some nights we mandatory to place him in his crib and walk away yet we in no way did. My husband sat in his recliner and rocked Noah for that entire hour. That replaced into the only ingredient that helped. Your daughter gets out of this area yet for now delight in the hugging time. It is quite no longer long earlier she's too busy exploring to compliment to be held like this.

Answer 6

I read somewhere that your supply decreases temporarily before your cycle. Maybe he's trying to rebuild it if that's the problem.

Answer 7

Interesting topic!

Answer 8

could be a change in hormones.

well on the bright side, you can now tell when you are going to start....lol...

Answer 9

i never experienced this, but a friend of mine did, the baby was funny with feeding when she had her period. very strange but also apparently common. she asked her doc who said there is nothing much you can do! it is sometimes the start of baby weaning themselves.