could I be pregnant?

DD is nearly 19 months old, and still breastfeeds A LOT. Because of this I
didn't have a period for a long time, and thought about night weaning her to
try to increase the chances of getting it back so we could try for another
kid. I didn't however, as I suddenley got it, lasted 5 days, was quite
normal (as in prepregnancy).
Now it's 5 and a half weeks later (since the last day) and nothing. What
are the chances I could be pregnant? Or is it just my system taking it's
time to get back to normal? (I realise no one can tell me for sure!!)
I kind of have symptoms but they can all be explained away - tiredness -
well DD still wakes up in the night several times, sore breasts - DD again.
I feel a bit sick here and there, but there is a flu that has been going
around, so I wouldn't really count that.
So - really what are the chances? We're on a tight budget, so I'm not keen
to go out and get a pg test unless there is a good chance it will show up
positive - and really, time will prove one way or another anyway - haha, but
I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts.
Thanks

Linda schrieb:
DD is nearly 19 months old, and still breastfeeds A LOT. Because of this I
didn't have a period for a long time, and thought about night weaning her to
try to increase the chances of getting it back so we could try for another
kid. I didn't however, as I suddenley got it, lasted 5 days, was quite
normal (as in prepregnancy).
Now it's 5 and a half weeks later (since the last day) and nothing. What
are the chances I could be pregnant? Or is it just my system taking it's
time to get back to normal? (I realise no one can tell me for sure!!)
I kind of have symptoms but they can all be explained away - tiredness -
well DD still wakes up in the night several times, sore breasts - DD again.
I feel a bit sick here and there, but there is a flu that has been going
around, so I wouldn't really count that.
So - really what are the chances? We're on a tight budget, so I'm not keen
to go out and get a pg test unless there is a good chance it will show up
positive - and really, time will prove one way or another anyway - haha, but
I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts.
Thanks



After I had Sam I had my period spontaneously about 3 or 4 times.
Usually because of stress. The first time I had it was when he was about
6-7 months old, then about 3 months later, and once more when he was
just over a year old, which was when I went ahead and got the Mirena
(IUD) inserted.
I remember panicking after not getting a period regularly and I did take
a pregnancy test at one point, which of course turned out negative.

If I remember correctly, and I might not, in the States there's planned
parenthood and they do pregnancy tests for free? Honestly I'm not sure
about this, but I think it might be worth checking out. Plus, if you're
on a tight budget that doesn't allow you to "splurge" on a pregnancy
test, I would really look into contraception because a baby will cost
you more than $12. (Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm pregnant
and a single mom and I don't think a budget gets much tighter, I'm just
lucky there's some financial help I can apply for and I have friends who
have already given me a lot of baby stuff. But I'm due in less than 20
days and I haven't got money for a car seat and it freaks me out! I
really don't wish this on anyone, because babies are so precious and
they just deserve better than freaked out parents because of a tight
budget...)


cu
nicole

"NL" wrote in message
...
Linda schrieb:
DD is nearly 19 months old, and still breastfeeds A LOT. Because of this
I didn't have a period for a long time, and thought about night weaning
her to try to increase the chances of getting it back so we could try for
another kid. I didn't however, as I suddenley got it, lasted 5 days, was
quite normal (as in prepregnancy).
Now it's 5 and a half weeks later (since the last day) and nothing. What
are the chances I could be pregnant? Or is it just my system taking it's
time to get back to normal? (I realise no one can tell me for sure!!)
I kind of have symptoms but they can all be explained away - tiredness -
well DD still wakes up in the night several times, sore breasts - DD
again. I feel a bit sick here and there, but there is a flu that has been
going around, so I wouldn't really count that.
So - really what are the chances? We're on a tight budget, so I'm not
keen to go out and get a pg test unless there is a good chance it will
show up positive - and really, time will prove one way or another
anyway - haha, but I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts.
Thanks



After I had Sam I had my period spontaneously about 3 or 4 times. Usually
because of stress. The first time I had it was when he was about 6-7
months old, then about 3 months later, and once more when he was just over
a year old, which was when I went ahead and got the Mirena (IUD) inserted.
I remember panicking after not getting a period regularly and I did take a
pregnancy test at one point, which of course turned out negative.

If I remember correctly, and I might not, in the States there's planned
parenthood and they do pregnancy tests for free? Honestly I'm not sure
about this, but I think it might be worth checking out. Plus, if you're on
a tight budget that doesn't allow you to "splurge" on a pregnancy test, I
would really look into contraception because a baby will cost you more
than $12. (Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm pregnant and a single
mom and I don't think a budget gets much tighter, I'm just lucky there's
some financial help I can apply for and I have friends who have already
given me a lot of baby stuff. But I'm due in less than 20 days and I
haven't got money for a car seat and it freaks me out! I really don't wish
this on anyone, because babies are so precious and they just deserve
better than freaked out parents because of a tight budget...)


cu
nicole

Hi Nicole, thanks for your reply. I'm not in the states, I'm in Australia,
and to my knowledge there is nothing free for tests etc around here after
you are over the age of 25. I completely understand where you are coming
from when you are saying about the cost, but perhaps I should be a bit
clearer. We are on a tight budget - but we can afford the things we need,
just not unneccessary things - and we have a savings account for our kid (s)
etc for things they need which are unexpected etc. I just don't want to
waste money (even small amounts) on things we don't need to buy - as I
said - I'll know one way or another eventually anyway. I hope this makes
sense.

I guess what I was really wondering if at 19 months pp would it normally
still take a while for cycles to become regular again, or if regardless of
how long it's been since you had the kid, periods would still be eratic for
a while. I know - everyone is different, and no one is going to have the
magic answer - was just looking for a bit of feedback from people's
experiences and what is "probable".

Good luck with everything - I hope it goes well for you and that you get
the other things you need.

there really is no way of knowing and the irony is, that even if you got
a test now and it was negative, you still could be pregnant, just with a
later ovulation! I got my cycle back earlyish first time around due to
having to supplement (4mth old still under 10lb), then my next couple of
cycles were about 7 weeks long. One time I did eventually get DH to buy
a pregnancy test, but ended up calling him before he got home to say I
didn't need it, so he took it back!

You're in a no win situation, if at any point your period hasn't
arrived, but you test negative, it could still be a late ovulation and
thus too early to test positive! Write down the day your period started,
then if you can remember, write down when you had unprotected sex, if
you had any longish periods of time when none occurred, you might be
able to work out when you could have got pregnant and wait until at
least 2 weeks after that time to test.

Personally, I'd try and put this out of your mind until it's 8 weeks
since your LMP, I reckon pregnancy symptoms get worse if you actually
know you are pregnant! I suspected but didn't know with my DD, had
negative tests and didn't want to spend any more money! Reflecting back,
I did have symptoms, but I didn't really notice them because I wasn't
looking for them, but as soon as I knew, I was alert to them which
seemed to make it worse!

Cheers
Anne

Hi Nicole, thanks for your reply. I'm not in the states, I'm in Australia,
and to my knowledge there is nothing free for tests etc around here after
you are over the age of 25. I completely understand where you are coming
from when you are saying about the cost, but perhaps I should be a bit
clearer. We are on a tight budget - but we can afford the things we need,
just not unneccessary things - and we have a savings account for our kid (s)
etc for things they need which are unexpected etc. I just don't want to
waste money (even small amounts) on things we don't need to buy - as I
said - I'll know one way or another eventually anyway. I hope this makes
sense.

what happens if you go to the doctor and say "I think I'm pregnant", I'm
not sure how the system works in Australia, do you pay a fee each time?
do you need to go for another reason? then you could say you thought you
were, chances are, they would test there and then, not send you to buy a
test.

I guess what I was really wondering if at 19 months pp would it normally
still take a while for cycles to become regular again, or if regardless of
how long it's been since you had the kid, periods would still be eratic for
a while. I know - everyone is different, and no one is going to have the
magic answer - was just looking for a bit of feedback from people's
experiences and what is "probable".

there really is no one answer, if you're having sex, you can get
pregnant, nothing is 100%, even sterilisation! If you're not using
anything then the chances go up the longer you are postpartum, as I said
in my other message, as long as it's less than 2 weeks from when you
last had sex, if a test shows up negative, you still could be pregnant.
The longer you wait, if still no period, the higher the chances get, but
you'll hopefully be aware of symptoms, so you'd be pretty sure either
way without testing!

Cheers
Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:

what happens if you go to the doctor and say "I think I'm pregnant", I'm
not sure how the system works in Australia, do you pay a fee each time?
do you need to go for another reason? then you could say you thought you
were, chances are, they would test there and then, not send you to buy a
test.

Don't know how it works in Australia, but in the UK we wouldn't
routinely test then and there unless there was a medical reason for
wanting to know right then whether the woman was pregnant. (If a woman
wanted a free test we'd send it off to the lab, which would take several
days.)


All the best,

Sarah
--
http://www.goodenoughmummy.typepad.com

"That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be" - P. C. Hodgell

Linda schrieb:

Hi Nicole, thanks for your reply. I'm not in the states, I'm in Australia,

Cool! I lived in Melbourne as an exchange student for a while when I was
a teenager. I returned a few times to visit friends and saw a lot of the
country. I love Melbourne, and when I visited a friend in Hobart I fell
in love with all of Tasmania as well. I saw a lot in the week I spent
there. Totally beautiful!

and to my knowledge there is nothing free for tests etc around here after
you are over the age of 25. I completely understand where you are coming
from when you are saying about the cost, but perhaps I should be a bit
clearer. We are on a tight budget - but we can afford the things we need,
just not unneccessary things - and we have a savings account for our kid (s)
etc for things they need which are unexpected etc. I just don't want to
waste money (even small amounts) on things we don't need to buy - as I
said - I'll know one way or another eventually anyway. I hope this makes
sense.

It makes total sense. Sam has a savings account and his great granddad
puts in 50Euros every month, so theoretically I could borrow money from
there (I've done it when both my washer and dryer died a few months
back, there was no way I could pay for them out of my regular
accounts... So that's why I don't want to borrow money from him again,
I'm paying it back little by little). I'm in the same kind of situation
I guess. Day to day stuff isn't usually an issue, but bigger things,
like 100¤ for a car seat, which I just haven't been able to save up for
because of the aforementioned washer and dryer situation, those make me
struggle...
Anyway, I can totally understand about not wanting to spend the extra
money if you can avoid it.

I guess what I was really wondering if at 19 months pp would it normally
still take a while for cycles to become regular again, or if regardless of
how long it's been since you had the kid, periods would still be eratic for
a while. I know - everyone is different, and no one is going to have the
magic answer - was just looking for a bit of feedback from people's
experiences and what is "probable".

I think no matter when the period returns it will be irregular for a bit
until your hormones even out again.

Good luck with everything - I hope it goes well for you and that you get
the other things you need.

Thank you. I have an appointment with "Pro Familia" next Friday and they
may or may not be able to grant some financial help from a big german
fund that's specifically for poor(er) mothers and children. So I'm kind
of hoping it'll all work itself out, even though I was hoping to avoid
getting financial help.

take care!
Nicole

There is really no way of answering this with any certainy, as you
have already said. It is possible that you are indeed pregnant and
then again it is possible that you are not. Every woman's body reacts
differently to breastfeeding, much as it does when when one stops
taking birth control after an extended period of time. I know of
people who started having periods after just a few months of delivery
although breastfeeding was well established and ongoing and it took a
number of months before they became regular. As for me, I started
having mine after about 9 months of breastfeeding my first child and
my cycles were regular right from the start -- as if they had never
stopped. And the same thing rang true with my second child. So from my
own experience, I would say yes it is very possible. If you do not
want to spend the money on a test then I would suggest that you take
care of yourself in the event that you are pregnant, though I don't
doubt that you already do considering you are still nursing. If it is
a matter of going on birth control right now or not then the only
thing you can do is get a pregnancy test done beforehand to ensure
that all is well. Good luck.

-Jen

Hi all, thanks for your replies. In Australia to see a GP some of the bill
is covered by the governement health system, but in most places you still
have about a 10-30% gap to pay, plus any extra tests etc (such as pregnancy
tests). Some places will bulk bill, meaning you don't have to pay a gap,
but none near me.
So for the moment I'll just sit and wait - and hope, but not be too excited
just yet.

"Linda" wrote in message
...
DD is nearly 19 months old, and still breastfeeds A LOT. Because of this
I didn't have a period for a long time, and thought about night weaning
her to try to increase the chances of getting it back so we could try for
another kid. I didn't however, as I suddenley got it, lasted 5 days, was
quite normal (as in prepregnancy).
Now it's 5 and a half weeks later (since the last day) and nothing. What
are the chances I could be pregnant? Or is it just my system taking it's
time to get back to normal? (I realise no one can tell me for sure!!)
I kind of have symptoms but they can all be explained away - tiredness -
well DD still wakes up in the night several times, sore breasts - DD
again. I feel a bit sick here and there, but there is a flu that has been
going around, so I wouldn't really count that.
So - really what are the chances? We're on a tight budget, so I'm not
keen to go out and get a pg test unless there is a good chance it will
show up positive - and really, time will prove one way or another anyway -
haha, but I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts.

Well I think the chances of being pg are pretty good.

Let us know how it turns out!


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06