I have PCOS and have probably never ovulated. Even with the highest levels of clomid given for 6 months, all of my blood tests came up negative for ovulation. I went through 3 different rounds of IVF and 2 clinics before we finally got fertilized embryos. That last round of IVF that finally worked was short protocol so we had to freeze all four of our embryos and do FETs. Our first FET was a success and resulted in my sweet Lucy in December of 2014. I always imagined that I would breastfeed for a year and just stop. I had no clue that it just isn't that simple. As a year got closer the thought of weaning her gave me some of the most anxiety of my life. We planned to go through IVF again when she was 18 months old but nursing was still so very important to her and such a huge part of our relationship. She was still nursing for every nap, bedtime, and every couple of hours during the night. I finally found this group and was introduced to the idea of lying to my clinic about weaning. It took some major convincing for my husband but it felt right in my gut so he trusted me. In the end I didn't even have to lie. My clinic never even asked if I was breastfeeding because they figured Lucy was way too old, I guess. I had not yet had a period, so I did lie to say that my period had returned but was very irregular. The doctor was eager to get the ball rolling so he ordered me some provera to jumpstart my period and get on their schedule. My clinic did end up ordering a test for prolactin levels prior to my cycle and my levels were too high. I was so upset that I'd been found out. It turns out there are lots of reasons prolactin levels could be raised and breastfeeding was never mentioned. They told me to come back and retest in the morning and be sure to not eat or exercise before I came. That did the trick. My levels were much lower that time. The rest of the cycle was totally normal. I did not experience any change in my milk and Lucy went on nursing just as happily as before. We transferred one more embryo and it worked! Pregnancy did affect my supply and I was dry by my second trimester. Lucy dry nursed all the way until her 2nd birthday when I got the stomach flu and couldn't let her nurse for a few days. At that point she knew a baby was coming and was totally fine with me saying that she was not a baby anymore that she was 2 and we needed to save the milk for the new baby. I was ready to have my body back if only for a few months. When the new baby was born I wondered if she'd want to nurse again too, but she's never once asked. She says she doesn't even remember nursing... Anyways, Wesley is 8 months now and they are just the sweetest brother and sister. I am forever grateful to this group for giving me the courage to follow my instinct and do what was best for my family. Best of luck to all of you. Fertility treatments are so stressful all around, how lucky we are to have sweet little nurslings to get us through, for better or worse. Written by Nora.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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