There’s a unique sweetness to breastfeeding – those quiet moments when your baby melts into your chest, their little hand resting on your skin, their breathing slowing down because you are their safe place. You look down at their eyes, heavy with sleep, and you think: “I never want to forget this.”

But somewhere in the middle of those precious days, a new desire begins to stir. “I think we’re supposed to grow our family again.” And if you’re like so many women I talk to every week, that desire can come with a wave of guilt. “Shouldn’t I just be content? Is it selfish to want another baby while I’m still nursing this one? Am I ungrateful?”

Let me speak life over you: You are not torn between two callings. Your calling is motherhood. And motherhood grows as your family grows.

Wanting another baby doesn’t mean you love your current child any less. It simply means your heart has room for another soul to love, another warrior to raise for the Kingdom of God. The enemy would love for you to feel shame about that. The Lord never would. So let’s talk about what’s going on in your body, why ovulation can be delayed while breastfeeding, and what you can actually do to support your hormones – without weaning before you’re ready. Also, check out this episode on my podcast, For The Love of Hormones.

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How Breastfeeding Impacts Ovulation

Inside of my program, Fertility Framework, I teach you about the major hormones that affect women’s cycles and what happens when you conceive. During pregnancy, your hormones are laser-focused on growing a baby. Estrogen and progesterone are sky-high, and there’s almost no FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) or LH (the hormone that triggers ovulation). But once that placenta is delivered, estrogen and progesterone drop to nearly zero, and your body shifts gears from: grow the baby to nourish the baby. Cue the hormone prolactin.

Prolactin is the beautiful hormone that allows you to produce milk and continue nurturing that baby outside the womb. And prolactin has one main message for the reproductive system: “Shhh. We’re feeding a baby right now.” High prolactin tells FSH to quiet down, which means estrogen stays low, which means ovulation may not return yet. This is why some women don’t cycle for months, even a year or more, while nursing. (Come join our Facebook group where women share their struggles and their victories and walk alongside of each other!)

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Why Do Some Women Ovulate Sooner?

Here’s where it gets interesting: ovulation timelines vary widely. Some women ovulate 4–8 weeks postpartum. Some not until 18–24 months. And both can be completely normal.

Certain factors may bring ovulation back sooner:

• Baby sleeping longer stretches
• Less frequent nursing
• Pacifiers or bottles replacing some feeds
• Pumping instead of direct nursing
• Stress (high cortisol suppresses prolactin)

Not every woman fits these patterns, but they help explain why two moms with babies the same age can have very different experiences.

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What If You Haven’t Seen Signs of Ovulation Yet?

Maybe you’re 10 months postpartum. Or 15 months. Or 2 years. There’s no period, no positive ovulation tests – nothing. Well, here’s the good news: your body doesn’t go from “not ovulating” to “fully cycling” in one leap. Before ovulation returns, the body tries. FSH rises a little, estrogen rises a little… then drops.
A week later, it tries again. Up… down. Up… down. Those tiny hormonal attempts matter, and you can actually watch for them.

You might think there’s nothing to chart, but there is so much we can learn from:

• Cervical mucus patterns
• Basal body temperature
• LH surges
• Breast sensation changes
• Cervical position
• The “rollercoaster” estrogen attempts before ovulation actually occurs

Tracking your biomarkers gives insight into what your hormones are doing. Is your body trying and failing? Is your body not trying at all? Is there a root issue we need to support? This is exactly what I teach inside Fertility Framework, because these charts don’t just tell us if you’re fertile; they can help us discover why or why not.

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When Hormones Need Support

Sometimes the body just needs more time. Other times, there is a root issue holding ovulation back.

Some areas we often look at include:

• Thyroid health
• Nutrient stores postpartum
• Stress and cortisol
• Sleep deprivation
• Blood sugar and meals
• Inflammation
• Gut and liver support

And one of the biggest roots I see over and over again is actually thyroid function. Your thyroid sits right in the same hormonal control center as FSH and LH. If the thyroid is sluggish, it can drag your whole reproductive system down with it, especially postpartum and while breastfeeding. That’s why I created an entire guide to help you understand what functional thyroid ranges are (not just “normal” ranges), which labs to request, and how to advocate for them even if your provider pushes back. You can download it here for free!

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A Kingdom Perspective

Scripture gives us this stunning picture of motherhood: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Isaiah 66:13

Every time you nurse your baby, every quiet cuddle, every tear wiped away, you are reflecting the heart of God to your child. That is holy work. You are faithfully mothering the baby God has given you. And when the time is right, He will make a way.

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