In part 3 of my breastfeeding journey with my first child, I’m sharing the bit people don’t always talk about: the return of fertility while breastfeeding, trying to conceive again, and then weaning during pregnancy. My period came back at 10 months postpartum even though I was breastfeeding on demand and exclusively (no formula). I also want to be really clear—breastfeeding is not birth control. Fertility can return at wildly different times, and you can absolutely fall pregnant before you ever see a period if you catch that first ovulation. I chat through what worked (and didn’t) for me with fertility awareness methods once sleep was broken and temping became unrealistic. I switched to a cervical fluid-only approach, and I share why long cycles, late ovulation, and a short luteal phase can make conceiving while breastfeeding tricky (hello, progesterone). By actually knowing when I ovulated (around day 21), we conceived on our first proper trying cycle—something that would’ve been easy to miss if I’d relied on an app guessing day 14. Lastly, I talk about breastfeeding while pregnant and how I chose to wean at 14 weeks for my mental health (tandem feeding just wasn’t for me). I share exactly how we did it—using a few nights apart around our wedding, then a very “rip the band-aid off” approach at home—and how my toddler handled it in the sweetest, funniest way.