well to all those that dont know I just recently had a son. Here's my problem for the past week or so I have been down in the dumps and upset. I dont know if its my hormones or what but I cant talk to my fiancee about how I am feeling cuz all he will say is that i am being silly for being upset. its weird cuz i am not so upset and down when i am by myself with my son but when my fiancee is home i get sad and upset to where he can tell something is wrong. is this a normal thing or what??????? Please help. ~Fallen Fairy~
Sweety, it's called "Post Partum Depression". With loved ones around, it passes. My wish for you, is that the FIRST time you hear your angel Laugh, it disappears.
Yep I agree that it post partum depression. I had it really bad after my first child but it passed after awhile. I just kept looking at her coo and smile and it made me feel all better.
I think you should talk to your doctor BEFORE it gets too bad. She may be able to help. Bring your fiancee too and have your dr. tell him that PPD is REAL and can very serious. He shouldn't be telling you that you are silly;he should be trying to help. (((hugs)))
Post partum depression is real, and scary, and hard to work through. Yes, it's partly hormones, but by three weeks you should be feeling perkier. Are you doing too much? Cleaning, cooking, baby care, laundry, shopping, etc? Doing to much too soon can make it worse, because you add exhaustion to the mix. How is your bleeding by the way? Most other cultures have a mandatory seclusion of 40 days for mother and baby. All Mama is expected to do is lie in bed, eat nourishing foods, and nurse her baby. By the end of the 40 days, bleeding has stopped, baby is nursing well, and Mama is refreshed and ready to begin household duties. If I remember, you also had a c-section? So not only are you recovering from pregnancy and birth, but from surgery! You have every right to be tired! And I'm sure you see your man come home from work, where he has had multi-syllabic conversations with real adults, sit down in front of the tv, eat his dinner, and goto bed. He may hold the baby for a minute or two. I'm sure you're feeling a bit resentful that he gets to go out and have a life! Have someone goto the health food store and get you some motherwort tea, drink 2-3 cups per day, or motherwort tincture, 5 drops in water or tea 3-4 times a day, it's good for returning hormonal balance. IF, you feel like you don't want to see people, have a hard time getting dressed in the morning, avoid answering the phone, have thoughts of hurting yourself or your baby (more common than you'd think!) call your doctor or nurse practicioner IMMEDIATELY! You may also be anemic, keep taking those prenatal vitamins (Rainbow Light makes a good one sold in most grocery stores and it's not very expensive) and eat loads of iron rich foods. Drink loads of water, too! Stay in bed for a few days with your baby and some good books or trashy gossip mags, and let yourself rest!
brighid-thanx for that advice. I'm going to be having a baby in september, and I'va always had really really bad depression. They say that if that's the case, you're almost gaurenteed to have bad post-partum. This is really scaring me. I've already got a boat load of stress from trying to deal with my boyfriend (he doesn't understand the pregnancy hormones, and I'm so moody right now, I feel like I;m going to cry now after just being fuming mad.), attempting to pack our stuff to move, get our debts paid off, save some money, buy new furniture (which has been putting added pressure bacuse the rest of my family seems to think that everything that we have is grabage and that we won't be able to raise a proper baby with the couch that we have (GRRR)), and finding another job. (yeah, try finding someone to hire a pregnant girl). I don't know what I'm going to do. I have all this on top of the fact that I don't know if I;m going to be a good mother or not, or that I'm fighting too much with my boyfriend, or that I'm trying to face the fact that I just gave up my life. I never thought that there was a point to it before, but of course, the minute that i get pregnant, I relaize all the things that I wanted to do. Any advice on pregnancy hormones, by the way?
Listen to Brighid! It sounds like it may be just "baby blues" it really hasn't lasted long enough for full blown PPD. Also, you don't want to be put on meds unless it is REALLY long lasting depression and really actual depression that doesn't respond to other things. FF, you also had some breastfeeding problems and even if they were resolved, they can leave you depleted, emotionally for a while. REST! And nurse the baby. If you DO need an antidepressant (and that is a big IF) there are some you can take while you are breastfeeding, so don't let anyone talk you into stopping. Blessings, Feel better Love and peace
