When did the tears start for you

[Serenity05]

I'm just looking for others' experiences with feeling tearful after birth.

My baby is 48 hours old. I went into labour unexpectedly at 37 weeks and he was born by EMCS four hours after my waters broke (he was breech). I was running a fever after the surgery and I need regular IV antibiotics. My cannula came out earlier today so they had to put another one in but I have pathetic, thin veins and when the midwife just tried to start the drip it was so painful it brought tears to my eyes... and then the floodgates opened!

It seems like such a stupid thing to trigger it but I know I'm exhausted so something was going to bring it on sooner or later.

My baby is in the NICU - he's fine, he just needed help clearing a bit of fluid on his lungs when he was first born and now they're waiting for him to have 24 hours of proper feeding after being on a drip before they let him go. He's doing brilliantly with bf now so hopefully I will have him next to me by lunchtime but I want him here now! I hate having to leave him, even though I know he's only down the corridor. I'm in a private room but I can hear babies crying on the ward a few doors down and I'm so jealous of their mums!

My DH has been amazing the past couple of days but I could see how knackered he was so I've sent him off for a proper sleep. I wish he was here now to give me a cuddle but I don't have the heart to ring him and wake him up and call him back just because my hormones have kicked in.

I know feeling like this is normal after birth so what triggered it for you? And how long did it last?

[AnythingThatWorks]

3 to 5 days are the classic time for postnatal blues, thought to be linked to the drop in progesterone that happens around then.

I remember them very clearly with DC2 as that was the day we got home from hospital and everything just felt shit and miserable even though I knew it wasn't. Only really lasted the day for me.

Glad your baby is ok- congratulations on your new arrival!
Your trigger sounds exactly like the kind of thing that would have triggered me too.
Hope you get some sleep and things look better soon. I know I was generally more tearful in the early days as, for me, tiredness causes tearfulness anyway but the blues was a notable floodgates sort of feeling.

HUG.

[ExBallerina]

Oh god, easily by day 2. And I didn't have the same situation as you. I'm glad he's doing better and congratulations!

Is there someone you can talk to now?

[ThinkAboutItTomorrow]

They started on Friday which was day 5. C
Over by Tuesday. Hang in there, you'll have your baby soon for a snuggle and your body will heal.
Take care

[WheresMyBurrito]

I think about day 4 for me but I'd felt awful for a couple of days. I did cry every day for probably about a fortnight!

It's only natural to want your baby there with you. Fingers crossed you both get to go home soon. And congratulations

[jellyjiggles]

Day 2 it started. By day 7-10 I was basically hormonally insane. A lot of my friends and I found the first 2 weeks were flooded with hormones, tears, mood swings etc. For everyone else the tears went. Mine got worse so I was on AD's by 14 days because of debilitating panic attacks etc. I did end up with PND.

[Serenity05]

Thanks everyone. Sorry to hear about your experience jellyjiggles. Did you manage to get the help you needed? I've had depression in the past and I'm aware that puts me at higher risk of developing PND. So far though this doesn't feel like the familiar despondency and anxiety, just being hyper-emotional!

I still don't have DS back with me. There's no reason for it, I'm just waiting for the consultants to finish their meeting, which has been delayed, and then if they decide he can come off NICU I'll still have to wait for the paperwork to be signed. I know I'll feel better once he's here.

[AnythingThatWorks]

Hope he's with you soon, Serenity.

My DC2 was also away from me for longer than he needed to be because of paperwork or something...that did have me in tears also on day 1!

Good luck with the weeks and months that come, take care of yourself and hope that the tears are nothing more than the usual!

[GracieGraives]

Mine started on day 3 and got worse until day 14. I also had panic a tracks and uncontrollable crying moments. Thought it was pnd but just disappeared like a cloud lifting on day 14. Hang in there talk to people around you and it will get better x

[Gliblet]

Day 3 for me - I do slightly put it down to not sleeping (at all) between birth and then though

DS was in NICU for 4 days and yes, by day 3 of that I was walking round with tears dripping off my face having to explain that no, I actually felt fine thanks, just couldn't stop crying...

[Jenijena]

Congratulations, and completely normal and understandable ime.

'Leaking everywhere' is how someone i know described the immediate postnatal period.

[thegiddylimit]

Day 3 when my milk came in each time, even with DD2 who had a perfect birth and I was absolutely delighted with her. But I remember sitting in bed feeding her and she wanted to feed and feed and feed and Mum told me tea was ready and I knew DD2 wasn't going to stop feeding any time soon and burst into tears. Next day the MW came and asked if I had any baby blue and I was as happy as anything saying 'oh yes'. I'd had a tough pregnancy (smsll age gap and my Dad was in hospital for most of my pregnancy) but the early days of being a baby were a very happy time.

With the other two (particularly DS who was preemie and in hospital for his first two weeks) I had more anxiety that lasted for a while but don't think the baby blues lasted that long.

If you have a history of depression make sure you have a support network to help you recognise if you are getting PND. I've a friend who had very severe PND (she was psychotic and was in a baby and mother unit for a while) with her first. She decided to have a second child and was anxious but had a plan in place to cope if she did develop PND. She was fine, a history makes you more at risk but it isn't inevitable.

[bigbadbarry]

Day 4. I had to leave my lovely safe clinic (DD1 born abroad) and go and see a urologist who spoke no english, who fitted me with a catheter. But I didn't cry about that, I cried because the trees were so beautiful. Unhinged, I was. He didn't have a clue what to do with me.

[Cupcakesandlove]

Day 3 hit me like a tonne of bricks I had sore boobs was in agony a pounding headache and then literally it hit me! And it didn't really stop until my baby was 3 weeks old but as quickly as it comes it does go and u wake up thinking where did it go!
I used to cry at everything I would lol at my daughter and cry, then when her dad left us of an evening I would cry when he came to see us I would cry again I would be in the bath and cry someone would text me and I would cry......!!

[Focusfocus]

Mine began and ended on Day 4 so I was remarkably lucky. But that Day 4 was out of hell. Many hugs.

[iMatter]

Day 3. I remember lying there post c-section and this wall of grief and despair hit me. Hideous. I still remember it vividly now over 11 years later.

[GinIsTheBestChristmasSpirit]

Variable for me but did have pnd 2 out of 3 times. You have dealt with a lot. Allow yourself a few days to deal with the crazy birth and make sure your DH is keeping an eye on you. If it carries on for longer than a few days or gets much more intense go talk to a nice gp/health visitor etc.

Congratulations and hope your baby is in your arms by now