5 months pp emotional wreck

[firsttimepregnanthelp]

I expect this may be post partum hormones to some degree but I wonder if anyone else can relate or if it is getting out of control...

I had my much wanted miracle baby 5 months ago and I am an emotional wreck a lot of the time. I absolutely cannot bear any stories of sadness surrounding anything, but especially children which is a problem as my job is in child protection. I used to be very robust when it came to things like children suffering as i dealt with it day in day out and told myself i was working to improve their situations but now sad stories play on my mind non stop.

An example from this evening - a post appeared on my Instagram from a photographer who had done a newborn shoot and said the baby had been taken too soon ie died. The angel emoji was used. I cannot stop thinking about the sadness of the poor parents. They were tagged in the photos so I looked at their accounts and they only announced the birth 2 days ago and nothing since so the death must have been unexpected which makes it even worse. I can't stop thinking about it and the abject grief the poor family must be feeling. I recognise this is a strong reaction to have for people I have never met. How do I manage this? Am I going nuts or is it normal to feel like this after having a baby?

Hello
Just to let you know that you are not alone and I can fully relate as I felt very similar after having my child in 2013. I was an anxious person anyway but something triggered my anxiety to be so much more intense after he was born and for the first 6 months or so I felt very strange and as if I was on another planet. I became hyper focused on scary or sad events regarding babies and it made me very fixated on my newborns safety and extremely anxious
Just to add he's now 6ft tall and a strapping lad! You will be fine and through this and I promise it does get better once your hormones settle.

@Sunnyskies882thank you for this - i am quite an anxious person too so I imagine that has a lot to do with it. It is reassuring to know that this will pass. In the meantime I will stay off social media as my algorithm seems hellbent on showing me sad stories and it is doing me no good!

@firsttimepregnanthelp totally understand this.
I had a similar situation whereby the job I did pre pregnancy was much more harrowing afterwards.
I think it's because you can now directly relate (plus hormones and maternal protectiveness). I did get less sensitive over time but it took a good few years.
Definitely a good idea to avoid the bad news stories as much as possible and enjoy your little one.