to ask you to share your experience of baby blues?

[KrakillBee]

I'm sure some of you have seen the thread I recently started which has gone off on a bit of a strange tangent. I'm feeling down, and trying my best to be a good mum to my 8 day old baby.

I'm suffering quite severely with baby blues. Crying a lot. Worrying about little things. Feeling severely anxious. I'm scared it won't pass. I'm scared this is PND. HV has assured me it is likely to pass, but had told me what to do if it doesn't.

I had never heard of baby blues until after my son had been born. Would anyone be kind enough to share their baby blues experiences? Maybe raise a bit of awareness..

I can’t say that I suffered with it for a perlonged period. I think DD was 5 days old. It was honestly the worst. I didn’t feel as though I could give my child the care she deserved, I was failing at feeding, my own body wasn’t healing properly and I was given contradicting advice from every health care profession who came to my house. I cried for days.
I would average that it probably lasted a week from when it first started

I cried at anything and everything. Because I loved her so much. Because there's no way I can be the mother she deserves. Because why did I do this it's so hard. Because my husband left me with my baby (both when he was going to the toilet, and when he was popping out for supplies). Literally anything, it did fade after about a week and wasn't quite so constant.

I was ok for the first 10 days or so and then developed PND. Put off going to doctors until baby was 14 weeks old and wish I would have gone sooner. I was constantly crying and feeling like I couldn't cope. Now 8 months later im still on medication but coping and enjoying being mum to a very fussy but amazing little boy (who still wakes every 30 mins during night). There is light at the end of the tunnel, but if you continue to struggle I really would suggest seeing GP. Midwife and HV both told me it would pass but it didn't and I don't think it would have without the medication and support of the GP.

@Squirrelinatree I worry a lot about PND. Sorry you suffered with it. It's good to hear you are on a road to recovery however. Wishing you all the best 

Flower emoji not working. 🌷🌷🌷

Baby blues lasted about 3 or 4 weeks with my first. He was in NICU for the first week and I cried every single day. I had intense feelings of love for him and never wanted to leave him, I felt like an awful mother whenever I left. When we got home I cried because I didn't want anyone else around him, but then also because I wasn't getting anything done because I didn't want anyone to take him. Not even DH for those first few weeks. It was a strange cycle but it passed. I did have continued anxiety for a year or so though, I was always worried something bad might happen. I learned to manage it.
My second is 9 weeks now and baby blues has turned in to PND for me this time. I often feel I can't cope and like I don't know what to do with him, I don't want him around me much as it stresses me out. I feel awful for feeling this way about my much wanted second baby. Then I feel guilt for not being able to spend as much time with the toddler and I resent the baby for it. It's not nice and I'm still trying to find a way to process these feelings without sobbing and wanting to just run away. Luckily DH is incredibly supportive. I've been referred for counselling but there's a wait.

Go easy on yourself OP. If it doesn't pass, make sure to talk about it asap. Don't keep waiting. Even if it is just short term, having a baby is an emotional rollercoaster! Take a breather whenever you need one.

I found the first few weeks incredibly tough. I had a difficult birth and painful recovery which definitely contributed to it. A huge hormone crash + being in constant pain + the enormity of how much my life had changed and pressure of what the hell am I doing how do I keep this little thing alive?! It’s a big adjustment not even taking into consideration the hormones.

Keep talking to your health visitor, midwife, family and friends about how you are feeling. I ended up being diagnosed with ptsd from the birth and being aware of how I was feeling and getting help is what pulled me out of it in the end.

Be kind to yourself. 10 days in is really early days. I read your other thread and you sound like a brilliant mum already.

I had baby blues and on Day 5 I took myself to hospital because I was convinced there was something wrong with me (I did lots of googling and got very worried about various symptoms.) I was crying lots and feeling very anxious. I was dismissed on the grounds that it was just baby blues.

Unfortunately in my case it then turned into much more severe problems (postpartum psychosis and extreme postnatal anxiety). Unfortunately it wasn't diagnosed until Day 29. It was all very unexpected (hence partly why it took a while to be spotted), as I'd never suffered from any mental health problems before. To reassure you, it's highly unusual (1 in 1000 for PP), but I'd still encourage you to keep talking to your HV/GP if your symptoms develop or even continue beyond the next couple of days (I think baby blues is only supposed to last a few days).

Sending you massive hugs. Hope you feel better soon  (And if it's any reassurance, although I found the newborn stage tough, it's got more and more awesome since then )

Oh no, my flowers went missing too! Here 💐

Baby blues lasted about 3-4 weeks for me probably. It’s hard to say because often I’m just tired which for me always leads to over thinking and being over emotional. Day 3 and day 5 were particularly bleak and I had another wobble when my husband went back to work. We’re at six weeks now with far more ups than downs and far fewer tears.

Be alert to your feelings of course and seek help if you feel you need it at any point but with any luck you will ride it out and feel more yourself again soon.