I am 4 weeks post partum and drowning.
I am bonding with baby and honestly cannot love and care for her any more than I do. She is my world and honestly feel like she is saving me in this.
getting pregnant wasn’t easy. Being pregnant wasn’t easy. Labour wasn’t easy. And now I feel like I’m just a walking ptsd, traumatised, anxious filled, post natal depressed empty carcass. The lights are on, some what, but unless it’s to do with looking after my girl no one is home. I’ve had so many changes no things happen in the 9 months of pregnancy alone to the point I had no control over anything. I had hypermis gravidum, prenatal depression, hernias, gallstones, migraines. Constantly in hospital. Sold our house before Christmas and didn’t exchange until a week before the due date. Baby came early and everything I planned to regain control and enjoy the last push was taken. I wanted no intervention, no inductions, natural pool birth, no epidural. I had a 24+ hour labour with emergency teams in and out, epidural which had complications, episiotomy in theatre, forceps in theatre, etc. before labour I had this unavoidable feeling I was going to die. I still can’t shake it or the feeling that when I get so overwhelmed my baby and partner would be better off without me in the picture. That’s not me shouting suicide or self harm because honestly I feel like I’m hurting enough but I feel like a burden. I also feel like when I try to talk about it people don’t understand the intensity of it. Or when I try to implement boundaries and I’m talking wash hands before holding baby, no kissing, give her back if she is crying especially when she’s cluster feeding then people completely disregard my wishes and then make out like it’s because of my mental health I’m requesting these things. I just feel so overwhelmed and it’s effecting my relationship with my. Partner and I have rejection trauma from parental relationships and exes. I just don’t feel good enough for him or baby or my friends. I can’t keep up to date with anything. I feel like the only thing I’ve got better at is hiding it