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Bereavement

Find bereavement help and support from other Mumsnetters. See also your choices after baby loss.

I Cant Take It Anymore

13 replies

stayhomemum · 28/01/2008 17:03

Hello All
I lost my Dad in 2001 to lung cancer, which left just my Mum and I. I have no brothers or sisters, so it left a very close bond between the two of us.
My Mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, and depsite a mastectomy and months of chemotherapy, she passed away in November 2007.
It has been a harder job than ever trying to come to terms with her death, but I just cant do it. I have been married since October 2004 to DH who is Turkish. We have a 5 month old DS who was born 10 weeks premature in August 2007.
This should be a happy time in my life where I have my own family, our own future etc, but I just cant stop myself from looking back and wishing for Mum.
DH has a huge family, plenty of friends over here and back home, is confident, outgoing and can drive. On the other hand, I have no immediate family, one person I can call a best friend, I feel resentful of DH's freedom with me looking after DS, and I feel trapped at home as I dont drive.
I feel my life is whizzing past in front of my eyes, and feel so restricted and alone.
DH is going back home for 4 days next week, and I cant travel as DS has no passport. I keep thinking if only Mum was here then I would have someone with me.
We came over from Turkey to look after Mum, and so was living with her for the year upto her death.
I miss her more than words can say. I feel like DH doesnt understand me as he hasnt lost anybody so close, and he has his freedom in the form of his friends etc.
Ive hit an all time low today. I feel sick to my stomach xxx

OP posts:
Nettee · 28/01/2008 17:09

how awful for you. A really cruel time to loose your mum. Thinking of you xxxxx

nappymadmummy · 28/01/2008 17:09

I'm so sorry about your mum and dad. Also having a baby is daunting, I know I had to call my mum for help after having mine. I'm not surprised that you think about her a lot at this time.

I too have felt trapped being a stay at home mum. I took some driving lessons so I could go out in the car and have forced myself to go to as many baby groups/activities as I can. I've also started doing an evening class.

Is there anything like baby yoga or baby signing near you that you could go out to? Perhaps you'd meet a few people who could drive round to yours for coffee every now and again.

Is there anyone who could look after your baby while you took driving lessons?

Could you post on the meet-ups section on here to find people to meet up with near you?

LittleMissNorty · 28/01/2008 17:10

I'm so sorry ...it sounds like such a difficult time...especially with a LO to look after.....I'm glad your mum saw him....

Have you spoken to your DH about how you are feeling? What about your HV?

Do you get out and about with DS? May be the time to go to some Mum and baby groups...

NorthernLurker · 28/01/2008 17:15

I'm so sorry to read this. So in the last year you have lost your mum, your roots in so many ways and had a premature birth. That is a massive amount to handle - anyone would be feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed in your shoes.
Things to do - have you contacted anyone for some bereavement counselling. Doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you - just that it would be of benefit to talk things through with someone who doesn't bring any baggage to the situation.There's a charity called Cruse who are very good I believe - you can find them through google - or try your GP.
Have you taken your son to any baby groups yet? I know he's young but you would really benefit from contact with other parents I think and he will grow into them. You could ring the NCT locally - or try your health visitor? Take care - hope things look a little brighter for you tomorrow {{{{Hug}}}}

lucyellensmum · 28/01/2008 17:31

stayhomemum, i read your other post too. You have certainly been through so much. I also lost my father to lung cancer two years ago, and it is so hard to deal with. So much so that i am on ADs. They have helped. Maybe you should talk to your doctor or HV. They CAN help. Is your DH supportive in other ways? I just dont even bother to talk to my DP about my dad, he cannot possibly understand. He misses my dad too, they had a great relationship but its not his dad is it. I am lucky, i do still have my mum, but i am also an only child and i think it is tough because you dont have the siblings to grieve with, iyswim.

A visit to your doctor wont necessarily mean ADs, but they might be able to get you some counselling, i think you have a lot of upset that you cannot release and you would benifit from just being able to sit and talk about it. You sound amazingly brave, but you dont have to shoulder this alone. Keep posting on here, i know your DH is away this week, use this time to set yourself up some practical help. My DP was very anti medical intervention, but it saved our relationship.

summersun06 · 28/01/2008 17:41

HI stayathomemum, i'm so sorry for your loss of your Mum and Dad, losing someone close to you is the hardest thing we ever havre to go though in life. I lost my 11 month old daughter Layla in Aug and my world fell apart 9 weeks later my partner left me with 2 children 9 years old and 16 months (laylas twin). Some times it feels like the world is against you and that things cant get any worse, but do you know what things can't get any worse and its a matter of taking one day at a time, putting on step in front of the other. Some days you and I will have better days than others and some days will be worse than that. Its so hard but there are people out there that can help and we must try to take advantage of the help . If you want to get in touch email me and I will try to be there to listen, sometimes having someone to talk to who has gone through the death of a loved one can help. Sometimes it hard for friends to help you through when they dont understand, my friends (if thats what they are called)have'nt been any help to me at all, it hard for then too. Look at how wonderful your daughter is and look at how wonderful your husband is, maybe try to talk to him and tell him how you feel. I am just giving the girls there tea but I will be back on tonight at 9ish if you want to chat again.
My email address is....
summesun0606 at yahoo dot com (summe without the R)

Stay strong and I hope to hear from you again xx

summersun06 · 28/01/2008 17:52

just another thought I have set up a memorial sit for Layla, just yesterday and it was such a lovely thing to do. It is a lovely way for you, family and friends to remember her, if you visit Laylas site and see the type of things you can do and you can make your own up from there. Good luck xx layla.szafranski.muchloved.com

stayhomemum · 28/01/2008 20:23

Many thanks to you all for your great replies, and I too am sorry to hear of your losses.
My HV arranged for me to see a pyschologist whilst Mum was in hospital (she was in there a month leading upto her death), as I was suffering panic attacks and feeling very uncomfortable in the family home. When she passed away, I suddenly felt a sense of security, like Mum was looking over me. The uneasiness went away, and so I stopped seeing the pyschologist.
GP prescribed me antidepressents around 2 weeks after Mum died (I was also unfairly dismissed from my job when 5 months pregnant- Tribunal is 26 Feb) and the doctor said that so much had happened in such a short space of time that I hadnt had time to come to terms with any of it.
I decided against taking the antidepressents as I didnt want to become dependent. I just put my hurt down to Mum only just having passed away.
DH is great in every other respect, but the whole incident today stemmed from him going to Istanbul next week, and me wanting to visit family friends in Bristol. He wasnt keen on the idea of me trailing all the way down there with 5 month old LO on a train for the sake of 4 days. Needless to say that just set me off and we had a huge argument.
Anyway, thats all been forgotten about now. I had a bl**dy good cry, and tried to get on top of things. I realise I need to go see the GP again and try and get this put behind me.
That however, still doesnt fix everything. With DS being premature, and DH being from a hotter country, he has this complex about taking DS out in the cold weather. I have taken DS out a couple of times to shopping centres with a friend, and DH has no problem looking after LO whilst I take myself off shopping etc, but as I said, he has a complex about LO and the cold weather. As you can imagine, this just gets me even more infuriated!
Granted, I didnt realise what hard work having a baby would be. Yet Im still only 23 and want to do much more with myself. Im feel like Im stuck in a dead end. I know I should be grateful for having a beautiful LO and a doting DH who would do anything for me, yet I still cant help feeling that theres so much more I can gain from life.
I bet youre all sat here thinking 'what a moaner' but Im just trying to paint the whole picture Everything Ive ever loved in life has been taken away from me, I almost feel like Im waiting for the day that DH will go (as daft as that may sound).

Maybe I just need a good slap in the face :O

Summersun06- what a lovely tribute you have made. I too have made one to Mum at the Gone Too Soon website. It certainly helped xxx

OP posts:
NorthernLurker · 28/01/2008 21:24

You aren't moaning at all - a bereavement, a new baby - earlier than you thought it would be and the stress of losing your job? You are doing well to get out of bed! I think you are right to see your GP again - you just need a bit of help processing all this.
Hopefully as your ds grows your dh will relax a bit about taking him out etc - he obviously cares about you both very much.
And regarding going nowhere - you are 23 - you have years and years and years - you will do things and go to places, maybe have more children? There are more good things in store - right now you are there for your son, your horizons will grow as he does.

hazygirl · 28/01/2008 22:06

you are not moaningyou have been through so much,take a little step at a time,so sorry about the loss of your mum, thinking of youxx

lucyellensmum · 28/01/2008 22:07

stayhome, you are not moaning, you have been through alot, i almost could have written your post, the similarities are scary. Well, the same but different, it was like everything happened at once, and it wasnt really until it all calmed down that things hit me. You say you just put things down to losing your mum, but that is such a big thing. I think we try and lock it away, i know i did with my dad, and then dont understand what is wrong with us when the greif bites us in the behind, usually out of the blue.

Northern lurker is right. You are really young, which is a positive. You have a wonderful baby, enjoy him, make the most of these precious years when he is your little man at home. But you can use this time to think about all the exciting things you might like to do when he is off your hands a little bit. Think about what career path you might like to follow and find out what you need to do to achieve that. Then set about finding ways to do it. OK so it wont be as straight forward as if you did it when you left school, but you will most likely do better as you will have your family to motivate you. It worked this way for me - i left school at 16 with nothing, i went back to college, spookily at 24, loved it so much i have pretty much stayed in education ever since. When i was at uni, i was technically a "mature" student. But actually most of the mature students were a lot more mature than i was. Lots in their 40s etc, and most went on to brilliant jobs.

I think it is really difficult to be positive when you have had so much shit to deal with. It throws your brain off balance chemically and sometimes you need some chemical help to get it back in working order. Much like hurting your back, you wouelnt refuse pain killers if you had a back ache. There is no reason why you should become dependant, so long as you get some counselling to sort out your head regarding your anxieties. I have found that the ADs i am on have given me the strength to see a future for myself. They dont magic the pain away, i dont think the pain of losing a loved one ever goes away, but it is easier to deal with. And time makes things less raw, even though it is cliched, its true.

I truly admire your spirit and i think that anyone who can still get out of bed after what you have been through, can do anything she sets her mind to doing.

Bless your hubby about taking baby out in cold, i think it is more likely to be because he is a man, rather than turkish, that he is overprotective. It is understandable with him being early and all. Maybe you could ask your HV to reassure him that getting him out and about is the best thing for him, and you!

summersun06 · 28/01/2008 22:21

YOu are right Stayathomemum you are very lucky to have a wonderful DH that loves you. YOu do need to think about yourself as well and sounds like a few days away would do you good and do your son good to, a happy Mam makes a happy child. All of my children were 2 months prem and im sure it wouldn't do you DS any harm going on a train, think about yourself to its very important. You need time for you, i'm only 29 and I know how important doing things for you own sanity is, I was 19 when I had my first daughter and I lived like a stepford wife and it all came back on me, it destoryed me in the end, I had a nervous breakdown and then I started to put myself first sometimes (for my childs sake too) and I did feel better about myself in the end. I know its hard to think about but what advice would your Mam be given you now? xx

stayhomemum · 29/01/2008 00:56

What more can I say than thanks for such fantastic replies! Really helps to put things in perspective.

Mum would have told me to get off my butt and get on with things to do what makes me happy and to enjoy myself.

I should start thinking about putting myself first- dont get me wrong DH would do anything for me, but sometimes I just feel so dependent on him and it really winds me up. Maybe exactly what I need is him to go away for the week so that I can get my head sorted and focus on myself. MIL has already expressed her concern that nobody will be there to help me look after DS! Bless her

Well Im off to bed now ladies, but thankyou once again and hopefully Ill feel better in the morn! xxxx

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