Baby blues help me

[Villageroses]

My baby is a week old and husband back at work today. I feel so down and that I just want to cry. I cant eat and just feel like I'm full of dread. I am told this is normal but I just can't see it ever getting better and wonder if anyone has any experiences they can share?

Your not alone. The day I brought my son home I was crying for an hour. It’s scary especially when you are alone. Newborns are so hard to take care of. My advice is talk about how you feel and let people help you!

Get plenty of sleep. Take naps when LO does.
Take the pressure off yourself. You can't do everything by yourself. Do what you can and leave the rest for later or for others to do. Ask for help. Be specific and tell people what you need - meals, errands, cleaning etc...
Avoid spending too much time alone. On the other hand, if it’s all getting a bit too much, you could simply ban the visitors for a few days.
Join a support group for new mothers. You’re on mn.... good start!
Take vitamin tablets.
Get plenty of exercise.
As a new parent, you’ll probably be getting lots of unsolicited, unwanted and unwarranted advice. My advice (see, it doesn’t stop) is to take the advice with a grain of salt, and find your own style! Some of it you may find useful, and other advice you can toss out the window.
Make a deal with yourself that you will do at least one thing each day to take care of you, like painting your toe nails or shaving!

The baby blues are horrible. I spent a lot of time crying when my DS was around 1 week old. I was full of dread when DH went back to work, every day seemed to drag and I was just waiting for him to come home. I tried to get out and about every day - to boob group, to see friends, things that didn't rely on being a certain place at certain times (he would always be feeding or asleep if I needed to be somewhere!). If anyone offers you help, grab it with both hands (even if it's to watch the baby for an hour while you have a sleep).

The baby blues should start fading at around 2 weeks. Make sure that you talk to your DH about how you're feeling (and/or anyone else - your mum, best friend, midwife, health visitor, etc, etc). If they don't fade, make sure you seek help. At 6 weeks, I went on anti anxiety medication.

Now I'm loving being on maternity leave! My son is a joy to be around, and I feel like I can take care of him on my own. It's such a big learning curve and you're faced with this crazy rush of hormones. Plus newborns are really hard! You'll get through this, don't worry if you're not loving being a mum right now. It will come with time, just take every day as it comes. Try and look after yourself as much as time allows (for me it was making sure I got a shower and three meals every day).

I felt the same as you up until yesterday! This is my second child though so I know it does get better. 11 days postpartum and feeling a lot better today. It's such an overwhelming feeling of dread isn't it! Plus you've got sleep deprivation and milk coming in (if you're breastfeeding) to do deal with. Along with recovery of labour! But before you know it you'll feel so much better. Plus your baby will start connecting with you which is just the most incredible thing. Good luck and congratulations!

Gosh I had the baby blues, but my MIL had warned me, as I had never heard of it before ( midwife and health visitor never told me about it)

Once DS1 arrived, four days after he was born it hit me out of nowhere! Thank god she kept asking me if I was ok...I cried at absolutely everything!! It only lasted for about four days for me..but my God I remember it like it was yesterday!! And so does my partner 😂

I even cried about how he made my cup of coffee wrong! I Thought I was loosing the plot!!

My MIL just kept reassuring me it was completely normal, and if it persisted to go to the doctors..

But it passed. You are completely normal!! It's a massive shock to your body, hormones, brain, your whole life!!

Even though you have had months knowing your beautiful baby is on its way, it's still massively overwhelming once they arrive!

You now all of a sudden have someone to look after forever! It's no wonder we all feel like we are losing it!

You will be absolutely fine. Let all your emotions out..speak to a friend or family member about it, if you don't have anybody, there will be hundreds of ladies on here, that completely understand and will help you xx

Thank you everyone. It's just so hard but I have been told this will pass, just got to have faith. I worry I don't love DS enough and worry I will resent him if I feel like this forever...those thoughts then make me feel 1million times worse. Just praying it passes. I really appreciate the advice x

Gosh I started a thread exactly like this. Those first 3/4 weeks are horrendous, and baby blues ARE a thing, and you WILL get through it. Let yourself feel it, but reassure yourself. My boy is 13 weeks now, and I still have days where I've been in tears, picked myself up and carried on. Don't feel silly or like you can't do it or that you're being unreasonable.

Take time when he's sleeping to relax, get a hot drink, sleep, eat whatever you want, basically "check out" for a minute and scroll through social media or read a book. A little self care goes a long way I've found. You don't need to be "on it" 24/7.

You're doing amazingly, well done on your little one.

I wondered if I could possibly not resent my son after he spent the first 9 weeks of his life crying for about 6 hours a day. Once he stopped crying, it became a dim and distant memory! You'll love him more and more as time goes on, don't worry if you don't bond with him instantly. They also get more interesting and fun as they get older, the smiles definitely help (I was told this when he was tiny and didn't believe it, but they do).

It honestly does pass, it just feels like it won't at the time! You won't feel like this forever, but do get help if it persists.

Today and yesterday have been markedly worse so went to GP who has prescribed me with anti depressants. Will take a while to kick in and could be worse before it gets better!!

I promise this does get better. Even though you probably won't feel like it right now (depending on the kind of birth you had) but fresh air and long walks do you the world of good!

I'm feeling the same, I gave birth on the 19th and had a 3rd degree tear, was taken to theatre under GA. 3 days after her birth I had a bit of a crash mood wise...weepy panicking about what had happened and processing the birth...then I was fine the day after almost euphorically high, then crashed again on Thursday. I'm on day 8 now and I feel myself 70-80% of the time, then find I crash mood wise in the evening, everything is too much for me.
The good thing is I continue "mum mode" easily, and get overwhelmed with how much I love her.
But it's something that I didn't expect to hit so hard, I'm terrified it won't ever end.

I just want to offer my support. I have a 14 week old DD and have never experienced lows like I did after she was born. I think it kicked in on day 2 or 3 and I felt dread and on the verge of a panic attack all the time. I want to reassure you - it does get better. I'm not 100% yet but I'm a million miles away from where I was. Keep going, take it one day at a time, life will get easier I promise. Newborns are so tough, I found 9 weeks a turning point as she started to be able to be awake and not cry. 12 weeks was another turning point as I allowed myself to go out without her. How are you feeling now?