worried I'm falling apart

[ExistentialistCat]

My DD is 7.5 months old and I'm 2 months pregnant. I've been feeling really low and I'm worried that this isn't normal.

DD has had some sleep problems and I'm exhausted from early pregnancy, so I don't know how much of this could be sleep deprivation and hormones all over the place.

I feel so tired and without any energy or motivation. I'm finding it hard to enjoy or look forward to anything. I feel overwhelmed by the little everyday tasks of life, especially now that DD has started weaning and it just seems to be an endless round of preparing food, feeding, clearing up, milk feeds, nappy changes and naps. It's getting harder and harder to fit in going out and seeing people amongst all this (we were previously doing loads - various baby activities and lots of socialising). Worse still, I feel less and less like going out and doing anything.

I'm really hoping that it'll get easier as DD gets older and more interactive. At the moment each day and each week feels like another ordeal to be got through and I feel terrible for wishing DD's little life away.

Is this normal and likely to pass or am I experiencing the dreaded sphectre of depression?

I think you are doing brilliantly under difficult circumstances - early pregnancy and weaning are energy-sapping individually, never mind in combination! It will pass - once the weaning process gets further underway, it is actually a lot easier to get out and about, because the baby can eat more 'normal' foods that are portable (cheese cubes, meatballs, bread, fruit, steamed veggies - stuff she can feed herself and that doesn't require a bib and a mess). And the fatigue will probably lift once your first trimester is over.

Lack of sleep just makes everything seem horrible. But it isn't, or at least won't be for very long in the grand scheme of things. Good luck and be kind to yourself - and I hope things will feel better soon.

Thank you, xandrarama - I'm giving myself this first trimester to see whether the hormone ups and downs abate, and if they don't I'm going to consider going to a GP. I just don't know whether it's normal to feel this crap.

And a shameless BUMP!

It must be very difficult coping with a small baby and being pregnant. Don't be hard on yourself, you are bound to be tired.

If things don't seem to get any easier then it would be worth seeing your GP. It's likely that you are just exhausted but it could be the start of PND. If it's PND you'd be better seeking help sooner rather than later.

Good luck!

7 months was a really hard time for us - I think it just seemed like it had been SO long since I had had any freedom, or any time to myself, and yet it was also so long before I could have any. Now that my daughter is 15 mo, it's obviously been longer since I had any freedom, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

And 8 weeks pregnant was by far the hardest moment in my pregnancy, too - the nausea and fatigue hit its peak.

Combine the two, and no wonder you're struggling. If your partner, or a parent, can take your daughter for a few hours here and there, and let you go out for a coffee or a sit in a park (um, when it's not February maybe) you should do that. It's a hard time, and you need to do what you can to give yourself some time before the next one comes along.

And congratulations!