Dog really hope this is it. Sending loads of labour vibes your way!
Tree where are you? We are missing you!
LenniEd sorry to hear you are feeling so low. I was feeling quite low myself this week and desperately trying not to let anyone know, but decided to take a deep breath and mention it to the HV on Friday. She was lovely, we had a good long chat and she said she could either visit regularly or I could call her if I felt I needed any extra support. It may well be worth speaking to your HV as they know the signs of PND and will be able to offer you appropriate guidance and support. Also, even though DH is working full time I asked him to be 'in charge' of DD for a night so I literally just did the feeds then passed her straight to him to wind and settle back into her crib. It really helped as I could just turn over and go straight back to sleep making the most of the time between feeds. Also, may seem like a daft question, but are you taking any supplements at the moment. I found I felt worse when I forgot to take mine - pregnacare do a breastfeeding supplement and a lot of the pregnancy supplements are designed to be continued during breastfeeding. Apparently its easy to get anaemic when breastfeeding as well and this can make you feel, weak, hopeless and tearful. Breastfeeding on top of everything else you've got on must be so draining and supplements might just help fortify you so to speak.
Also, I think I was feeling low as I had unrealistic expectations of how quickly I could get control of things and get life back to some approximation of normal. I sat in my living room looking around and feeling so ashamed that nowhere in the house was 'right'and I wasn't functioning at my 'normal' level. After speaking with the HV I realised that I'd had a hard pregnancy followed by a tough birth and it would take a while for me to be physically and mentally back to normal and only then would things start to click back into place. Try to be kind to yourself and not put yourself under too much pressure. I really had forgotten how hard the first few weeks with a newborn are, but now I've had time to mull it over I realise that its won't be forever and things will get easier.
My weekend was a total washout. No luck car hunting. DH just wouldn't believe that you can't fit 3 car seats in an large family hatchback and had me trying to get our seats in and out of various cars in the middle of a bloomin blizzard until he finally gave in and tried a Citroen Xsara Picasso and 'voila' they fitted straight away. Not being one to say 'told you so!' I immediately reminded that I told him so over and over and over again!
So we are finally agreed about the 3 different type of cars we are looking at (although DH is bitterly disappointed at having to get a boring family mpv type car), but don't have anyone to look after the boys for the next 7 weeks as Mum is having a knee replacement next Friday. (Tried taking them with us to look at cars on Saturday - they were bored, whingey and generally a really pita after less than an hour!)
Anyway, must go DD having her newly developed nightly screaming session and need to rescue DH. (Am booking her in at the Osteopaths asap!)