Strange homesick feeling following birth of baby

[StacyHall]

Hi all, my baby will be two weeks old tomorrow and I have this strange ‘homesick’ feeling everyday, I’m not sure why, I moved out of my family home 3 years ago and never felt homesick before. Is this due to hormonal changes or is it something I should be mentioning to my midwife or doctor? It is my first baby so don’t really know what’s normal. Tia xx

Does it come on when you're breastfeeding? If so it could be a hormonal phenomenon called D-MER. I had it and it was the weirdest unhappiest feeling, very much like homesickness.

I’m bottle feeding, not sure if the same happens

It's possible I suppose! Unfortunately it's not something they can treat really. Hormones will be up and down at your stage but will settle. Definitely chat to your midwife or HV so they can keep an eye on how you are feeling.

I cried every time my mum left me to go home!

I just cry at anything and nothing :( I’m not sad, I’ve waiting a long time for this baby so it’s just so strange. I just have someone ask how I am and I burst into tears, if I’m on my own I cry too. I just hope it’s normal xx

It's very normal. I had it with my first born. Felt like I didn't recognise my new life and wanted my old one back. Everything around me was the same - plus baby - but I felt like it had all shifted and I just wanted some familiarity back. It went after a couple of weeks I think, don't know when exactly, I just realised one day that I was feeling 'centred' again, for want of a better word.

With my second DC, didn't feel it at all. Think it's down to hormones and the massive changes that having a baby brings in your life.

Very normal in my experience. 10 days after the birth I just cried and cried and cried. I wasn't even sad about anything specific! Whenever visitors would go home I would burst out crying as if I am never going to see them again. Told my sister with 3 kids and her response was 'oh yes all normal, all the happy, bonding hormones have now left your body.' Would've liked to have known this before! Congratulations on your baby OP and it does get easier!

I definitely felt this with my first. Homesick for my old life. Everything had changed and it felt like I had no sanctuary left. It wore off quite quickly but I remember it as being grim.

Perfectly normal- try not to worry. Your hormones are all over the place and that mixed with lack of sleep makes for quite the emotional rollercoaster!!
I had this horrible detached feeling - like I was in the room and hearing what people were saying but as if I was looking down on it all from above, didn’t feel like I was really there if that makes any sense! I felt really out of it, like nothing was normal anymore, everything just felt really off and unfamiliar. It was a really strange feeling and really unnerving. I was really emotional too, crying and getting really upset over silly things.

Things will settle down and you will feel normal again - promise. Just give it time. Try to rest as much as you can, as tiredness makes it so much worse.

Very normal but goodness, it's horrible. I kept crying because I loved my husband so much and was so sick with longing for the time we used to be able to spend just the two of us. I thought I'd never get over it, it was a horrible feeling. But it passed.

I’m going through this right now - the yearning for the much easier life I had (and appreciated, and loved) is so painful. I wouldn’t wish away the baby but that ‘homesick’ feeling for what we had before that is now so far out of reach is just horrendous. I can’t stop crying. It feels like grief.

@worm79 It IS grief. I promise it will pass, even though it feels right now like it won't. It's so hard. But it will get better. xx

Sorry for the unmumsnetty xx! Force of habit!