Is it possible to have PND 12 days after birth?

[SunshineLollipops9]

I had my second DS 12 days ago. It was a planned c section that went well other than a PPH and I was quite unwell due to untreated low iron afterwards.

the first 9 days I was so so happy and thought I’d even escaped the baby blues. I have another DS who is 3.5. I had postnatal anxiety and OCD after he was born, but I left it for too long and didn’t receive help until he was almost 1.

since day 9 I have had a sudden and severe drop in mood. Crying on and off all day. It started as extreme guilt for DS1. Feel like I miss him but he’s right there. Like I’ve made a huge mistake having another baby because it will never be just us again. Or he’s going to think that he wasn’t enough for us. DS2 was a planned and much wanted baby and now I’m scared I’m going to lose my love for him or my bond for DS1 who I love with all my heart and our bond is so strong. I am awaiting a call from the perinatal health team but I’m so scared and desperately sad. I have a very very supportive partner. I don’t want to feel like this.

I’m sorry you’re feeling this way; I think sometimes a drop in hormones can cause this. With one of mine I was on a high for the first couple of weeks then I had a week where I would cry every day (often at 4pm for some odd reason) but then it did actually pass. When I had PND from day 3 onwards I felt I was in a black hole and it was markedly different.
Honestly though any guilt you feel about your first (and that’s normal) will be surpassed 100 times when you see them bonding over the next few years

Sorry if it wasn’t clear the PND was a different baby to the crying every day at 4pm

im sorry you are feeling low, well done though for recognising this! i see this is your 2nd and that you suffered after the birth of your first.

yes you can have PND this early.. i suffered with my first, theres a 4 year gap and they put me on meds while pregnant with my 2nd.

sadly i caught on very quickly after my 2nd, which ended in miscarriage and i then went into full clinical depression.

please speak to someone.. don't wait! good luck and gentle hugs

Massive drop in hormones around this time of post partum. I can’t tell you either way if you personally are having something a bit more. But I can say that with all three babies I felt a mental and physical shift around this time where I felt like I just suddenly ‘dropped’ and I knew it was that hormone dump.

the placenta is like a little hormone factory which has been pumping hundreds of different hormones round and now your body is adjusting to that stopping.

I also grieved for my relationship with my firstborn and I totally get what you mean. I missed her terribly and she was right there. It helped me to hear others remind me that while she would never be an only child again with all my love and attention, she would be a child who now had a sibling and that’s a gift. You just gave her a playmate and confidante for life. And that won’t be obvious for a while but when you see them play together in years to come, it’s magical. I felt like I’d betrayed her and I would never be as good a mum again

now they are best friends, they fight constantly but they learn social skills from that and they entertain each other and it’s lovely to watch.

mine was just that, a big hormone dump and I was ok in a few days. I hope that’s all it is for you, but keep talking to people and don’t lock the feelings away if you need to voice them.