How did you know you had PND?

[Createcomet]

I'm 14 weeks post partum and wondered how you knew you had PND?

My little boy has cmpa so hasn't been an easy baby, and my 3 Yr olds behaviour has suddenly taken a turn for the worse...giving, whining, crying, screaming....I try to plan nice things to do with him and its makes it so difficult from start to finish.

I'm so so tired. Dh is helping with night feeds but I'm still exhausted. Baby has slept through on a handful of occasions. Last night I was up from 2am to 6am because we're now in a sleep regression.

I'm trying to also help with work because DH and I have a small business. Trying to organise website development, write the company Xmas cards etc....and do all the cooking/cleaning/life admin.

I just feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Some days I want to run away.

How do I know if it's PND?

Firstly, so sorry you feel this way. I had pnd with all of my dc and with my first I think I asked on an internet forum how long the baby blues were meant to last for as ds was about 4 weeks old and I was still quite emotional. I was on a message board for mums due the same month as me and someone on there had just been diagnosed with pnd. She had similar symptoms to me but I still thought it might be normal baby blues but it made me think. I was going to mention it at my 6 week check but was too scared. In the end I got up the courage to talk to the health visitor at the baby weighing clinic. With my other dc it was a lot easier and I just phoned the gp and said I was feeling awful and could I have my usual meds please.

I realised it was PND when I allowed myself to recognise that I was simply doing what I thought was expected of me and not because I felt compelled to do it. So cuddling baby, talking to her etc. Even the midwife commented that she would have never even suspected it if I hadn't admitted that to her as from the outside everything looked great.
Parenting is tough at any stage, but doubting yourself makes that battle so much harder!
I hope you find some balance soon OP