possible post natal depression - any advice?

[pink76]

just been to see my doc who reckons i have mild pnd. i'm not a fan of anti depressants. does anyone have any advice on whats worked for them, ie exercise etc. my daughter is 3 months old, i have all patience and energy for her but not much patience left for anyone else!!!

Dont want this to drop off active..
Do you think you have PND? What do you think would help you? Exercise and healthy eating are certainly good, as is getting as much sleep as possible (hard I know, but the old line of nap when baby naps holds good) pnd can be hard to shift without ads sometimes, though not impossible.

Pink, lots of empathy to you, I was down quite a lot after ds was born, the early days can be rough/lonely for so many people but there are massive pressures to be hysterically sunny mummy imo.
if i could go back in time I would go out much more regularly, go to as many parent and toddler groups as I can and walk loads, being in too much imo isn't good!
have to run as dd is creating but take care and you are not alone but my advice would be
exercise
change of scene
going out
going to play groups
Someone else to do some childcare to give you time away from baby to just be responsibility free for a few hours/ minutes!!
Company of other mothers.
Take a mag to a cafe even for half an hour
Keep busy
Stop being busy when exhausted (!)
Go to bed with baby and cuddle sometimes and just enjoy them, they're running away from you soon enough!
Have a 'treat' once a day, whatever that means for you something to look forward to, even a tiny thing (Hello magazine was my guilty pleasure)
Go on mumsnet!

hope you feel better but it took me a long time, I would wish that you don't expect to feel fabulous at once, it took me q long time
someone once said to me that having a child can leave some people almost needing to grieve for the life that they've lost. Despite the great joy of a child, you do lose your old life in a kind of shocking way, most people are unprepared for the difference, as if your old self has died!
take care

that makes a lot of sense. my bloke said yesterday that he wants the old me back, so do I and i think it may take some time. going to start running tho, this helped my mum when she had pnd with my younger brother. thanks. lots else going on too, , i'm surendering my house to bank cos we can't afford it and living with blokes parents.

excerise

and i'll come straight out and own up... smoking.

i smoked BC, and i found that being able to get 5 mins to excape out the back and just be alone did wonders. not saying take up smoking. but finding something that gets you 5 mins doing anything thats just for you works wonders.

oh and have you found any mothers at parent and toddler groups who are equally as honest??

these mothers who constantly say how "wonderful" parenting is make it very hard, as they used to make me feel terrible and guilty for feeling "its a bloody hard pita"

i found other mothers who were just as open with me about how tough it was. i feel the moaning sessions we used to have used to work wonders. we'd meet up. spend first half hr ranting. then feel much better and have a good chin wag for remainder of our coffee morning.

read that back and it sounds wrong. i smoked BC. stopped for 4 yr during which time had dc. started again when times got really tough. times are better now. feeling the clouds have lifted so going to quit again.

also because i dont smoke infront of dc, its great excuse to get a member of family to pop round for 5 mins so i can escape for a ciggie while they watch them.

can you think of anything else... like ironing maybe... get an excuse to get someone round? tell them its dangerous with baby (which it is once they're crawling)

and you can shut yourself away through the back and watch some daytime tv while you do it.

i used to watch soaps and iron through the back when lo's were young too. leaving them with their dad so i could get half hr to myself.

I gave up smoking 2 weeks before I knew I was pregnant so I don't think taking it up would be such a good idea but know what you saying. Getting out of the house even for an hour helps, clears the brain. I've been going to some mother and baby groups which help and people seem to be quite honest. Got health visitor coming on monday so we can chat about pnd then.

Getting time away from the baby - I had a childminder half a day a week. Saved my life.

Homeopathy really helped me. In general I'm sceptical about homeopathy, but mine was also a trained counsellor as well, and did a very lengthy assessment, and allowed me to express all my negative feelings.

Try and be "in the moment" with your baby - get down on the floor and observe and follow her lead.

Best wishes x

Make sure you are not anaemic !

doc said i coul be anaemic. keep going dizzy when i stand and blood pressure low

Get that sorted first pink76 .

I only realised after having DS2, ( when I had extremely low haemoglobin levels and had to have a blood transfusion), that I and the docs should have taken anaemia more seriously after DS1

will do, the doc didn't seem too concerned and hasn't arranged blood test as far as I know so I will mention it to health visitor on monday, thanks for that

How are you feeling pink? Hope you're having a good day