Postpartum

Literally came here to share this. Been sitting here crying and wanting to reach out to fellow moms navigating postpartum period to see if there was anyone else feeling the same.

I have the same experience, crying almost everyday, mostly in the later evening. Plus, my labor was tough, I was in labor for 27 hours and ended up with C-section, which makes my postpartum tougher. What I do is trying to get as much help as I can, from family, or hiring someone, to take care of myself and the baby, and going out for a walk everyday. I don’t think mom should be expected to handle all the baby care things alone. They themselves also need to be taken care of. If not, the pressure, sleep deprivation, and 24/7 nonstop work only make depression worse.

Wanted to say that I felt this real bad. My hormones/emotions are getting the best of me. My son who's a week old is still in the NICU.

I joined a virtual lactation group and I have a virtual appointment tomorrow with someone to schedule me for individual therapy because the postpartum depression has hit me hard. I had a c section on Jan 11th with my first and the waves of depression that come, in addition to trying to still physically recover is daunting. Would anyone like to join a texting group chat where we can all check in with each other? Especially if there are any moms who are mainly doing feeding at all hours of the night and day! I find breastfeeding to be an incredibly lonely experience.

It’s been really up and down for me but I also struggle with bipolar. A few days of crying and tearfulness and other moments of pure joy. It’s weird feeling so happy and grateful for a new addition yet so sad and hopeless at the same time. I feel so guilty my toddler is having a hard time adjusting and feel so guilty he needs all my time and new baby is primarily being taken care of by my husband because baby 1 needs me more right now. I wish I could share my love equally and it’s just not possible right now, kind of feel like Gumby. My dr prescribed Zoloft and sleeping pills but I’m afraid to take anything and haven’t started and almost feel like it’s better to feel and process these emotions rather than medicate and mask them. So I’ve just been trying to sleep as much as I can, focus on good sleep hygiene. Take moments for myself like going outside for some fresh air, sunlight, take a nice hot shower and do some self care, lotion, hair and skin oils, etc.

My experience seem to be same as most of you ladies. I had to have an emergency c-section and it has hell ever since. My pregnancy was very hard and tired some then to top it off with emergency c-section just took it over the edge. Trying to recover and take care of new born is hard. Hiring help is not an option right now and I so wish we could. Even if it’s just for a couple weeks until he gets into a night routine and I can heal properly. I will try some of the stress relief ideas you guys mentioned. Not to mention I don’t even have an appetite

@Nirveeta yes!! I would join this chat. I do all the night time care for my 4 week old and I’m home alone with her most days as well. I also have bad PPD and anxiety and I can relate to how lonely and isolated I feel most days.

I understand… at times I feel a dread when the clock hits 6pm... it feels like the world is quiet, and it’s just me in the newborn trenches, but take a deep breath; these moments will pass, and before you know it, you will have a toddler.

Please reach out to your OB and/or a therapist for support. I had horrible PPD with my second child.

@Daisy I completely agree my son was in the nicu for the first week of his life if you ever want to talk feel free to message me

Postpartum is so hard, the 4th trimester is my least favorite. This time around I’ve been taking postpartum mood support gummies and I can tell a difference. The hormones can be roughhhhh

I have started taking ashwagandha gummies to help but I just don’t know. I wish I could snap my fingers to the toddler stage.

I’m praying for all of us to get the relief we need and this will be another hurdle we have cross very very soon. ♥️

I would try herbs like valerian and ashwaghanda. I have them ready for any signs of sadness that may start up for me

So feeling this. Thank you for the post, and I hope sharing has offered some consolation for us all. I am shocked by the intensity sometimes of the feelings of overwhelm. I have had quite a few breakdowns, full of complete and utter hopelessness, overwhelm and sadness. It has been sooo hard not getting to spend as much time with my toddler. She was my WORLD. And it’s hard seeing her slowly forget our routines — I feel like she’s forgotten me :(( I’m spending most time with baby while hubby take some care of toddler. We r keeping him away from Abby since he has a cold.. he couldn’t get much time off of work so there’s that too.. just so much … but I hope we all get better each day

I was taking antidepressants and anti anxiety medication before pregnancy and was struggling a lot with PPA in the first week or two after an emergency c-section. I reached out to my OB to see if it was safe to resume my medications. She said yes to the antidepressants but not the Xanax as it is t safe for baby. She also referred me to Kaiser’s MIR for a consult. MIR is a department of OB that has psychiatrists that specialize in postpartum. I get five 30-minute sessions and she will refer me to mental health of we feel like more therapy is needed. They also offer group therapy on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings so that was recommended as well. I’ve done one session with the therapist so far and been back on my meds for two weeks. I think this combination is going to be helpful for me. I’m also thinking of joining the group therapy session since the MIR sessions are kind of limited. Outside of those resources, I am lucky that my husband is super involved and helpful.

My husband and I take shifts at night to help ensure that we both get more sleep. I think that has helped with my recovery and depression or anxiety (I don’t know which is a better name for it). The therapist I’m working with also helped my fears by telling me the standard like my feelings are valid and a lot of moms feel this way. That is why I think the roll sessions could be so helpful. Sorry my response got so long! You aren’t alone! There are a lot of us dealing with this too!

@Nirveeta I'm 3 weeks pp haven't experienced a lot of depression but I did with my first 2. I'm also commenting, because I think your ideal is great & I agree with the breastfeeding part i have been dying to find somebody else that is breastfeeding, to talk to, whether it's about breastfeeding or just to have a friend

@Kassie you are not alone just remember that. This is my fourth child, and the worst experience I had gestational diabetes throughout my pregnancy. Was told I was gonna have a big baby got induced at 39 weeks went for a vaginal delivery, and it resulted in an emergency c-section. Most traumatic experience ever my baby needed help breathing cpap machines, etc. For the first ten minutes of life and I lost so much blood that I became anemic, and the healing process has been hard plus breastfeeding on top of it plus having a two year old. Reach out anytime if you'd like to talk