Postpartum Depression or Baby Blues?

Hello, my little guy is 2 weeks old and while my bouts of sadness have greatly improved I still feel off. I can’t tell if I should bring it up to my doctor as possible ppd. I feel bonded to my baby, but I also struggle a lot. I miss predictability and want to adjust to this new life as well as my baby deserves. If being put on meds will help me achieve that I want them but I don’t know if I have anything that’s treatable. Background I was very prepared for this baby and he was planned thoroughly, but I didn’t anticipate this immense guilt wanting my time back even if it’s just an hour or two daily. So idk if it’s normal and part of the process or if I should be anticipating a deeper problem.

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It can be normal, but it wouldn't hurt to bring it up to your doctor. Sometimes even women with baby blues would benefit from short-term therapy or other help

I felt this also, I did talk to my doctor and try therapy but by the time I started I was already feeling way better. I stopped therapy after a couple sessions and now at 11 weeks PP, I feel so much more like myself and in a better routine. It’s just so much change and exhaustion in the beginning

I had the baby blues for around a month before I started to feel better getting a hour or so a day is nothing to be ashamed of! Get your partner or a family member if possible to watch your baby and get some you time! Your sanity is also important 🫶🏼

Always keep in close communication with your OB about your emotional state 🫶🏻 alllll of those postpartum questionaires that they give for pediatrician appointments are sent to your OB so they can keep an eye on you, be honest on those!! My PPA turned into full blown PPR and I finally reached out for meds at 10m pp when I was yelling at my babies that I tried for 3.5 years for, lost 3 babies before, and wanted more than anything else in life. Every single day I wish I would've reached out sooner. Always keep in close contact with your medical team 🫶🏻

Never hurts to bring up, I think wanting a little me time is definitely normal and understandable. All your feelings are valid but that doesn’t mean they aren’t overwhelming. I would bring it up and talk about your options with your doctor, and don’t be afraid to bring it up to other trusted friends and family too, there support can make a good difference.

It’s normal to want to have some time to yourself. You have a whole another life you have to care for 24/7. I would try maybe having a little you time when baby is sleeping. It may not be much but thats how we have to do it sometimes.
PP last for about 6 months sometimes even longer.
Baby blues are apart of the process. I would let your dr. know during your pp check up and see if it’s more serious. Hang in there and congratulations :)

in our community

Wdy think of this for a toddler to learn word construction?

I'm open to anything else to start teaching him to read and write. He's 3!

Do men really enjoy fellatio?

Been together more than 10 years, but it's been a while since he even seemed remotely interested in me getting on my knees, or vice versa so to speak. I think it was once last year. Must be something I am doing wrong 🤔. Generally everything else in that department is great and we have two young kids with no extra support, so it's quite surprising we can't keep our hands off each other but may need to try new things. It's basically 2 positions each time with some foreplay.

I think Motherhood has made me more bitter than I realized…

This is such a ramble but I don’t know where else to put it all.

I’m four months in and I don’t really have hobbies right now. I don’t do anything for myself except maybe doomscrolling or listening to a podcast while I breastfeed my baby. I used to craft and have game nights with friends. Activities that usually are at least 2 hour stretches. Now if I have an hour free my mind immediately goes to baby, or doing something in the house for baby.

And I thought I didn’t mind. Like I knew postpartum could be very mentally consuming. But I think it’s altering how I view people around me and it’s prodding at my relationship with my husband.

He spends most of his time making food for us, looking after our dogs, playing with the baby, ect. But he still has time for his hobby. Spends maybe an hour a night on it. Even adapted to using a bot for shopping for his hobby after a certain incident where we had to have a heart to heart after he left me home alone with the baby for hours during a busy workday (I work from home) to shop for his hobby.

And yet there’s like this little green eyed monster in me that rages every time I know he’s running off to start up the bot. Even though I’m the reason he does it this way.

We took a family trip last weekend to see his best friend and their kids and let them meet the baby. He brought the laptop. He’s always brought a laptop on trips and it’s never been a problem to me before. But one night we both woke up while the baby was still asleep, and he wandered out of the room. I tried to fall back asleep but couldn’t. So I went to the kitchen to try having something warm to drink to settle me. And he was there at the table running the bot from his laptop. I flipped out at him. But there really wasn’t reason to. It’s not like I needed help with the baby and he was ignoring me. He wasn’t avoiding our friends. He was just awake and unable to sleep and found something to do with his time. Yet my snap reaction was “why the hell would you do this on a family trip?”

I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s the less complete sleep from baby’s middle of the night feed? My brain being just consumed by baby? Maybe I’m not as over that shopping incident as I thought? But I’m just so annoyed at his hobby right now. The green eyed monster thinks “you could be using that time differently” but realistically to do what exactly??? Stare at our baby in the dark???

I spent probably an hour apologizing to him after I snapped. And he’s of course hurt and frustrated because I said some very mean things in the moment.

I don’t want to be this jealous, angry person. But I also don’t know how to find time for myself in this right now outside of basic hygiene. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to be myself, even if just for an hour.

Maybe I need a therapist.

Naps

How is everyone doing for naps?

Little one is 9 months old and will have 2 half hour naps and one solid 1 hour - 2 hour nap a day

Then settles for night around 9pm. Wakes for a feed around 3:30 then sleeps until 6-7

Vanilla extract

Has anyone used alcohol free vanilla in their babies formal to help them drink?
I’m 100% sure my baby refuses her bottles as she doesn’t like the taste of it!

Just anxious to try it, don’t want her to get used to it and then refuse bottles again after two weeks of using (correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve read you use it for 2 weeks max)

TIA 🙂

Pumping advise

FTM to a 2 week old! I’m breastfeeding and then giving one formula bottle last in the evening before bed. I want to start expressing milk to give me some breathing room and also allow my partner to be more involved in feeding. I’m finding the idea of introducing pumping into my day quite overwhelming though. I don’t want to take milk away from my baby by pumping if he needs it during the day when being breastfeed.

Can anyone advise how I start pumping and when to do it? Thank you!