partner changed after having baby

we had our baby 2 weeks ago, it’s been hard as he was born at 36w as an emergency c section out of nowhere following a routine growth scan. this was followed by having to travel to liverpool for a week long NICU stay. now we’re home my boyfriend is really snappy with me. he’s great with baby and is hands on but he seems to be agitated with me and makes me feel really stupid a lot of the time. everything is taken out on me and it’s hurting me and making me feel like i’m not doing good enough and it’s ruining my experience. but he can still be loving in the same breath. i know it’s hard but something feels extra off.

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We were in the exact same boat. Our baby was born at 33 weeks and was in hospital for 2 weeks. For weeks he was snappy and belittled me a lot. It really made me question who I married. She’s 9 weeks old now and it’s a lot better for us. It’s really hard, especially the pressures of the nicu

I'm sorry you're going through that. Have you tried talking to him when he is in a better mood? It could be stress + extreme tiredness, not that it's an excuse but maybe you can talk to him to make him understand how it makes you feel and hopefully he can self regulate better. Good luck, I hope it gets better soon x

Maybe try going to the dr with him? My partner was like this and was extra emotional , turns out he had paternal postpartum depression and needed help. I didn’t even know it was a thing at the time, but it’s really common

@Meg you said it perfectly, could be he’s experiencing postpartum depression and not know how/why he’s acting that way. Let him know it’s a totally normal transition for any parent. Best of luck navigating this together.

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