Scared to get help and be seen as not coping

I'm 6 weeks PP with baby no2. I also have a 3 year old.

I'm really struggling but I don't want to tell my health visitor because I know as soon as I start speaking I will burst into tears and I can't do that, it's so embarrassing and I hate being seen as not coping.

She's due to visit on Wednesday to weigh baby and do a couple tests. I also have a GP appt soon for my 6 week check. I know I should probably mention my mental health to one of them but I just can't.

I keep expecting it to get better, and some days it feels easier, but then some days are just so dark and I can get a break from my mind or snap out of it.

I'm starting to feel distant from both my kids. My son (3yo) is in a VERY argumentative phase, and although I'm not a shouty parent, I have started getting short with him and unable to hide my annoyance. I can't look at him sometimes and just cannot wait for him to go to bed. I always feel guilty.

With my baby I just can't bare her being awake because the pressure of keeping her from crying makes me feel so unbelievably on edge. It's like I always have a lump in my throat, or like I always can't quite take a deep enough breath. When she goes to sleep I feel relieved. But the bigger she gets the less she sleeps, and the harder it is to get her to nap. She was awake from 6pm - 11:30pm tonight and nothing I was doing was working. My husband was also trying but I cannot bare to hear her crying when what he's doing isn't working. I'd rather be the one trying. I know it's silly.

But at 10:45pm I had to message him to come upstairs and get her and take her away because I was starting to get angry and so frustrated and telling her to shut up. She was clean, fed, burped, and just kept crying. If she woke my 3yo up it would be hell. I just can't take it. I feel so guilty for thinking like this.

I love my babies, I don't want to be a sad, angry mum but I just want to run away. I don't want to be with them.

Baby is asleep now buy I know she'll wake soon for a feed so I can't sleep. I feel like I'm drowning.

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Say something to your health team mom. You HAVE to speak up. It’s OKAY that you cannot cope. You are not alone. That lump in your throat, I get that. I find myself sitting on the kitchen floor sometimes balling my eyes out. We are human, not robots, we have to reach out when we need help.

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It’s okay to get help. You don’t have to go through this alone.

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Tell them!! Talking about it helps! Especially to an outsider. I valued their opinion heaps because it was truly unbiased. And I have no idea what it's like where you are in the world, but when I mentioned I was feeling very lonely, suddenly the nurse gave me all these options and resources I'd never heard about! I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't told her

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Advice please, I’m honestly so upset😭

My little one is 21 months and has been at nursery since he was just over 12 months. Usually I get nothing but positive comments, he’s being a little testing lately especially when it comes to sharing - understandable it’s a lot for a young mind to comprehend obviously.

However today upon collection I was told he was better with his hands today. Some snatching here and there but normal for his age. Of course I appreciate the honestly it’s all a learning curve for a first time mum. But what’s sitting on my mind, and I’ve been upset ever since, is the language they used to describe his table manners.

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