Mamas with depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders

Struggling to make a decision

Hello. Prior to pregnancy I suffered from depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Now that I am 10 weeks postpartum and preparing to return to work I'm realizing how much my depression and anxiety are hitting. I exclusively breastfeed my daughter and am now torn with the decision of getting back on Lexapro (which works wonders) or continuing to do therapy weekly and try to manage the depression without meds. All medical professionals I've spoken with and my husband stress that the benefits outweigh the risks if it's needed but that now has me questioning how much is it needed. I'm not at my lowest (I don't want to hit my low) but I'm also scared of the risks. To say very small amounts are passed to baby but monitor for drowsiness, fussiness, changes in appetite, and then withdrawal makes me feel like there is more than a very small amount getting to baby. Has anyone used this medication while nursing? Is anyone else going through similar? I'm so torn and feel so alone because I don't have much support when it comes to this. Thank you all for the safe place to vent 💕

in our community

Mum Guilt After My 6-Week-Old Baby Fell on the Floor

I’m really upset and struggling with a lot of mum guilt right now. My six-week-old baby loves sleeping on my chest, especially when we’re lying on the bed. Lately I’ve been extremely sleep deprived and haven’t been getting much rest. This morning at around 3:45 a.m., I woke up to a loud thump followed by my baby crying. When I opened my eyes, I realised he had fallen onto the floor. I was absolutely devastated.

I immediately called 111 and took him straight to A&E. Thankfully, he was examined by the doctors and discharged, and they reassured me that he was fine.

Normally, if I’m lying down with him, I put him back in his cot or beside me once he’s settled. I honestly don’t remember falling asleep. The last thing I remember is patting him to sleep, and then I woke up to hear him crying on the floor.

Seeing my six-week-old baby lying there broke my heart. I can’t stop replaying the moment in my mind and blaming myself for what happened. I know it was an accident, but I feel terrible.

My baby struggles with reflux and hates sleeping in his cot, which is why he often settles best when he’s on me. However, after this scare, I’m determined to be much more careful and make sure he’s sleeping in a safe space, even if it’s more difficult and means less sleep for me.

I’m just feeling incredibly guilty and upset about the whole situation.

Baby rolling at night

So my baby has just started to roll at night, but my Lordy she’s up every hour crying on her front, i literally don’t know what to do, she’s in her big cot in her own room but I just can’t deal with getting up every hour to settle her, she has a dummy so I don’t know if she just wants her dummy and to be left to be on her front or what, please someone help we are tired and grouchy over here 😂

Exclusively breastfeeding to formula

My little one is six weeks old and I’m wanting to transition from EBF to formula. I’ve contemplated expressing and bottle feeding but for my own wellbeing and mine and baby’s life I think formula will be the best thing for us.

Does anyone have any advice or experience on how to do this transition? My main concern is I feed on demand currently, so baby could feed anywhere between 5-30 minutes at a time and this could be 8-15 times in a 24hour period. How do I go about transitioning with this in mind? Will baby naturally be more full on formula so there will be less ‘ad hoc’ little feeds?

Thank you!!

Huckleberry app or alternatives

Has anyone used Huckleberry to track baby sleep, feeds, nappies etc.. is the free version good enough?
Is the paid version worth it?

Are there other alternatives out there better than Huckleberry?

Keen to get opinions from parents who used it from birth.

Baby milestones

When your little one started holding/lifting his head by itself?🥰
Mine is 11 weeks and not a fan of tummy time but he usually holds it when I hold him. Today for the first time he actually lifted his head on tummy time and he didn’t started crying as soon as he landed on his tummy 🥹

baby sleeping on their side

My baby is 3.5 months and when i put her in the crib she is on her back.. eventually she moves around and ends up sleeping on her side. Is this something normal? Should i be concerned because dr google is telling me it increases the risk of suffocation and SIDS and now i’m freaked out.