Sleep deprivation and hormones

I have found the exact same thing. It's so weird to have so much love and gratitude for your baby and still feel like your sense of yourself has completely changed and be overwhelmed by that.

The hardest part for me was when my husband went back to work after his paternity leave ended - thinking about him at work when I was home with baby really made me think about how much my life had changed from when I was working too.

It really helped me to talk about these feelings with my husband, my mum and my friends (both mum friends and non-mum friends). They were really supportive and understanding and it made me feel a lot less weird for feeling these things and a lot less alone.

Maybe see if you have a brief moment for a bit of one of your previous hobbies to reconnect with your self beyond your new mum identity.

You've already made a great start making this post :)

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I an happy that it helped you to get through it. 🙏🏼

I don't have any mum friends so I feel heard but not always understoods, if that makes sense... that's why the loneliness kicks in for me.

I want to go back running and doing the things I used to do but I just feel so drained that I can't seem to find the energy.

It has been a rollercoaster ride .. traumatic birth, painfull breastfeeding and still breastfeeding after 4 months with 2 h sleep each night and a baby who cries 2 -3 hours every night..
And some people I have lost along the way.

I just hold on to her smile.