Am I an over protective mum?

I think this is totally fine at 10wks. I have the same issue, my parter is great with our daughter but I feel very unsettled if I’m not close to the baby all the time. I even felt a bit weird putting the 4th side up on our bedside bassinet 🤦‍♀️ the baby wasn’t any further away, I just couldn’t see her as well. Our daughter is 14wks now and I can be apart from her for up to 2hrs. It gets easier quickly 😊

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Yeah the side is still down on hers asleep I find that hard too. I’m glad it gets easier xx

Totally makes sense, it’s gotten better for me but my baby is 3 months now and even more than a couple hrs I’m still not used to the feeling, I think it will keep getting easier

My daughter is two and I still feel this way. I trust that my partner and our parents will take good care of her but I still miss her so much when I leave her with someone. I guess you just have to get used to her being with other people. My daughter loves being with others but her reaction when I come back is just an amazing feeling. I soak up those extra long hugs and kisses.

I was like this. I think since I had such a terrible birth I cling onto my son so hard cause I was afraid I was gonna lose him. My husband had to have a talk with me and I still stress and it’s hard for me to relax when my son is not with me but I try and distract myself best I can. It’s slowly getting better. He is 15mo now and seeing him develop socially and bond better with his dad helps a lot.

Don’t ever feel like you are being overprotective! It’s completely understandable! You’ve carried your baby for months and months inside you where you know they were safe and protected and then within an instant they are out and starting to explore the world! It is scary and you wish you could be with them every second. I feel the same with my little girl! And hearing about children going missing because a parent ‘looked away for a minute’ just scares you all the more! I never want her out of my sight if we go out, I guess really you can only protect your children so much - but you do anything that makes you more comfortable and don’t think to yourself if it makes you over protective, the main thing is you just want to keep them safe! 💕 xx

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Thank you xx

I was that way with my 1st son .. I didn’t let my husband take him or do anything with him

Hi Jaime-Leigh, I see that other mums replied but just wanted to say - you’re perfectly normal, it’s so typical for the primary carer (the mom) to have heightened senses and worry for her baby. I remember criticizing my husband a lot with our first baby because I was always afraid that something horrible could happen to her if he didn’t pay enough attention... (I also had a very traumatic delivery which worsened my anxiety). With time and observing my husband taking care of her built my trust in him. Remember that you can’t control everything and that eventually the only way to not burden yourself with anxiety is to learn to let go a bit (it sounds crazy now but trust me it’s true). Babies are very resilient and husbands need to find their legs as carers. Soon your baby will be bigger and you’ll feel less scared of letting her free to roam and explore you’ll see x

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Thank you I have stepped back a bit with day to day things as I was driving myself up the wall and he’s been more hands on it’s just the walls and being that far away xx

It will getter better, and the bright side is that soon you’ll also have more time to yourself (which is a blessing!) 😄

I think it’s worth mentioning that you feel this way with your GP/LMO. It sounds like you may be experiencing some post-partum anxiety which is really common but not discussed as much as post-partum depression. I definitely suffered with it but already had an anxiety disorder prior to falling pregnant so had some coping tools to manage it. Maybe try setting yourself a little goal each week. If right now you can only manage to be on a different floor in the house, next week aim to stay inside while your partner takes the baby in the garden or vice versa. The following week aim for a walk to the end of the street and back alone or something. Each week try and push yourself a little further until you feel up to leaving for an hour or so. It will be hard (trust me I know!) but one day you will need that time to yourself so much to recharge your batteries. You have a huge community here to support you too. You can do this mama!!!!

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Thank you for the advice. I will definitely try setting myself some goals xx

I’m the same ! I don’t think lockdown has helped because we both have got used to constantly being with each other! I trust my husband and family 100% but it’s more the fact I get separation anxiety when I’m not with her or the thought of not being with her. She’s my first too so I don’t want to miss anything. People keep saying after all this is over I can’t wait to have her for the day, this makes me so anxious !

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Yeah she’s my first too. My dad asked could he take her for a walk in the park one day and I was just like yeah but with me. My family understand but still look at me as if I’m crazy. Xx