How do you do it?
I know I don't post often (I am more of a lurker) but I need some guidance.
I am having a hard time not being a completely stressed out "helicopter" mom.
A little bit of back story. Mid-June my very healthy, 6 year-old dog
Lucy (who had been my spoiled rotten baby up to that point) suddenly
got sick and within a few day, we had to make the heart wrenching
decision to put her to sleep. Then, in August, I had a pretty traumatic
birth experience that ending with a life saving hysterectomy. So I know
both of those things have made me a little more sensitive and paranoid
about things concerning Mackinley. For example, just because Mackinley
has a bit of an upset tummy doesn't mean things will end like they did
with Lucy, yet that is where my mind goes.
Lately she has been doing lots of arching of her back, and lots of
"talking" that eventually turns into screaming. I know this is all her
just finding her voice and trying to use her body. But I still
over-analyzing it and keep coming up with obscure disorders that she
might have. I really need to stay away from google! I have convinced
myself that she has so many different things that I am going to be
"that" mom, and go see the pediatrician so she can put my mind at ease.
So, after all that, my question is, what do you do to keep yourself
from over-analyzing and freaking out about every little thing. (Or, am
I the only one that does that?) I am getting to the point where I am
literally making myself sick with worry. I want to enjoy my time with
my girl, but it is hard if I am stressed out about everything.
Re: How do you do it?
While I did not have any of the traumatic events that you had, I understand over-analyzing, and can relate 100%. That's how my personality/brain works, and unfortunately, that, combined with pp hormones can lead to anxiety and worse. If the thoughts become more frequent/troubling, you may want to consider talking to someone about PPD. I let my situation get out of hand thinking I could deal with it on my own, and ended up hospitalized for severe ppd/anxiety. If you are interested, my story is in my blog, link in siggy (10/2008).
Hang in there, and it is probably worth it to got talk to someone. For me, medication saved my life, literally. It made me feel normal, and not worry so much. I am now no longer on any anti-depressants, but it made a world of difference for me.
ETA - your little girl is precious!
I agree with PP about talking to someone about PPD. I have been dealing with it myself after an "eventful" pregnancy, lengthy hospital stay for myself, and a preemie in the NICU for almost a month. I have been taking Pristiq for a while and it seems to be helping some.Also, I dont know the details of your traumatic birth experience but I do know that there is some link to post traumatic stress disorder in tramautic birth experiences and in my case being a NICU parent. That might be something to ask your doctor about as well. I am trying really hard to not be one of "those" kind of parents and I do pretty well most of the time but it is hard, but my DH is more like the way you describe worrying about something constatnly being wrong. I think he has also suffered from the whole experience.
Take care of yourself and I hope things get better for you.
First of all, thank you for the compliment about Mackinley, we are quite smitten with her!
After talking with my mom and husband (and some friends) I think I have realized I am in a little over my head. So I have decided to make an appointment to talk with someone, and hopefully get some coping techniques. I already feel like I can breathe a little better. I don't know why I was keeping it all in instead of saying something to my husband. I guess that's my stubbornness coming out!
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