Another "it gets better" story

Smudges*Mom · January 2010

My son was born on July 11th and is now 6 months old.

I never felt well during my pregnancy and my son was overdue (almost 2 weeks late). At the bitter end of my pregnancy, I developed HELLP Syndrome (the most severe form of pre-e). It was a very rough experience for me. I did not get to hold my son until he was 28 hours old, if I remember correctly (it is all a blur).

Once home, I became extremely anxious and was weepy all of the time. Fortunately, my MIL and my parents were there to take care of DS and I (oh, did I mention that my DH was deployed? Yah, fun times.). For the first several weeks, I did very little for the care of my son--which I felt terribly guilty about. Once I started to recover physically, I developed PPD. Fortunately, I was already set up with a psychiatrist who monitors my ADD. I started seeing him for PPD. He put me on Pristiq a couple of weeks postpartum and that helped tremendously.

It was a rough go for a while. Once my period started back, my mood took a major nosedive. DH was home for R&R when LO was 2 months old, and I spent my mornings crying in bed. By afternoon, I felt better. . . but I knew that I would feel awful again in the morning. Poor DH.

But, at about 3 months, things really got much better. Life is good now. My LO is precious, I enjoy being his mom. I wake-up looking forward to caring for my son. The last six months have been hard and I wouldn't wish them upon anyone--but with proper care and treatment, IT WILL GET BETTER!

I'll do my best to answer threads with questions and to provide support. I know how hard it can be and I hope that those of you dealing with PPD/PPA are getting the help that you need and that you feel better SOON!