Monthly Archives: December 2010

On the fifth day of Dismissmas: Five hours of sleep

Leave a reply

On the fifth day of Dismissmas,

Postpartum sent to me

Five hours of sleep,

Four Just Snap out of Its,

Three perfect babies,

Two depressed parents,

And a wailing mess in a pear tree.

If she just gets some sleep, she’ll be fine. This will all go away. I’ll have my wife/sister/friend back. She’s just tired. Five hours should do it.

Yes, sleep helps alleviate some of the symptoms of a Postpartum Mood Disorder. But it’s only part of the recovery picture. The primary supports around mom should be focused on helping her rest, receive help from medical professionals, and regaining her sense of self with the added identity of mother.

If a new mother is struggling with a Postpartum Mood Disorder, she may need additional help beyond housework and infant or childcare assistance. She may need a team of medical professionals. If Mom is particularly fatigued, be sure to encourage her to get her Thyroid, Iron, and Vitamin D levels. Any discrepancies in these levels may cause some rest issues. Insomnia, exhaustion and extended sleeping, or sleeping yet not feeling rested are all symptoms which should not be ignored.

Rest when you can but if your sleep is not up to par with your normal pattern, (you know, beyond the whole infant every two or three hours thing), talk with a physician about how things are going. Lack of sleep can really throw anyone for an emotional loop!

On the fourth day of Dismissmass: Four Snap out of its

Leave a reply

On the fourth day of Dismissmas,

Postpartum sent to me

Four Snap out of Its,

Three perfect babies,

Two depressed parents,

And a wailing mess in a pear tree.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6VT7ciR1o&w=400&h=400&rel=0]

Oh, if getting over a Postpartum Mood Disorder were that easy. Hell, Target sells red sequined shoes these days.

Recovery from a Postpartum Mood Disorder may be a yellow brick road for some. For others it’s more like climbing Mt. McKinley or trying to cross the Pacific ocean on a dinghy. None of them sound as easy as bouncing down to Target to buy a pair of red sequined heels. It may take meds, supplements, therapy, exercise, and most of all, it takes TIME.

What it doesn’t take is a friendly Good witch or a snazzy pair of red heels. Okay, so those may help but only if she’s bringing Ben & Jerry’s to the party. A good group of dedicated friends willing to get you out of any situation IS helpful though.

Even so, we cannot simply “snap out” of this.

We can’t turn it off. We don’t turn it on when you get home and off when you go to work in the morning. We are not secretly partying our asses off when you’re not looking. Sometimes we may wish we were but trust me, we are not.

Telling us to snap out of our PMD is a bit like well, according to @mooshindy on Twitter, “There’s no way to finish that sentence because I just nut punched whoever started the damn sentence.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Postpartum Voice of the Week: Life as we knew it

Leave a reply

 

Background "hand tag" stock photo from http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1241062

 

“If you are going through hell, keep going.”

Winston Churchill

If ever there were a post to embody the sentiment expressed by Sir Winston Churchill, this would be the one.

Seemingly trapped in a fox hole with guilt bombs convening on her very position, this author gets honest and raw about her experience. She begins to dream of death just to get some rest from all the guilt swirling around her. To make matters worse, her fox hole begins to crumble around her.

“I had heard whisperings of “Mothers Guilt”. I never knew what it meant. I thought it went along the lines of “my kid will need therapy because of me!” – but I never thought of Mothers Guilt being a 24 hours a day 7 days a week guilt thing.”

For many, many, many Postpartum mothers, guilt IS a persistent factor in our experience. We are sometimes swallowed whole by guilt even beyond the already difficult symptoms of Anxiety, OCD, Depression, or Psychosis. Guilt exacerbates the pain we carry inside our heart. We have an adorable child. A healthy child. A child who is very much wanted and loved. And yet… yet.. here we are. Trapped. In hell. With guilt bombs firing at us from every direction. It’s our Normandy beach.

Now go. Read this week’s Postpartum Voice of the Week.

Don’t forget to submit your own posts for consideration. You have until Tuesday night!

Enhanced by Zemanta

On the Third day of Dismissmass: Three Healthy Babies

Leave a reply

On the third day of Dismissmas,

Postpartum sent to me

Three perfect babies

Two depressed parents,

And a wailing mess in a pear tree.

 

How many of you have heard (or thought) this zinger: “But the baby’s perfectly healthy. Why on earth are you sad?”

As a mother of two children who were born perfectly healthy and one who was born with a cleft palate and needed major surgery at just 9 days old to help her breathe and eat, I know what it is like to be on both sides that statement.

Yes, having a child with additional needs is hard. But just because baby is perfectly healthy does not mean that Mama is going to be happy after giving birth. There are a whole host of reasons for mom not to be happy. Thyroid, Anemia, Vitamin D deficiency, history of personal or family psychiatric illness, perceived trauma during the childbirth experience, hormones that are now all out of whack and not shifting back into place properly, financial stress, moving, life decisions, etc.

Those who say things like “Baby’s healthy. You shouldn’t be sad” have never been depressed after the birth of a child. It happens. It’s real. And it is absolutely not yours OR the baby’s fault.

The next time someone says that to you – respond with this: “You’re healthy too. Why aren’t you helping me get healthy too?”

Then snap a picture. Trust me. It’ll be a Kodak moment for sure.

Enhanced by Zemanta