Dealing With The Baby Blues

Due to the recent birth of our beautiful baby girl, Nora Faith, I’ve rounded up an All-Star list of moms who effortlessly seem to manage work, home, family, life, and everything in between! You can read all their words of motherly wisdom here, as well as how they manage to “do it all” while still living a life they love.

I’ll be sharing my own thoughts and baby updates soon enough, but right now, I’m simply soaking up their trusted advice while cuddling with my new baby girl! 

The following is written by Kim from Art of Domestic Living:

I had heard about the baby blues, and I had likely seen a special on Oprah or some other talk show, but I didn’t give it much attention. For the most part, I felt like I was an average woman who experienced “minor” PMS symptoms, and for the most part, was able to keep my emotions intact.

But this all changed once my daughter was born.

Actually it started about nine months before she was born, before I even knew I was pregnant!

A few days before I suspected that I might be pregnant, I was at our neighborhood home improvement store, buying some lumber for a window treatment. A sales clerk helped me fit the long piece of wood into my Honda Civic. It was a rather long piece of wood, so it had to be strategically placed from my front windshield diagonally through the trunk.

I drove about two yards when the windshield decided to crack from the pressure of the wood. I went into the store to see if they could do anything. I talked with the manager, but because I had driven a couple of yards, they were not responsible.

I started crying and then I called my husband and I cried some more. Shortly after that I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. I told my husband and his response was, “I guessed it after you broke down at the store.”

Fast forward nine months.

I’m lying in the hospital bed getting ready to bring my newborn home from the hospital. My husband calls to tell me he can’t figure out how to get the car seat strapped into our car. (We had just bought a new car and didn’t have time to get the car seat attached.)

After that phone conversation, I was crying to the nurse and telling her I didn’t think I would be able to bring my daughter home. She assured me that I would be taking her home!

Back at home.

We did make it home from the hospital and everything seemed to be going just fine. My parents were visiting from Pennsylvania and my husband was enjoying his last day of summer vacation before heading back to school (he is a teacher).

However, my daughter decided she didn’t want to sleep during the evening hours, which meant I wasn’t sleeping and my husband wasn’t sleeping. It was a very frustrating evening with our newborn. I was worried about my husband because his first day of school was the next morning and he got very little sleep. In addition my parents were planning on heading back to PA and I was going to be alone with this child for the first time!

My husband knew I wasn’t doing very well and begged my parents to stay another day. Thankfully they did! But every time I looked at my Dad, I started to cry. I just couldn’t look at him without becoming a crying mess.

Finally my husband was home from school and I thought I could handle things, until the doorbell rang. A friend dropped by to see our baby and bring a gift. I walked to the door, opened it, turned around and went to my room to cry. I didn’t say a word. I’m so thankful my family was able to cover for me and my actions.

My husband sums it up the best, “I never believed in the post partum baby blues until I saw it first hand!”

Thankfully the emotions didn’t last that long and two beautiful daughters later, we are able to enjoy many laughs about my “crazy days”!

But believe me, they DID happen and they WERE real!

Please be real and honest with those around you!

Having the “blues” could be a very real part of any woman’s post-pregnancy.

When your doctor asks if you have been “feeling down” tell him or her the truth! They are there to help you! You need to take care of yourself first, so you are able to take care of your newborn!

Did you deal with Post Partum Depression or Baby Blues?

Kim Brinks married to her wonderful husband, a mother of two darling elementary age girls, AND a part-time teacher.She enjoys cooking and taking care of her home — all of which she blog about over at Art of Domestic Living.