It’s my first day home alone with the baby. On top of that, I’m feeling a bit weepy. That whole weepy thing hit this morning—just in time for me to be home alone, right? But it hit with good reason I think. When I had my daughter, it hit in CVS when I was trying to print pictures of her for my husband to have when he went back to work. I can laugh now thinking back about how I broke down for no good reason in front of a complete stranger—the photo tech at the store—who I’m sure had no idea I had just had a baby.

This time, I blame my husband. He went back to work today. He called me about ten o’clock to say hello and that he was thinking of me. That was pretty much all I needed. I tried to hold back the tears. He only heard silence and asked if I was still on the other end. I couldn’t stop crying. He then decided to tell me how the two women in his office sent their best—- they too were mothers and knew what I would be going through.

As I tried to stop crying, I assured him it was just that whole weepy thing as I like to call it… The idea that post baby, you can cry at the drop of a hat. It’s perfectly normal. I knew what I was going through was normal but worried about the women who have something more.

That said, I wanted to share some important information about when you should talk to your doctor in case you are feeling more than weepiness or the baby blues. I did a story on post partum depression last year. It’s important information for you if you are pregnant, or if you know someone who is. This comes from a list my hospital shared with me. It’s worth passing along.

Baby Blues or Depression?

It’s not unusual to feel a bit down and depressed after having a baby. A lot of women go through a stage known as “baby blues” soon (perhaps three or four days) after the delivery. There are a lot of reasons, tiredness being a primary cause. Other causes include having problems looking after or loving your baby, loneliness or physical problems.

You may feel down for no special reason at all and feel guilty because you think you should be on top of the world.

Baby Blues

Usually the baby blues lasts for a day or two. If your feelings go on longer, it’s important to recognize your feelings and do something about it. Baby blues that don’t go away after 2 weeks or strong feelings of depression and anger that begin to surface a month or two after childbirth.

If you have any of these signs of Post Partum Depression, discuss it with your doctor IMMEDIATELY.
Feelings of sadness, doubt, guilt, helplessness or hopelessness that seem to increase with each week and begin to disrupt your normal functioning.
Not being able to sleep, even when you’re tired, or sleeping most of the time, even when your baby is awake.
Marked changes in appetite.
Extreme worry and concern about the baby. Lack of interest in the feelings for your baby or other members of your family.
Anxiety or panic attacks.
Fear of harming your baby or thoughts of self harm.