NewBorn

I have suffered with Anxiety and Depression clinically for around 10 years.

3 years ago, my partner and I welcomed our first little girl into the world. While I was still in a rough place mentally, we managed through as we could sleep at alternate times, taking turns with the little one. Fast forward to now, we have welcomed our second little girl 5 weeks early.

In the last 6 months I have moved onto a new medication which is the first I feel has truly worked with managing my anxiety and the symptoms of depression. Clomipramine is an older medication but works well for sleep, a little too well as I find myself in a very deep sleep.

The issue I am having is managing the medication and being a parent at the same time - for the moment I have reduced my dose to lessen the sleepy side effect so as to be available for my wife and kids, especially with feeding through the night, but I am also acutely aware of looking after my mental health as well. Changing medication now would be a last resort as it has taken this long to find a tablet that has worked plus the time it would take to come off this tablet and the new one to take effect.

I am already feeling a slip in my mood, partly through the stresses of dealing with the situation at hand let alone a new born and if there are any tips at all, I would welcome them with open arms.

TL;DR

tips on managing a newborn, 3 year old and anti-anxiety medication which helps with sleep

#Anxiety #Depression #NewBorn #Sleep #Stress #clomipramine #baby #Family

After 21 hours of labor I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy who came a week and a day earlier than my projected due date. Elated and ecstatic and soaring high on the highest of highs and happiness 15 hours later I plummeted into the deepest darkest hell hole after finding out that my baby boy had a congenital esophagus defect that would require immediate surgery at another hospital in the area. That day I was a complete mess of emotions and could barely talk about the reality I was about to face. After a successful surgery and amazing recovery progress each day my little baby boy really made a terrific come back and his heath had been restored to what it would have been without had this major health issue not been present. After 10 days in the NICU and 2 days recovering from child birth I stayed strong and felt amazing about coming home. I spoke to a pregnancy- mom- post partum-specialist therapist 4 times during my stay and my baby's stay to make sure I was checking in on myself felt emotionally sound and had been practicing self-care. Everything felt amazing - I was SUPER excited - and we were discharged yesterday. However tonight I am feeling the weight of the entire process and having emotional moments I feel like I might break down again like I did the day I found out about his condition just because it's all still hitting me now like the after-effects of going through the whole process and seeing him go through procedure after procedure. I thank god and everyone who prayed for us that baby boy pulled through like a champ but the emotional weight of the NICU stay really has me upset the second day of being home as a family. I'm well-aware of post partum depression and have gotten early help with that to do my best to prevent and be aware of any depressed thoughts or emotions. I think my emotions today are validated as we wind down and process everything we went through... but I can't help but wonder why I am not jumping for joy to be home like I was yesterday. Feeling disconnected with my partner today too and on little sleep with newborn feedings and diaper changes all night none of this helps. If anyone can relate or offer advice or any words/thoughts it would be greatly appreciated. #NewBorn #hospitalstay #emotional #Anxiety #Depression #Crying

#Fibromyalgia