I am looking for mothers to help me with a paper. Describe your true feelings of postpartum and advice?

My biggest tip would be to have patience w/yourself and your baby. I had post partum depression and felt overwhelmed and alone and inept. Time will make it better. I also remember feeling overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start. If you have a husband/partner who is involved, you are lucky. My husband was the best and for the 1st week, got up so I could heal and get my rest. He did this w. both of our kids.

I also felt a sense of, what to call it, importance and with that some trepidation. I was now responsible for a tiny life. I didn't want to screw him up.(probably some PPD w. those feelings)

It sounds corny but I prayed to God for wisdom and patience in dealing w. my child(ren). I feel that patience is one thing i do have and do well. With prayers and support, this can be done!

One more thing...more for new moms: Mother hood is NOt like what you see on TV and the soap operas....TV never shows the real/whole picture..

I really didn't want to go home but, I knew I had to because if I didn't they house probably would have blew up, # other kids + husband = catastrophe!!!!!! So, I was happy with all pregnancies and the post par tum experiences. But, then after a while like right now my baby is 4 months old and sometime I don't want to hold her or be by her. But,I don't hate her I just get tired cuz I have a teenager, a girl! Then I have a son P.D.D. pervasive developmental disorder which falls into the spectrum of autism, and I have a 9 year old who is hanging with the mean girls so I have been feeling over whelmed but it will pass. My thoughts towards my husband?????? Yeah I want to kill him cuz he projects too much. So I like really don't even want his help. I can leave and go somewhere and he will watch the baby and when I come back he will tell me I had too many clothes on her or that it was too cold or hot for her or that she was fussy and that he thinks she's sick or teething or something that either not wrong with her at all. But, the best advise I can give is to always be patient and understanding towards yourself first and then with everyone else.This I find works wonders in every and any situation.

I got severe postpartum depression and I take lexapro now.I have two boys 11yrs and 9yrs.I had a new baby on 8-16-05 and it is like starting all over again and I have gained alot of weight from being pregnant ,so I am not happy with the way I look right now and the baby is 8 1/2 months already.I have cried alot and have been an emotional basketcase.I love my baby dearly and I enjoy my time with him,but I don't have anytime for myself anymore,I have to wait for someone to come over,so I can take just a shower.And I was always trying to get the housework and laundry done and I learned to do one thing at a time and not everything has to me done at once and take time for me.

With my first baby, I was happy to be home, but extremely tired. I wanted rest, but everyone was so excited to see the baby that they kept calling and coming over and visiting with me that I didn't get much rest. I wanted desperately to have my bathroom cleaned and dishes done, but I couldn't keep on top of it. My husband didn't take much time off work-- just a day, so it was rough, to be alone, unimaginably tired, and overwhelmed.

With my second child, I learned to shut off the phone any time I wanted to get some sleep... and I didn't answer the door unless I really felt like I could handle company. My sister came and help out (she stayed at our house): really help, with cleaning and my older son. I was happy to be home, but found that after a couple of days, I wanted my house to myself and my immediate family. So, next time I will do things different yet again.

I didn't have any problems with postpartum depression, but each time, for the first few days, I felt very overwhelmed and wondered how I could deal with all the new demands that kept piling. Sometimes, even though I was tired, I couldn't sleep at night because I was so worried that as soon as I did drift off the baby would wake. So, after each birth, I've had to teach myself to relax and just get some sleep!

On the whole, it's an exciting, wonderful experience. It's so amazing how the hard times can make us stronger. It's amazing how much a little bundle can change life.

When I came home, everything was fine. My mother and my husband were there helping me out. My mother stayed with us for a couple of weeks. After she left, I felt alone and deserted. My in-laws were acting and still are acting an ***. Thank God for my husband. Of course I cried. Being a first time mother has it toll. Sometimes I feel stupid because I don't know whats going on. I ask questions left and right. If I don't know something, I ask my mother, my best friend or my nana in NY. I just take it one day at a time and I marvel at the new life. He is getting bigger and longer. I wouldn't change it for a thing. I still go through brain freezes. Its hilarious sometimes, sometimes its sad. I recently lost my cell phone. I think I threw it away. That's due to a lack of sleep. Ah the joys of motherhood

I felt deserted. I gave birth to twins in 2003...one needed to be in neonatal for a week. When we came home, my husband went right back to work. When the twins were 1 month old, my husband left for a month and a half to go to school 4 1/2 hours away. I was left alone with a 7 year old son, a 3 year old daughter, and 1 month old twins...no vehicle, no family in town (they all live an hour away and could not take time off work to help out), no friends here to help as we had just moved here about 2 years ago and I had not found a job with people my age to befriend, and my husbands buddies wives were all too busy to help out. It was almost the worst month of my life. It really hurt our marriage, and things have not been repaired yet.

As for the other 2 pregnancies and births...I could fill a novel myself with the stories I have.

I suffered from PPD after the birth of my son 6 mo ago. It was the worst and scariest feelings you can imagine. I felt so alone & resented everyone (including my husband) for not understanding what a hard time I was having. The baby had colic & cried constantly. Nothing I could do would soothe him. My 5 yr old needed my attention & started wetting the bed again. I started having horrible dreams of something happening to the baby & worried that I would hurt him. It's not something I would talk about because I felt abnormal and unstable. I felt that as a mom, I should be able to handle it. After finally breaking down completely, I seen my OBGYN and tested off the charts for severe PPD. After 6 weeks of estrogen patches & nerve pills I recovered. I still have bad days, but I am able to manage now that my hormone levels have stabilized. Anyone who thinks they may have PPD, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!!! It is more common than you may realize and you are not alone.

I was very depressed though my pregnancy was planned. I expected to fall in love with the baby instantly and I didnt even like her. I thought my feelings were abnormal(now i know they werent) so I was embarrassed about them. I let the depression get so bad I had fantasy of killing the baby and myself. I didnt tell anyone because I thought I was crazy. Once I figured out postpartum depression was normal I got help, but I was so ashamed of the way I felt I was angry at myself. I had to go back to work when the baby was 2 weeks old because my husband was disabled. Most men have no parenting instincts and he didnt take care of the baby the way I thought he should(overprotective also a sign of ppd that I was unaware of). The best tip I could give anyone is these feelings are normal get help immediatly I was so ashamed of mine I didnt and it ended up distroying my marriage.

With my first child, I was happy to be home and overwhelmed at the responsibility that I had.

Everyone had advice to give and all of it was different.

I eventually learned that I knew MY baby. And I followed his lead. He was small 5 lbs 8 oz. I fed him when he was hungry and eventually got him onto a 10,2 and 6 feeding time schedule. I laid down while he was sleeping and tried to sleep when he slept.

My husband would come in from work and take over with him. He loved feeding the baby and holding him. This gave me time to myself and a much needed break. He would take the baby around 5 when he arrived home and he would do the 6 and 10 o'clock feedings so I could rest.

I am thankful that we worked as a team. Watching his willingness to help with the baby only made me love him more. We grew closer as a couple and had our second child two years later.

Well, I have plenty to share. I have 2 children and suffered through post partum depression. I remember felling completely alone in my thoughts and feelings. I didn't want to get out of bed, I cried all the time, I resented my man for not completely understanding what I was going through. I thought what i was feeling was unusual and I felt ashamed. I personally did not have harmful thoughts towards my baby (that's more post partum psychosis). Remember the lady that drowned her kids--Andrea something. She and her family were in denial. Anyway, I since learned that being pregnant increases the Seratonin levels in your brain, as does nursing. Then when one or both of those is done, your Seratonin level drops drastically. That is where the depression and immense sadness come from. Seratonin is a chemical in your brain that helps you control your emotional state of mind; to put it simply. Some people (for whatever reason) have a deficiency in that area. It could be hereditary or from just your own personal chemical make up. Either way, it's a very serious and overlooked problem facing millions of women out there. Thank goodness there are Seratonin reuptake inhibitors out there for women suffering from this. I ask all women who feel they might be in the throws of PPD to talk to your doctor about medication. It doesnt have to be forever, but there is no shame in helping yourself. It's more shameful to suffer in silence and do nothing.