New baby-ppd what are my options?

[subelite]

Hi,
I have a 2.5 week old baby and began feeling PPD on day four after he was born. I've discussed this with my midwife and she prescribed progesterone cream and a family doctor provided some homeopathic "blues and mood support" drops.
Some days are good, but my bad days are filled with anxiety, feeling trapped and hopeless and just generally not happy about being a mom. There is no fear of harming my baby or being unable to take care of him, but I am just not happy with being a mom which sucks because I have this beautiful boy in my life now.

My family is aware of the PPD and supportive but I feel that I need more help, perhaps with a prescription medication.
I am breastfeeding, but the PPD is starting to interfere with my desire to continue breastfeeding.

Are there prescriptions that can help with PPD that wont interfere with baby breastfeeding?
Also, I scored 81 on the sticky survey on this site.

Any advice is appreciated !

[Seawen]

Hi Subelite
I'm so sorry you are feeling this way. I know that the "baby blues" are common starting as early as day 5 post partum. Some of it is purely hormonal and your body getting used to not being pregnant etc but sometimes there is also more going on.

While drugs aren't usually the first thing to try they can be a lifesaver but they aren't w/o risk. Often Dr.'s will say there is no safe drug while BF'ing but that isn't true. There are a few that ARE OK you just need to know which ones.

Best would be to ask your midwives for a referral to a Dr. who is really familiar with PPD and meds. Someone who won't just brush you off.

Meanwhile, lean on your family for help. It is REALLY hard to make the transition to having a new baby at home. It's a lot of work on very little sleep. Ask family to watch the baby so you can sleep, make sure you are eating and drinking enough and good foods- not too much sugar or caffeine.

I hope it gets betters for you soon!
Wendy

[subelite]

Thanks for the advice, Wendy.
Some days are better than others. I think the biggest transition for me is learning that everything is now on baby's schedule, which makes me feel trapped at times.
I appreciate your input.

[agoldenlife]

In a survival mode

Subelite,

I can relate to feeling "trapped". My daughter is almost 5 months old and I am barely starting to feel like I have moments of time when I am not trapped by being on baby's schedule.

I think getting help from family or friends during the first few weeks is so important. I had to ask numerous times as I felt so completely out of control.

There are still very hard days when my depression is so strong and I wonder if things will ever be somewhat normal. THen I have a better day and realize that yes, somehow, I don't know how, but they will. I have made it through bouts of severe depression before.

I go to a support group for mothers with PPD and they all keep telling me to hang in there as it does get "easier".
Also, one thing that helped me was to view these initial weeks as being in a kind of survival mode. Taking it one thing at a time. Much easier said than done but gets easier with practice.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

If you do decide on meds. Zoloft is the one of choice for bfing mom's. The amounts that pass through the milk are nearly undetectable. Compared to the others available that can be found in pretty high amounts in milk.

Dont wait to get help that is what I did and it just made things so much worse.

[subelite]

"survival" mode

Good insights. I like the idea of getting through the first weeks as a "survival mode." The good days feel really good when my head is clear, the bad days feel like a bad dream though.