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[geogirl]

I am having difficculty with my moods. My ds is almost 3 and his little brother is 4 weeks (alrealdy)!! I am finding that I feel anxious and I feel trapped. I am having really difficulty dealing with my 3 year old. I am totally over reacting to him and making him cry because I've yelled at him. THen I cry. It is awful and I feel like what the hell am I doing, but then I find myself doing it again. I had some mood problems during my pregnancy too. And lots of stress over the past year. Does this sound like ppd? I love my baby soo much and don't feel bad feelings toward him but am maybe a bit impatient with crying which is worse when my mood is bad. I catch myself flippign out and then saying I hate my life...

Rebecca

[Jish]

I think everyone feels this way to a point when they add a second child to the family. What struck me is that you mentioned anxiety which is a big factor for me. If you find that everyday is a bad day, or that you can't seem to control the yelling, contact a psychiatrist for an evaluation. Just from my situation, I wouldn't go to your ob or regular doc if your insurance will pay for it. I had a horrible experience with my doc, but my psychiatrist is wonderful. They are trained to deal with these type of illnesses, not like GP's or OB's who receive little or no training in mental illness (sorry to scare you with that term, but I couldn't think of a different word off the top of my head.)

A psychiatrist will be able to evaluate you and give you assistance in dealing with it on your own if you can, or can help you find a medication that will work if that is what you need. If you are concerned about PPD, I think it is definitely something you should check out. Good luck and keep us posted.

[mama2girls]

I can definitely tell you that adding the second child makes your patience and tolerance for the first go to zilch.

But, if you are feeling like the moods are taking over you, I would second the advice to see a psychologist--or if that is intimidating, talk to your dr. at your 6 week check and see who s/he recommends for ppd counseling.

Further down on this forum is a thread of introductions. If you want to read some of our ppd stories, they are there. Maybe you will find that you can relate to some of what we have been through.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

[motherkins]

Yeah, the second one really mixes things up. I glued my son to PBS for the first two months till I got in the groove. I had PPD with my first, so I had a lot of people looking out for me too. There's a great webiste, www.postpartumstress.com that has a lot of symptoms listed. You could read through and see how much of it sounds like you.
I also second not going to your GP or OB. You don't have to make the jump to a psychiatrist, a therapist would be a good start and could tell you if medication might be needed. Psychiatrists are not necessarily trained in doing therapy, they know all about the meds. But you wouldn't go to a psychiatrist for blood pressure regulation, so don't go to a GP to get your brain chemicals altered!

[Jish]

Yeah, a therapist would be a good option, but often they can't prescribe meds if needed. I personally don't need much "therapy" and I don't want to have to pay for any more appointments than I have too. How cheap am I??:LOL

[Foobar]

Anxiety is also a big thing for me.
If you start to get overeacting, you might want to talk to someone. It depends on if you are the type who can work with theropy or not. I can in small amounts, so I see my person once every 6 weeks now. That works well for me.

HUGS. Hopefully things will start to smooth out, but if they don't, don't be afraid to ask for help