My pregnancy was great. I worked full-time till a week before I was due. No sickness, no crazy cravins, no fatigue, gym and zumba, just a little heartburn close to the end, and a sprained ankle! Sometimes I felt this was a dream and I would wake up and not be pregnant because of how good I felt. Olivia's due date came and went and one week later I was induced, pushed for almost 6 hours, little stinker went UP and I underwent a c-section to get her out safely. She was born on March 21st at 7:47pm, 6lbs10oz and 20in. But it was when she first came into my post-delivery room that I noticed something was off.
I didn't want to hold Olivia. I looked at her in that little plastic box, so pretty, so peaceful, but I didn't want her close to me. My mom and the nurses would bring her close to me on the bed and tried to cuddle but it felt weird. In my head I was thinking, "if I don't touch her, I don't get attached, and if I don't get attached, she's not really mine." I think I was fearing all the responsability that comes with motherhood. Everytime I looked at Olivia I asked myself "What in the world was I thinking? I can't do this! I can't raise a daughter of God! There is no way! What the heck did I get myself into?" We went home and I seriously cried almost the entire day for about 3 weeks. I cried while I took a shower, I cried while I tried to eat, I ran to my room crying when people came visit, I cried when I looked at her, I cried when I watched tv, I cried... all...the... time! My poor mom was so worried, and thank heavens she was here cuz I was in no shape to cook or clean or take care of a baby. Trevor would call our dr desperately asking for a solution to my crying, to which he was told "it's hormones, it's normal, it'll go away in a couple of weeks." But it didn't go away. I think the fact that I couldn't breastfeed made it even worse.
My milk barely came. I mean, I had drops at a time. At the hospital poor Olivia was hungry for two days because the nurses wouldn't give me formula and I didn't have much to feed her myself. They brought a hospital pump and after pumping for 10 minutes still nothing came out. Nada! On our last night the nurses finally gave me some formula and told me to feed her 10ml at a time. TEN MILLILITERS! That's not enough, but I didn't know it then. My poor baby was still hungry, and I felt guilty.
My doctor told me it could be because of all the stress my body went through with the c-section and all the meds. He said while most moms get their milk by the third day, I might get mine by the fifth day. So when the fifth day came and went and still no milk, I started to freak out. I REALLY wanted to breastfeed! That was the plan!! I started taking brewer's yeast, mother's milk plus, my mother was making sure I ate 6 healthy meals a day, lots of fluids, I was stimulating, pumping to try to stimulate even more, I was putting Olivia on the breast at every feeding, I saw three lactation specialists and did everything they told me to... but what am I gonna do when my child starts crying because there is nothing there? Am I going to let her starve? I chose not to. Finally that week, her fourth week in this world, I started to accept that breastfeeding was not going to happen. My doctor asked me to relax and enjoy Olivia, he said breastfeeding is not supposed to be stressful or depressing for me or the baby and if it doesn't happen... move on. I cried almost every time I had to feed her a bottle and not my milk. I think this was my first experience as a mom that showed me that things don't always go as we planned, as we wanted, as we thought would be best. For some reason it wasn't meant to be that I breastfed my baby, my first baby, and maybe my only baby. It makes me sad, it makes me feel like a bad mother, it makes me wonder what else in the future I won't be able to do for my daughter...
Olivia turns one in a week. Things have been getting better but it's still a struggle for me to just feel happy, to have joy for life, to want to go out and DO things. I love her to death, I absolutely LOVE her and I tell her everyday that she saves my life. To someone who hasn't suffered depression, it is very hard to understand it. It's a fight, a daily counscious effort to want to live. It's counting your blessings and wanting really bad for them to make the black cloud over your head disappear. Over this past year I have tried four antidepressants, welbutrin, prozac, zyprexa and prestiq. if you don't know about antidepressants, they usually take four to six weeks to "start working." I haven't felt that one of these have "started working" for me, so right now I am not on any of them, but thinking about trying them again. I am thinking on trying another antidepressant again because once you find the right one, it WILL help. It will help you sleep better, it will help you not feel so anxious, it will help you not have crying spells on your way to work, it will help you have energy to get out of the couch, it will help your stomach and bowels work better, it will help you FUNCTION. Depression is not new to me, I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was in my late teens and since then have tried different types of treatment, so over the years I have learned some things about this illness. I know that counseling is key and I see a therapist a few times a month, which helps. Post Partum Depression, though, has been way stronger than any other phase I have EVER experienced. My depression worsens when I am under stressfull situations and I think we all agree that having a baby does add some stress to our lives.
Some days are harder than others. There are still days that I get home from work and lay on the couch and pray that Olivia won't get hurt playing by herself on the floor. Sometimes I fall asleep and wake up to her playing with my face, kissing my cheeks or laying her head on my stomach. There are days and days that go by without me showering, or brushing my teeth, or eating anything healthy or wanting to go out. I go to work and come back home and that's about 90% of my energy for that day. Sometimes I don't even talk to Olivia much... I don't know what to say, I have exhausted the word sorry and I just really think she would be better off with another mommy. There are days that I just cry all day, wanting desperatly for this "thing" to leave my mind, my body and my soul. Why me? Why ME? It will get better, right?
So this is my experience. The only thing that I really want to stress is that depression is a clinical illness that needs to be treated. Our society overall is so uneducated in regards to "mental illnesses". You have no idea how many times I was told things like "if you say your prayers you'll feel better" or "your problem is the lack of the Spirit in your life" and etc. Those comments are hurtfull but above all, they are ignorant. Actually Sundays are some of my worst days because when I do go to Church I feel even worse about myself, about not being able right now to feel the joy that I know I should be feeling in life. Being active in the Gospel and doing what we know is right does not keep us from being ill, unfortunately, and just like a diabetic needs insullin, someone who suffers from depression might need some medication too. So if you feel less happy than what you used to feel, if you sometimes see no joy in life, if you feel overwhelmed and desperate or if you just want to go back to being your "old self", talk to your doctor, be honest to yourself and to him/her. They are there to help us and we need to feel better, we DESERVE to be HAPPY! I can sincerely say I do not feel 100% happy all the time, but I am trying, a day at a time, faith and hope till the end. Good luck to us all :)
With love, Kika*
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What are some of the things us moms can do to feel better at times of sadness, fatigue and distress? Please share your ideas! - Aline
10 comments:
Kika, my heart goes out to you. I had a milder case of ppd. More like the baby blues....and it wasn't fun. I want to document my story here too, maybe next week. I'd love to talk to you about it. I learned I few things that really worked for me at the time, but I'm not sure it works for everyone. It doesn't hurt to try though right??
I hope you feel better and just remember, no one feels 100% every day all the time. It's ok to have crappy days and days you just want to cry your eye balls out...they come and they go and we feel better and then not so hot again....that's only human...so don't feel guilty about it! You are a great mom and you are doing your best!!! FORCA!!!!!
I think Kika is very courageous to tell us all this. In part, it is like she said: we have to be honest to ourselves. And I think she is being honest to herself, when she admits having this problem. I feel so sorry that she needs to go through all this. I wish I could help in some way. It is hard for me to imagine what all this can be, because I have never really gone through depression of any kind. I did feel a lot tired and overwhelmed after my daughter was born and some days I just cried involuntarily because of all the pressure and demand that having a newborn can bring. My body was so tired that tears would come down my eyes without me knowing it. And I guess I learned that this is all okay and it is normal.
Kika, I know a lot of people might have told you that already, but I know you are a great woman and you have so much power in your hands. Olivia is so precious and you are the most important person in her life. She needs is you, as you need her so bad.
Life is full of adversities and I hope this illness is just a phase in your life and that everything will get better.
Try to find things you like to do most and DO THEM. I know we all have so much to do lately, but we do need to get sometime to ourselves, something to be our "release" and that will help us feel better and live better.
I think church helps a lot, but it is not everything.
I do struggle sometimes with all the chores that need to be done and I feel I can't do them all. Then I stop everything and try to concentrate on myself and my daughter and my husband. And all will be better, because they are here with me.
xoxo
Beka
Eu não sou mãe, mas sei de mtos casos de depressão pós parto.
Kikinha vou colocar seu nome em minhas orações.Vou orar e mandar ótimos pensamentos pra vc.Depressão ñ é fácil, eu não tive,mas conheço inúmeras pessoas que amo que já tiveram e até tem.Td dará certo.É apenas uma fase ruim.
Lembre-se de qnto vc é especial,d e qnto o senhor te ama e cuida de você.Você foi e é mto especial, ainda mais compartilhado sua história aqui no blog.
Amamos vc!
Bjus
Ná
Hi Kika, I had ppd too, somewhat milder, but I know how hard it is. Mine lasted about 12 weeks. It will pass, one day you will wake up and you will be fine... My love for you and thanks for sharing your story!
Kelly
I've never suffered from depression so I can't really comment much. I hope things get better for you and that you find an antidepressant that helps you feel back to normal.
Beka, had a good comment (I don't know if you are doing this already) about keeping yourself busy with activities that you enjoy doing is a great way to forget our troubles.
Also, focus on your family and the love/happiness/joy that they bring to you. They are probably your best support.
Happy Birthday to your daughter in advance!
Kika, thank you SO much for sharing this with us. I don't know you very well but I know you're a very, very special girl. I've always thought this about you. Just for the fact that you were able to write about this shows that you're stronger than you think you are. The trick you already know, is to take it one day at a time. And motherhood does add stress to our lives but it adds so much more happiness too.
I really hope you'll be able to find some medication that will work out, and I know that people who suffer from depression can't go without it. I read once on the Ensign exactly what you said, that it is naiive of people to think that prayer alone will help you get through this. It is definitely a part of it, but there are other things you can do to try to feel better. I hope it will go away soon!!!!
Oh, and Olivia is sooooo darling. But I know you're tired of hearing that!!! ;)
Kika, I really appreciate you sharing this! I have known some people who are affected severely by depression and I want to help so bad but don't know what I can possibly do to help. What have others done that help you most?
Also, something that came to mind while reading this, I once herd Elder Bednar say (in a class I took from in) that what matters is that we want to become better; we may not be perfect, we may try and fail, but if that desire is there than we can't fail in the end. So the fact that you want to be there for Olivia and you want to find medication that helps is a huge success! I had "baby blues" for a few weeks and it was so hard to do anything, I can't imagine what it would be like for that to not go away. Hang in there and I really hope you find a medication that helps!
thank you so much for your comments, you're all super sweet!
LIESL, the main thing I recommend is therapy. I am a true believer in counceling/therapy and have learned SO MUCH about myself, how strong I can be and that I am, indeed, "normal." It's so good to talk to someone who won't tell you how to fix things but rather help you find solutions that help you. Maybe bring up counceling with those people you know? Hopefully it will help :)
thank you all!
hugs!
I know what you're going, I've been there. For me was very weird because my first signs were very physical and started right in the hospital. When Raquel was born, via c-section, she got amniotic fluid in her lungs and was taken to the NICU. Not fun at all, you expect to have your baby next to you in the room. She was born in the middle of the night, throughout the day I took naps, when the night came around again I could not sleep! My heart started racing, I couldn't breathe, I started walking to feel better and my husband had to hold me not to fall. I called the nurse, she took all my vitals, found nothing wrong. Making a long story short, I didn't sleep for days, the doctors could find nothing physically wrong. After talking to my sister in Brazil I realized that I had ppd, and it was really hard for me because when my daughter was born I was already extremely stressed out and exhauted. I got better with time( Raquel is now three), I still take my medications, and it's still a work in progress. I had to choose what things are really important for me and what things don't deserve me to spend energy on( which could be washing the dishes tomorrow instead of tonight or not going to that friend's baby shower, even though many will think I should- I only should do what I know it's best for me or what I need to do for me, or not do). One thing I can tell that worked for me: take care of yourself, find things that yu enjoy and do them, even though sometimes you need all your energy just to get out of the house. It helps!
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