My partner and I are expecting our first in December and very excited but not quite sure of what to expect or… how to do any of it, really. What resources helped you when you were first diving into parenthood?
My partner and I are expecting our first in December and very excited but not quite sure of what to expect or… how to do any of it, really. What resources helped you when you were first diving into parenthood?
Others have given really good advice about the baby, so I’ll give you advice for both partners. Postpartum depression/anxiety/psychosis are all very real things and can impact all new parents. Far and away the hardest part of the new baby for our family was my wife’s PPD/PPA–and she’s still struggling with it, 16 months later, despite psychiatrists, counselors, medications, treatments of all kinds, we’ve tried just about everything.
We’re finally to a point where she can get by each day and be relatively happy, even if it’s difficult sometimes still.
I would encourage you and your partner to trust your guts on how you are all doing–our providers early on kind of brushed off our concerns about PPD saying it was normal and would fade after a few months and it took an emergency room visit because she was feeling suicidal to get someone to take us seriously. Definitely stay in tune with your feelings and seek help if you need it. It may take a lot of effort which is NOT what you want when you’re also dealing with a new kiddo!
In the end, I’d say that you’ve got this, don’t let what people say scare you, the early parts are the hardest and then you figure it out and before you know it you have a wonderful family that you couldn’t imagine life without!