My story - what's blues gotta do with it?

I am one who believes things happen for a reason and in this case, they did.

I had Post Natal Depression (PND) shortly after the birth of Dumpling. Triggered by breastfeeding stress, chronic insomnia, hot flushes from the hormonal imbalance, side effects (automatism) from some prescribed sleeping pills and to a baby who did not (and still does not) sleep much, I had it bad.

I first did a guest post in my brother's blog "A Husband's Voice" (now dormant sadly 'cos the bro is tied up with his job and of course 3 kids - the last being a pair of twins) more than 2 years back. Incidentally, Evelyn was the first to post a reply to my sharing.

Two plus years on, I linked up with Evelyn over Facebook through a Facebook group called Singapore Mom Bloggers and she was looking for guest bloggers and here we are. In one full circle.

It seems very unlikely that someone who suffers from PND is able to bounce back fast. But with God's grace I did. Not through my own efforts of course but I pulled through those meaningless empty weeks with the help of my family.

Image from http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinfoforall/problems/postnatalmentalhealth/postnataldepression.aspx

I ended up learning Baby Signing to learn how to communicate with Dumpling so that I can enjoy her more (where I am the first certified Baby Signing Time Instructor in Singapore) and this took off on a journey of its own where I am now a homeschooling mum and am part of a Facebook Group which shares resources and tips on homelearning.

This coming from a mum who decided to give up the "gold standard" by making the decision to stop breastfeeding due to possible side effects from drugs and also because I needed the time to rest and get better so I can tend to my baby. This coming from a mum who was so worried about the "lack of bond" and having to settle my child with the much dreaded words "formula milk". :)

I want to end off to say that anyone can suffer from PND and it is more rampant than one can imagine (half of the thank you cards in the pyschiatrist's office were from PND sufferers I believe, from the quick glances I had). If I can get better and I can even take the path less travelled of being a homeschooling mum, then anyone can too.

From the post in my brother's blog, I had some people reach out to me via email on their experiences with PND / PND sufferers and one was also suffering from it (after the birth of her second child) and has since recovered too.

If you know of someone who suffers from it or you are suffering from it, you are definitely not alone (hey, even the gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow apparently had it). In this post, I shared with Evelyn some thoughts and tips on how to help PND sufferers. Take care and God Bless.