‘Baby Blues’ may appear suddenly after three or four days of delivery and bring about spells of crying, anxiety, irritation and restlessness. Other symptoms of ‘Baby Blues’ include  impatience with everyone , feeling extremely tired, not being able to sleep even when the baby is sleeping, frequent mood swings, lack of concentration . There may also be signs like appetite loss, trouble making decisions, feeling inadequate as a mother, being over sensitive about little things and also unnecessary worrying over your baby’s health. Even lack of confidence at doing simple things, feeling extremely emotional and overwhelmed, feeling lonely, headache and having low spirits all day can be signs of ‘Baby Blues’.

Read More: 11 Ways To Cope With Baby Blues

The following are symptoms of Baby Blues that you may experience:

Symptoms Of Baby Blues

Weepiness

Crying for no apparent reason is a major sign of Baby Blues. You may feel like weeping over anything and everything at the slightest provocation.  This mainly happens because of the hormone levels going up and down. Breastfeeding also brings about bouts of crying.

Impatience

The tremendous change in your body after delivery at the hormonal and physical level affects the mood a lot. The feeling of impatience, especially with the baby, is a very common sign of baby blues or maternity blues. You will feel the baby is taking up a lot of your time and you have no time left for yourself. This is quite natural and not something to be worried about.

Irritability

Impatience with the baby is almost always accompanied by the feeling of extreme irritation. Getting irritated at the baby for not eating or sleeping properly is very common during ‘Baby Blues’.  Irritation at others is also not unusual during this time.

Restlessness

You may feel unable to relax, no matter what, after the first few days of delivery. This means you are having ‘Baby Blues’. A common symptom of post- birth depression is not being able to calm down and being restless all the time.  This is again because of hormones.

Anxiety

Being anxious about everything, especially your baby,  is very natural during maternity blues. Anxiety is a result of stress levels going up. It is important that you do not take stress about anything as much as possible.

Exhaustion

You might feel too tired and exhausted during this phase. This can make you cranky about small things. Fatigue is a common sign of Baby Blues. It is both physical and mental exhaustion that you experience. The emotional roller-coaster after experiencing motherhood combined with the physical labor of taking care of your baby round the clock will naturally leave you very tired.

Insomnia

Not being able to get a good sleep day after day, looking after the baby, and sometimes even when the baby is sleeping is common during Baby Blues. Insomnia in turn affects the mood badly and makes you all the more irritable and moody.

Sadness

Feeling sad and depressed all the time is also another major symptom of baby blues. The feel good hormones take a swift fall after you give birth and naturally you experience only sadness and feel the blues during this time. This is nothing to panic about as it will go away on its own after a week or so.

Poor concentration

Lack of concentration is also very common after childbirth. The mind gets foggy for no reason and you will realize nothing can hold your focus for a longer span of time, even if you try your best. Poor concentration leads to impatience and you end up feeling frustrated.

Mood swing

Mood swings are very common after childbirth. You feel active and excited one moment, sad and irritated the next. This happens during pregnancy also. Swift changes in your mood without any reason is very much apparent during Baby Blues.

Loss of appetite

During Baby Blues, the new mom usually loses her appetite. Taking care of the baby leaves you tired and frustrated enough to not care about your own self. This results in infrequent and insufficient eating. Lack of an appetite is another sign that you are having baby blues.

Confusion

Often you will feel you are not able to take even simple decisions that you used to do in a matter of seconds before. Extreme confusion is a consequence of Baby Blues.

Feeling inadequate as a mother

The feeling of not being good enough in the role of a mother is not uncommon in new moms experiencing Baby Blues. This might turn into negative feelings for the baby. This is one of the symptoms of maternity blues and happens because of hormones and added stress.

Feeling guilt and shame

Guilt and shame are natural feelings you will experience during Baby Blues. Your impatience and negativity towards the baby will make you feel guilty and ashamed. Lower the bar of expectation from yourself and do the best you can.

Unnecessary worrying

Worrying about little things and most importantly about your baby’s health, even when the child is absolutely fine, is another common sign. Worrying only leads to further stress and the cycle goes on.

Over-sensitive

You will experience that you are being extremely touchy about things which never bothered you before. Over sensitivity is quite common in the phase following delivery. It is one of the defining symptoms of Baby Blues.

Lack of confidence

Confidence usually goes down during this time. You might feel you cannot do even simple things anymore. As a result, you start questioning your capability and feel even more depressed.

Feeling lonely

You may possibly feel like a loner with nobody to share your feelings with at this time. Being lonely at this time is going to adversely affect your mood.

Read More: 11 Foods that Fight Post-Partum Depression

Feeling low

Your spirits may go down due to hormonal havoc in your body post delivery. You will start feeling low and disinterested in everything. This is also very common during maternity blues and nothing to fret about.

Feeling overwhelmed

The huge responsibility of taking care of the child is bound to give you stress. You feel overwhelmed with everything you are expected to do. It is quite natural to feel that way initially but you start getting used to the role of a mother once the Baby Blues goes away.

Headache

Moderate to extreme headache is also a common symptom during this phase. This is mainly due to lack of proper sleep and tiredness.

Read More: 11 Home Remedies for Headache During Pregnancy

Conclusion

Baby Blues are recoverable and nothing to panic about. These symptoms usually go away within a week or two. However, if the signs persist for a long time it is an indication of serious post-partum depression. Consult your doctor at the earliest.

Reference

https://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/ask-heidi/week-3/baby-blues.aspx

https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a541888/the-baby-blues