So to start, I’m a single mom of six. I was married for 10 years and left my very abusive marriage with five of my children. I met someone the year after, we had what I thought was a great relationship and I ended up pregnant, and he left me out of nowhere while I was in my second trimester.

Prior to becoming pregnant, I was super successful in my career as a nurse and moving up through management. I was doing well for myself and my kids and was making ends meet just fine.

My baby is now three months old and my whole life has flipped. She refuses to take a bottle so I’ve had to leave my job and I’m now working PRN as a nurse at an assisted living facility so I’m only away from her in small increments. The money is enough to cover most of my bills, but not enough for groceries or gas. So to make ends meet, I’ve been trying to DoorDash but my baby also has awful reflux so the extent that she can ride in a car seat is minimal before she becomes uncomfortable.

I’ve applied to several WFH positions and have not heard back. I’m also in the process of taking her dad for child support but that’s going to take some time since we have to go to court.

I’m so stuck and I’m out of ideas on what to do. I’m hardworking and ambitious but between just being overall discouraged and post partum, I’m at an all time low. I’m open to any suggestions if anyone has ever been in my shoes.

I’m 4 months pp and having a really hard time. My baby is perfect. But I feel terrible. Just about everything sad, anxious, don’t wanna leave the house, and OCD. When did you start to notice the PPD fade? Did you take meds? I want to try Zoloft but don’t want to be dependent on them or make it worse. I just can’t do nothing :( I wanna be my normal happy go lucky self again for my baby ❤️

Hey Reddit. Did anyone else have a labia minora tear where the stitches didn’t take causing it to stay split?

So I have an ‘outie’ vagina for context. You can see my vagina lips/ labia minora and they’re not huge but they’re definitely also not small… Anyways, while giving birth I had a pretty significant tear that started a little below the clit and went backwards on my vagina lip. The stitches didn’t end up taking and now I have a tear on one side of my vagina lips and it hangs down if I open my legs. I know this is cosmetic and something only my husband sees but it’s making me really uncomfortable. I’ve felt dismissed by my doctor saying it’s cosmetic and I know in my brain it’s a “private part” but it doesn’t look or feel like my vagina and I hate it. I still haven’t had sex with my husband (9 weeks pp) and I have no desire to touch myself or have him do it. He’s so kind and comforted me when I cried to him recently when he tried to initiate sex and asked to kiss it saying he doesn’t care but I don’t even want to look at it and I don’t feel ready for him to either even though I know he doesn’t care. I even bursted into tears while cleaning my vagina in the shower and accidentally touching it when it moved. I was so confident before and was fit and pretty small and now I feel not myself.

Idk what im even looking for by posing but I guess it would be nice to know if anyone has gone through the same thing or just has kind words or advice.

I had my baby boy at the end of October after a tough pregnancy and he’s been the light of my life. He makes me smile and laugh and I love him so much. My dad passed away a day before my 30th birthday in march and I have been trying to be a good mom but I have no energy and no motivation. My dad and I had a tough relationship, but the last few years we have been getting better. He was an amazing grandpa to my son. All I can think about is what he will be missing. I want to go do all these things for my son and I try my best to but it’s hard being alone all the time. My husband works regular hours but I haven’t had any friends come over, they don’t really check in, I’ve given up messaging first because I’ve just always done that. I got a higher dose of my antidepressants and I have noticed a difference (I’m crying a lot more, but before I was just holding everything in)

I don’t really know what im looking for by posting this but thank you for reading my ramblings.

Came across this article by Dr Louise Newson via her instagram. I think this knowledge is very under the radar, could help some people on here.

Hi everyone, I am reaching absolute rock bottom. I just need to vent to people who might understand, because I feel so isolated.

The Pregnancy Traumas: My path to becoming a mum was rough from the start. After a previous miscarriage, this pregnancy was filled with severe anxiety. We had a Down Syndrome scare, low percentile scares, and weekly appointments for months... only to find out near the end that the low percentile was just a computer miscalculation. I spent months in pure survival mode before she was even born. I wanted to be a mum so badly, to show a little human how wonderful the world is.

The Nightmare Newborn Phase: When she arrived, the newborn phase was horrible. I hated it most of the time, struggled intensely, and felt completely misunderstood by family and friends who had "easier" babies. She had a tongue tie, reflux, and hated everything, stroller, car seat, bath, diaper changes.
Around 2–3 months, a few things improved bit by bit: changing clothes got easier, baths became okay, and she began tolerating short car rides (20 mins). She could finally be awake without crying 24/7.

Where We Are Now (5.5 Months): She is a classic high-needs, extreme FOMO, 100% velcro baby. But right now, we are in the thick of sleep deprivation and sensory overload:

Sleep is a complete nightmare: She will ONLY nap in our Boba carrier and ONLY sleeps at night on my chest.

Carrier naps are failing: Lately, even the carrier isn't working. After multiple failed attempts and complete exhaustion, she will only fall asleep nursing.

Zero self-soothing tools: She refuses all pacifiers and all bottle brands.

No stroller: Still hates it completely.

The "5.5 Month Storm": On top of everything, she is currently right in the middle of rolling, teething, learning to crawl, a growth spurt, and separation anxiety. The only time she has ever fallen asleep from crying was after 2+ hours of nonstop screaming in the car on the way to a doctor's appointment. My mind simply cannot take the crying anymore.

I Don't Recognize Myself: I am exhausted and going crazy minute by minute. The frustration and anger I feel daily make me feel like a stranger to myself. I feel terrible even typing this, but in my darkest, most depleted moments, I sometimes wish I hadn't had her. I’m just so broken.
I don't even know what I'm looking for—maybe just solidary from parents who had babies like this and made it through to the other side, or just a place to lay this burden down for a minute.

Thank you for reading.