Baby

Photo by AshBayGrammy

Let me start off by saying I don't think I have postpartum depression, but according to what some doctors list, I do have postpartum stress.

Stress and depression -- not the same thing, but the stress, if it continues and increases, it can lead to depression.

Do all moms have stress? OK, that's a really silly question, I know. But I'd like to think I was cool and calm -- my friend Kim even told me how relaxed I seem.

So why am I getting in a tizzy about what The Postpartum Stress people say?

Photo by SarahLoo

You know that little scrub brush they give you in your postpartum hospital bag, the one with extra soft bristles for messaging baby's head to treat cradle cap? My babies are 5 and 6, and I still use mine, except it's now our nail scrubber. It works great on little hands and gentle skin.

The lanolin ointment for breastfeeding is ideal for chapped lips.

My mop now sits in the plastic baby bath basin.

And those peri squeeze bottles that you use to gently cleanse your sore and battered nether regions after birth? Best. Water. Pistols. Ever.

Photo by LoriNJ

Some mamas look like they haven't even undergone nine months of carrying child after they give birth, but the majority of us aren't that lucky.

Photo by AshBayGrammy

Every mom is different when it comes to activity after the birth. Some need time to recooperate, others hit the ground running. Here are some links I love:

During my first pregnancy, my hair was very long with no bangs. It was extra thick and gorgeous from all those wonderful hormones disrupting the normal growth cycle of hair. When you are pregnant, more of your hair goes into a "resting phase," which means it doesn't fall out on schedule. It stays put longer ... until you have the baby.

Then it's time to play catch up. All that hair that stuck around falls out, and you feel like you're going bald.

Except for the clumps of hair in the shower drain and the smattering on my pillow each morning, I didn't notice my postpartum hair loss until it started to grow back. About a year after having the baby, I noticed little sideburns and feathery fringe bangs from where the hair had fallen out and was now growing back.

Some moms have it much worse -- some see a thinning along their part. Others have bald spots and have had to buy wigs for their hair loss.

Photo by websorceress

I don't know anyone who has suffered postpartum depression. At least no one has told me they did. Yet, about 1 in 10 women who give birth suffer from it so it seems like I should know someone. Celebrities like Brooke Shields and Angie Harmon have talked publicly about it. Harmon recently told lilsugar that she experienced depression following the births of all three of her daughters, but that none of her friends ever talked about it with her until she brought it up.

I always say I wish I could go back and relive the days with my newborn babies all over again — so precious and sweet and tiny, that time period so short! — but I want to relive all that MINUS the giving birth part. Someone else can take care of that in my relived fantasy. LOL.

Along with my husband and the support of family, friends, and the pizza delivery guy, I do remember three specific items that I could *NOT* have lived without in my first week postpartum.

Wow. According to this article in the Daily Mail, some dads might not be as happy about new babies as we might expect...

photo from Better World Books

Having a C-section can be rough—emotionally and physically. I know because I had one, and it was not fun. I  was in a lot of pain afterward. The drive home was excruciating. I could barely walk for weeks, I couldn't lie down to sleep, and it hurt when I laughed or coughed or sneezed. I wish I had lilsugar's five tips for easing a C-section recovery.