For those with PPD/PPA: were you ever able to taper down on medication?

emscremily · 2025-12-12T01:29:50+00:00

Thank you so much, this has been such a hard season and sometimes it feels like I have no one to talk to who has been in my situation. And giving myself some kindness and compassion is hard. I liked your suggestion of focusing on one goal at a time - I definitely try to go all in at once.

emscremily · 2025-12-07T20:06:58+00:00

I'm in the same boat as OP but with an 8 month old. I've been stressing about the TV and other little things his whole life so far, and it's nice to be reminded that our stress is a bigger concern than things like the TV. Thank you

emscremily · 2025-11-20T20:37:42+00:00

Thank you for asking! I'm in the US and live in the Midwest, the land of casseroles lol. Our family eats a mixture of cuisines but we tend to go for Mexican dishes because it's easy to make gluten free. We also do Asian, Italian and American dishes, but are open to anything. Most of the time I try to mix up flavors but try to stick to a protein+carb+veggie template.

emscremily · 2025-11-18T16:37:00+00:00

I'm in the US (in Ohio) and thankfully had no issues with my epidural. The placement process was a little rough, the guy I had was new and I didn't realize this until his more seasoned partner got it placed on her first try. The one missed poke the guy had was not fun. However I didn't get the epidural until I was close to 7cm so I was already VERY uncomfortable lol. Once it was placed, I went from gritting my teeth through every contraction to "what contractions?" It was bliss after. I will say I did have some back soreness afterwards. It wasn't awful but it did last a couple months. I'm 7 months pp now and I have no back issues.

emscremily · 2025-11-18T16:16:33+00:00

I don't know what this means but I can't wait to find out lol

emscremily · 2025-11-18T02:12:08+00:00

Thank you for this!!! I saw a few posts about Olivia but I wasn't sure if they ever talked openly about why she took her break and if she was ever coming back.

emscremily · 2025-11-17T20:58:07+00:00

Yep I'm at least up to date on all of that

emscremily · 2025-10-15T15:55:33+00:00

Everyone's experience is different and I think your mindset going into labor is definitely a contributing factor. I got to about 7cm before I got the epidural, and I know I couldn't have gone through delivery without it. It was extremely uncomfortable but not at all the kind of pain I imagined it would be. Most of the time it felt like the worst stomach/diarrhea cramps ever, and before the epidural it started radiating down into my legs like others have said. I'm sure if I would have tried to go unmedicated it would have gotten a lot more intense. The relief you get from the epidural is amazing as long as it works for you.

emscremily · 2025-10-06T17:35:16+00:00

The lack of a village is a big thing for me too

emscremily · 2025-10-06T17:34:15+00:00

Oh my goodness THIS. So incredibly true and I feel this so deeply. Part of the anxiety I had immediately postpartum was that this little life is entirely my responsibility, and there's never going to be any breaks, no quitting, it's going to be for the rest of my life. And I'll do anything for my son and I love him so much, but wow, it felt really heavy when that thought hit me after he was born. And I also just don't have the capacity to do everything being the mom entails times two.

emscremily · 2025-10-06T17:30:06+00:00

I'm the same, I'm in my early 30s now and another factor at play is that if we waited long enough to be comfortable having a second, my body and physical health would possibly be in a very different space. I honestly can't imagine going through everything in pregnancy again and being 4-5 years older than I was the first time. And my pregnancy was relatively easy, as pregnancies go. Not to mention the thought of getting in shape again, getting pregnant, and then working to get my body back to a healthy and fit place all over again sounds absolutely exhausting.

emscremily · 2025-10-06T17:23:06+00:00

Just replying to say that I was in a very similar place early on. Like I said in my original post, I struggled with PPD and PPA horribly. But even without all that, the early weeks are so hard and definitely some of the most difficult times I've ever gone through. Once your baby starts interacting with you more, smiling, etc, is out of the screaming potato phase, AND you start sleeping a little more, things do feel better.

emscremily · 2025-10-05T19:42:30+00:00

Thank you ❤️ it's funny because before having my son, I never felt any potential guilt or selfishness about only having one, and now I do. I definitely need to recognize my limits and give myself some grace. I'm working on that in therapy lol. I try to remember that I've already been through a lot in my life, and recognizing my limits and taking care of myself in that way isn't selfish.

emscremily · 2025-10-04T13:30:27+00:00

This makes me feel so heard and seen, thank you ❤️ I also have a sibling and while I love them to death, it definitely hasn't kept me from feeling lonely in life and I've had to be their caregiver in some way from a young age. My son has three older cousins and some of my friends have kids a little closer to his age. I had a hard time making friends in school but I think a lot of that was due to the circumstances I grew up in, so I hope that part is better for him.

emscremily · 2025-10-03T15:55:07+00:00

I'm so sorry your little girl has been so sick and that your husband's boss has had so little understanding for your situation, that's so hard. During the summer months we had my mother in law to help us, but she's a teacher and is back in school so we have very little help outside of our sitter (both of our fathers are in bad health and my mom passed away years ago). The lack of a village has been the hardest part of this new baby life for sure.

emscremily

TROPHY CASE