Parenthood and sleep deprivation
Anyone who has had the experience of having a brand new baby in the house will remember the agony of those first 6 or so weeks where you are so totally sleep deprived you spend most of the time feeling like you are having an out of body experience. For most new parents you just have to hold on and get through to the end of that really tough period until bub starts to establish some routines and you begin to work out what the hell you are doing, but for some parents, this period of disturbed sleep will last for much longer – sometimes months or years. For some parents, this will trigger the beginning of something far more concerning that straightforward tiredness, such as PND or worse. If you have a new baby – don’t feel too scared or proud to ask for help – you aren’t a failure as a mum or dad because you need to ask for a helping hand. And if you know someone who has just had a baby, don’t wait for them to ask you for help – they probably won’t. Don’t even ask them what they need (they are probably so exhausted they aren’t thinking clearly, so won’t be able to answer anyway) – just turn up with for for dinner, grab the baby and tell them to go have a long shower, then put the kettle on.