Olivia is 3 months old today!

My dear friend told me that her dad always said you just had to make it through the first 90 days with a newborn and then it would all start to get better and I think he may have been right!

If you read my husband's second blog post you know that we have had a rough time with our baby girl. It has been one problem after another but thank God, nothing life threatening or even permanent. I can honestly say though that things seem to be looking up. Her periods of contentment are getting longer each week, she is smiling, talking (aka making cute baby noises) and in general alot happier. She still has very fussy moments and screams fairly regularly but overall, it's getting MUCH better.

And, in correlation I also find myself feeling much better. For those not aware I am one of the 10-15% who have experienced post partum depression (PPD) after giving birth. Specifically I have PPD and post partum anxiety (PPA), both of which began shortly after Olivia's birth. Initially I just thought it was exhaustion and worry over Olivia's weight loss but as time went on and the tears, guilt, irrational thoughts and anxiety did not lessen I realized something more serious was going on. Fortunately OB/GYN's look specifically for this at the 6 week post partum appointment so I didn't even have the bring the issue up myself. I have been on medication since that time and between that and getting back on a schedule with returning to work, I am feeling much better.

It has been a really hard road though and I have learned (and continue to learn) lessons from my experience that I hope to share in future blogs. If sharing my experiences ever helped even one person it would be worth it and on top of that I have found that honesty keeps the devil from coming to your front door!