Pure Parents

Question:

In 1992, at the age of 27, I was diagnosed with manic depression and successfully treated with Lithium.  In 1998, my husband and I decided to have a baby.  I went off the Lithium since it is not compatible with pregnancy. Luckily, I had a sane pregnancy.   My healthy 8 pound baby boy was born in January, 1999. After reading about the benefits of breastfeeding one’s baby (better immune system, mother/baby bonding, higher IQ for baby, etc.), I began nursing my baby. He was a hungry boy, nursing every 2 to 4 hours around the clock … for SIX MONTHS. I slept in between feedings but rarely napped since the baby did not sleep during the day. Exclusively breastfed, he weighed 19 pounds at six months. Friends and family commented on how alert, active, and good natured my baby was.  After reading many baby sleep books (Ferber, Ezzo, and Sears, etc.), I chose not to let him cry it out in the middle of the night. Since I hung out with lactation consultants, read La Leche books, and "lurked" in the breastfeeding newsgroups, I was convinced that I was doing the best thing for my baby.  I also was convinced that I had been misdiagnosed in 1992, since I had been off Lithium for 15 months with no problems.  I wanted to nurse my baby for a year.  I thought formula was "poison". About one month ago, I began to have problems sleeping. Since I wanted to continue to breastfeed, my doctors (OB and shrink) recommended the occasional Benadryl. That worked for about a week.  I started fighting with my husband, losing patience with my baby, and generally acting like a raving lunatic. Our pediatrician firmly suggested letting the baby cry it out. We talked about weaning. My shrink prescribed Lithium and Temazepam (sp?) (sleeping pill) and unfortunately, the baby was abruptly weaned.  Now, a week later, we are both sleeping pretty well.   I’m posting this to warn others who might be in a similar situation. I feel that I badly neglected my own mental health for the sake of my baby. If I hadn’t gone back on my meds, I probably would be parenting from the psych ward.  In retrospect, I probably should have weaned him at about 8 weeks.   I also must add that though I am bipolar and I was bottlefed as a baby, I scored a 29 on my stupid ACTs, went to a good school, have held good jobs, have a close relationship with my mother, and I possess an immune system to die for. I haven’t been sick a day in my adult life except for a few self induced hangovers. I’ve never even had the flu. I’ve tossed all my childrearing books except for one, and from now on I plan to parent through common sense.

Response:

Thanks for sharing this. From what I can gather and what my doctor’s have said  I think I was lucky to get away with having my two children without immediate psychiatric problems.( I was undiagnosed at the time, having had only mild hypomanic symptoms but several severe depressions.) Jackie – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->In 1992, at the age of 27, I was diagnosed with manic depression and >successfully treated with Lithium.  In 1998, my husband and I decided to have a >baby.  I went off the Lithium since it is not compatible with pregnancy. >Luckily, I had a sane pregnancy.   >My healthy 8 pound baby boy was born in January, 1999. After reading about the >benefits of breastfeeding one’s baby (better immune system, mother/baby >bonding, higher IQ for baby, etc.), I began nursing my baby. He was a hungry >boy, nursing >every 2 to 4 hours around the clock … for SIX MONTHS. I slept in between >feedings but rarely napped since the baby did not sleep during the day. >Exclusively breastfed, he weighed 19 pounds at six months. Friends and family >commented on how alert, active, and good natured my baby was.  After reading >many baby sleep books (Ferber, Ezzo, and Sears, etc.), I chose not to let him >cry it out in the middle of the night. Since I hung out with lactation >consultants, read La Leche books, and "lurked" in the breastfeeding newsgroups, >I was convinced that I was doing the best thing for my baby.  I also was >convinced that I had been misdiagnosed in 1992, since I had been off Lithium >for 15 months with no problems.  I wanted to nurse my baby for a year.  I >thought formula was "poison". >About one month ago, I began to have problems sleeping. Since I wanted to >continue to breastfeed, my doctors (OB and shrink) recommended the occasional >Benadryl. That worked for about a week.  I started fighting with my husband, >losing patience with my baby, and generally acting like a raving lunatic. Our >pediatrician firmly suggested letting the baby cry it out. We talked about >weaning. My shrink prescribed Lithium and Temazepam (sp?) (sleeping pill) and >unfortunately, the baby was abruptly weaned.  Now, a week later, we are both >sleeping pretty well.   >I’m posting this to warn others who might be in a similar situation. I feel >that I badly neglected my own mental health for the sake of my baby. If I >hadn’t gone back on my meds, I probably would be parenting from the psych ward. > In retrospect, I probably should have weaned him at about 8 weeks.   >I also must add that though I am bipolar and I was bottlefed as a baby, I >scored a 29 on my stupid ACTs, went to a good school, have held good jobs, have >a close relationship with my mother, and I possess an immune system to die for. >I haven’t been sick a day in my adult life except for a few self induced >hangovers. I’ve never even had the flu. I’ve tossed all my childrearing books >except for one, and from now on I plan to parent through common sense.

Web page at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/close/xhq10/mem.htm I’ve been Jay H, Canarybird, Empty Cage, Serin, Phoenix, even Crow. Let’s see if I can stick with this one for a while.

Response: