Gosh thank you all so much for reaching out to me - it touched my heart and
made me cry to think that so many folk out there care and we've never even
met. I haven't fallen over the edge but I did take on board many of your
wise words.

I've got my head straightened out a little and my attitude is more
determined now. My itchy scratchy boobs are being sorted out with yet more
anti-thrush devices courtesy of my lovely GP.

AskeyKO - I now give DS to my Mum for 15mins a day so that I can 'walk the
dogs' (aka just be me). I was walking the dogs before but that was also a
nightmare with a pram in the middle, an elderly 15 year old dog on one side
and an exuberant 3 year old dog on the other. I felt like a mad woman and
her chariot. That too was getting me down. I now realise I don't have to
do the superwoman stunt.

Phoebe - thanks for reminding me that yes I did achieve something in getting
out of bed and dressed. I've pulled on the hat and today I even brushed my
hair first :-)

Marie - it was great to hear that I wasn't the only one who had the
'friends' issue. I've since broached the subject with 2 of them and they
hadn't even noticed and were shocked to think I felt uncomfortable whilst
looking after DS. We're better friends now for talking about it.

Nevermind - I really liked this bit - "I think it can be hard for a baby of
about your
DS's age when they are not quite able to get around yet. IIRC, that
was not my babies' happiest time of life -- they're stuck, and they're
just old enough to realize it. " Yes that makes sense. And I've got the
sling out from under the passenger seat and DS loves it. We go and look at
my 'sleeping' plants (a keen gardener's winter).

Anita - I loved the dust bunnies. It's still making me smile. Mine are
replicating now at the same rate as normal bunnies.

Jo - unbeknownst to me, DP had a sneaky suspicion that I might mail you guys
so he signed on and read my post. I cried lots cos he's been wonderful
since DS was born, taking him off on little jaunts with the dogs at the
weekend, despatching me to my beloved greenhouse/garden/potting shed. He
cooks lots of evenings even though he works a long day, I was just depressed
that I couldn't do more of my 'stay-at-home' bit. He says that's fine cos he
sees what hard work it is minding DS all day. He's now finishing work at
4pm every day with at least one half-day a week for the next wee while. He
put all the Xmas stuff away and has lit lovely huge log fires every day to
make a 'cosy nest' for us. At times I'm sure he's an angel in disguise.

Anne - once he's on solids and taking a sippy cup I think I'll ask Mum if
she can have him for an afternoon a week. It's just very awkward at the mo
cos he won't take anything other than pap *sigh* - what a compliment.

Dagny - I hanging right on in there for that sunny day. I *do* know that it
will come and probably sooner than we think. Weird thing was I didn't
intend to do this 'attachment parenting' thing - it just crept up on me and,
on the better days, I kinda like it.

teapot - you made me laugh (and I needed it) about the cat's wee. We have
similar with the aging dog (another story about taking on the rest of my
family's responsibilities).

Nancy - groin hernia being closely monitored by a specialist consultant.
All's in the right place at the mo.

Sara - hoping to avoid medication but I am looking to see if we have a
support group.

Cheryl - thanks for the 'they say' guidance. No this hasn't been constant
for 2 weeks but I did mention it to my Health Visitor and she wants me to
keep a wee note over the next 2 weeks of the days when I feel down. And
after your post I realised that I *could* just do one little bit of tidying
up a day so today I cleared all the kitchen work surfaces and feel a whole
lot better. At least we now know that it's today's crumbs stuck on the
bottom of our plates ;-)

Sue - thanks for your promise.

Just thank you all for being the net that saved me from a nasty fall. I
hope that one day I'll be able to help weave a net for someone else in
return.

--Alison