@pensonfam I am not a dad, but a mom. Reading this broke my heart for you both. I had a loss just into the second trimester. Although I didn’t labor, I did require surgery.
I know how devastating that was for myself, my husband, and my family. But. It cannot be compared to your family’s situation. My heart truly goes out to you. I know you’re hearing a lot of that, but I mean it as much as a stranger on Reddit can mean it.
I did go on to have two successful pregnancies. I hope, should you both decide to try again, that you will be able to as well. I mention my pregnancies because after both of them I had postpartum anxiety. Although your situation is vastly different, your wife’s body is going through the same motions. Her hormones don’t understand what just happened and will be affecting her in the same way.
Postpartum is very real. And comes in many forms. There’s anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Psychosis is the most severe - most people know it from news stories - but it’s not as common as it’s made out to be. I had PP anxiety. It didn’t rear its ugly head until about 4 months, and peaked at 6 months. It doesn’t always present immediately, or shortly after delivery. I didn’t know what was happening, or how much my behaviors had changed. But my husband did. I thought I was over thinking things and worrying too much. My husband knew something was very wrong and immediately called my midwife, and made me a therapy appointment.
I ended up needing medications for a couple of years, and did regular therapy appointments for about a year. It eventually subsided. But it was stressful and scary for all involved.
I guess, long story short, you need to watch you wife closely. Obviously your situation is much more complex. There is an entire layer of grief that complicates things, and could make it hard to distinguish what behaviors are coming from where. But if you suddenly see a change in her behaviors, notify her doctors right away. She might deny that anything is wrong. Trust your gut. My husband saved my life and sanity (and his own).
I also know that this is not just about your wife. You are grieving too. Give yourself some grace during this difficult time. Your wife could be blaming herself right now. Be there for her and listen to her. It might be helpful during very emotional times to ask her, “do you want to talk about it or do you just want me to listen?” Sometimes we don’t want someone to try to make us feel better, or talk it out, we just want to scream into the void and be held.
Make sure you take time for yourself as well. We cannot effectively care for others if we don’t take care of ourselves first. Kind of like, on an airplane, make sure you put the mask on yourself first before helping others. You both are stronger than you know. I will keep you both in my thoughts.