I’ve been moving this week. Yes, I know I moved almost exactly a year ago at this time. Now I’m doing it again. I am SO VERY over it. We are about 85% moved into my new house, which is only about 6 houses down and right around the corner from the old one. I went to takea shower this morning and realized my shampoo is still at the old house. As is about half of my closet. As is everything in the fridge. Snarl.

My new house has no DirecTV service yet and no phone yet. So no internet. Which is why I’ve been quiet these last couple of days. I’m sitting at Starbucks right now using the wifi so I can say a quick hello to you before I head back to unpacking.

I have to say — and this may sound strange — I really miss all of you when I’m not here. I know I don’t personally know most of the readers of Postpartum Progress, but you are like my second family in a way. I feel like I know you personally. I love hearing from you. I love seeing what you are doing to combat your own postpartum depression/anxiety/OCD/psychosis, and what you are doing to help others fight it. I just want to remind all of you how much of a true blessing you are to me. It is such a gift to do work that is received positively by others. God blesses me everyday with each and every one of you. So thanks. A lot.

This move also reminds me how stressful moving is, which is why it is no surprise that an event like this can be a risk factor for postpartum depression. It’s very unsettling not knowing where everything is, dealing with your children’s discomfort in being uprooted, feeling like you are in a foreign place. I have no idea which light switch turns on which light, or why the ceiling fan won’t work, or which box has my children’s bathing suits, or where to put all this CRAP I’ve accumulated over the last few decades. Even if you like where you are going — which I do — it’s hard to avoid being frustrated and a little anxious.

Whether it’s a big move, or a job change or job loss, or the death of a loved one, major life stressors are risk factors for PPD. Don’t forget that if you are planning something big right at the time you are pregnant or just after having had a baby.