When my son was born, I had PPD and I had a really tough time bonding with him. It took a long time before I actually felt like he and I had any type of connection. I’m a teacher, so I had the summer off and we had so much fun just the two of us. When I went back to work I missed him so much, in fact it was harder to go back to work after summer break than it was after my maternity leave (my maternity leave ended when he was 10 weeks old).

But lately, I’ve been feeling a lot less connected with him. He’s been throwing temper tantrums and hitting a lot. We’ve been following all of the pediatrician’s advice on the tantrums, but it’s still in full swing.

At first, the hitting seemed much more accidental. He was frustrated and didn’t know how else to show it. But lately it’s seemed much more malicious.

I know a lot of this is normal and something he’ll grow out of, but sometimes it really feels like he hates me. I’m at a loss for what to do. I see other moms who can’t wait to spend time with their little ones, and sometimes I really just dread being alone with him. I feel like a total failure.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?