‘RHOP’ Star Ashley Darby Suffered ‘Postpartum Blues’ After Birth of Son

Ashley Darby is getting real about the more difficult side of motherhood just weeks after the birth of son Dean. The Real Housewives of Potomac star took to Instagram Stories Monday, as per PEOPLE, to open up about her “first bout of postpartum blues,” which she was helped through by husband Michael.

“Hello, my darlings. I’m checking in with you,” she began the videos. “I am officially 15 days postpartum. Dean turned 2 weeks yesterday. And today I experienced my first bout of postpartum blues.”

Still recovering physically from giving birth, Darby said she was still having “a bit of pain” that was preventing her from getting things done around the house.

“I just felt like I needed to do all these things around the house,” she said. “I needed to do dishes; I needed to do laundry, straighten up the house, pump milk. And physically, I’m not feeling very well.”

“I’ll keep it PG since no one wants to hear about all that, but my areas are still in quite a bit of pain and physically I just don’t feel myself,” the Bravo star continued. “I realize that that’s really what pregnancy is about and what postpartum is about, is not only the emotional [part with] the hormones, but also the fact that, physically, our bodies are still recovering from delivering a baby, so we’re not really at our prime to execute the same tasks.”

Thanking husband Michael for helping take care of Dean while she was able to sleep a little and check off things on her list, Darby continued that the weight was lifted off her shoulders a little bit.

“I have to say that I said a huge prayer of thank you today for my husband because Michael really stepped up,” she revealed. “I didn’t really have to say anything — he saw in my face how upset and sad I was and so he took the baby this morning and let me sleep for a couple of hours.”

“And he’s been working from home to help me whenever I need, so he takes Dean and I’ve been able to do those little things around the house that still make me feel good and make me feel accomplished,” she continued.

Being able to breastfeed and pump when she needs to lets Darby “still feel like [she’s] being a mom,” which has left her thankful for “feeling good.”

“I mean, feeling bad really really makes you appreciative for the times you feel good, and that is where I was today,” she noted. “So I’m feeling much better today, much better now than I was earlier today, but I certainly had a moment of thank you and appreciation for my husband.”

The Real Housewives of Potomac airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo.

Photo credit: Instagram/Ashley Darby