baby blue

noun

1

: a pale blue

2

baby blues plural : blue eyes

She's a zaftig woman, with long red hair and a pale rose complexion setting off those baby blues.

—Michele Kort

3

baby blues plural in form but singular or plural in construction : a feeling of sadness that is experienced by a woman shortly after giving birth, that is typically accompanied by other symptoms (such as mood swings, crying spells, and insomnia), and that usually lasts less than two weeks : postpartum blues

Baby blues isn't an illness or even a proper psychiatric diagnosis, it is simply a way that people have tried to describe unpleasant feelings that occur shortly after having a baby and tend to resolve in a few days.

—Jackie Ganley

—usually used with the

a case of the baby blues

compare postpartum depression

Examples of baby blue in a Sentence

She gazed into his baby blues.

She had a bad case of the baby blues.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rain sold her beloved, baby blue VW Westfalia and moved to L.A. —Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

Ballet flats are undoubtedly a spring staple, but Shields isn’t the only celeb upgrading to colorful shoes this season: Jennifer Garner and Joanna Gaines gave vibrant sneakers a spin, and Katie Holmes recently wore a pair of baby blue flats. —Taylor Jean Stephan, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2024

In addition to the baby blue shown above, this comes in eight more colors, including black and red. —Katrina Cossey, Parents, 1 Apr. 2024

Throughout the winter, keep your eyes peeled for dishes in coordinating pastels like yellow, pink, or baby blue. —Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Feb. 2024

She was spotted in Italy with a friend wearing a cropped black T-shirt, black trousers, a baby blue cashmere cardigan, and sage green Adidas Sambas. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 22 Mar. 2024

By the time the deputy stops running, a woman can be heard screaming as the camera shows the teen lying in the front yard, his body in a baby blue sweatsuit coming to rest. —Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024

This shimmery baby blue shade is bippity-boppity beautiful. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 7 Mar. 2024

Night at the Theater Marisa Tomei wears baby blue plaid to the opening night of Broadway's An Enemy of the People on March 18 in N.Y.C. —Stephanie Sengwe, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1