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

Phoenix, for his part, had on a baby blue crewneck sweater and matching joggers, with gray and pink New Balance shoes. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025

The actor was there with her young The Housemaid costar Indiana Elle, who wore a baby blue leather jacket with ‘Brooklyn’ emblazoned across its front. —Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 23 Jan. 2025

The Cubs were the first major-league team to wear baby blue in 1941. —Patrick Mooney, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025

The colorway options — besides being seemingly endless with shades like the soft green Eucalyptus, baby blue Pacific, and ’70s-inspired Terracotta — allow for creative freedom and many a matchy-matchy moment with your overnight bag or makeup case. —Stacia Datskovska, WWD, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1