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

Within the carousel, Carpenter also showed off more angles of her baby blue halter gown, detailed with a peplum and a floor-grazing skirt hem covered in plumes. —Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 8 Feb. 2025

Benson Boone started his performance, seated next to J. Lo, from his table in the audience, then snatched away his traditional suit to show off a bedazzled baby blue jumpsuit before ascending to the stage and somersaulting off of the piano. —Evan Nicole Brown, TIME, 3 Feb. 2025

Madison, with a hand from stylist Jamie Mizrahi, accessorized her baby blue look with high-contrast pieces. —Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 23 Jan. 2025

Between 1978 and 1981, the club featured a baby blue road jersey with white pinstripes. —Patrick Mooney, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1