I'll reiterate what others have said. It's unusual that your wife is sleeping 12 hours. I don't know the details of your situation, but my initial impression is that it's woefully unfair. If the baby needs tending in the middle of the night, whoever's slept the most recently should be the one getting up.
Antidepressants are serious business. If you're actually just exhausted, it seems like you would be better off changing your environment rather than your brain chemistry. My wife has been on antidepressants since suffering from postpartum depression from our first child. Her current prescription seems to have her leveled out, but has also suppressed important aspects of her personality and perhaps even memory. This past year we've been in a rut where she refuses to even discuss changing anything because it's easier for her than confronting her underlying trauma.
For what it's worth, if you're fly-crawling-suicidal tired, it's better for you and your family to let your baby scream in their crib for an hour or two while you go sleep in a car. It isn't going to traumatize your baby, and might even be healthy for them to learn how to self-soothe. If you can afford it, it's also ok for you to occasionally take off a night and stay alone in a hotel, and let your wife take care of the baby. It would be more effective than antidepressants, assuming exhaustion is truly the root issue.
Antidepressants are serious business. If you're actually just exhausted, it seems like you would be better off changing your environment rather than your brain chemistry. My wife has been on antidepressants since suffering from postpartum depression from our first child. Her current prescription seems to have her leveled out, but has also suppressed important aspects of her personality and perhaps even memory. This past year we've been in a rut where she refuses to even discuss changing anything because it's easier for her than confronting her underlying trauma.
For what it's worth, if you're fly-crawling-suicidal tired, it's better for you and your family to let your baby scream in their crib for an hour or two while you go sleep in a car. It isn't going to traumatize your baby, and might even be healthy for them to learn how to self-soothe. If you can afford it, it's also ok for you to occasionally take off a night and stay alone in a hotel, and let your wife take care of the baby. It would be more effective than antidepressants, assuming exhaustion is truly the root issue.