Of all the topics I’ve shared about the oh so many consequences of pregnancy, I can’t believe I forgot to mention ‘mommy brain.’ But that’s the point, right? The absent-mindedness, the lost train of thought, the wonder of why you picked up your phone. It’s walking into a room and forgetting why you’re there. It’s looking for your phone for fifteen minutes, only to realize it’s been in your hands the entire time. It’s telling a story during dinner with a captive audience and forgetting what you were saying just as you get to the punch line. UGH!!! When it happened to me, the moment after I saw the positive pregnancy test, I was sure this condition would disappear once my duo was born. Boy, oh, girl, was I WRONG. Eight years later, I still experience this most annoying condition.
Oh, the consequences of pregnancy. I used think ‘pregnancy brain’ or ‘mommy brain’ was an old wives tale told to scare us about one more thing that would happen as we journeyed motherhood. This is no tale. It’s real life and happens mid-conversation, mid-stride, and mid-thought. I affectionately remember thirty-four weeks into my pregnancy, preparing to deliver my last presentation for work and pregnancy brain was hard at work. I found it difficult to keep any thought straight in my head and frequently spoke slower so that my thoughts would not get ahead of my speaking and abandon me mid-sentence. I prayed that for this important presentation, I would speak with the knowledge and ability I did in fact have and not be mid-sentence forgetting what I was supposed to say next. Thankfully, I was spared. Now talking to co-workers after the presentation was over, well, I returned to normal pregnancy brain operations. UUGH!
“Not to brag or anything, but I can forget what I’m doing, while I’m doing it.”
This consequence of pregnancy is still ever-present for me. It’s now ‘mommy brain’ and stems from the innumerable responsibilities of motherhood, working full time, being a wife, and navigating through life. It’s the endless list of to-dos and don’t dos that take up mental space and compete for attention when I’m trying to remember where I put the stapler. It’s knowing my kids’ latest likes and dislikes for food and clothing, but not remembering if it’s this week or next week that recycling is coming. I know the names of every doctor my kids see but forgetting what I’m supposed to get in a grocery aisle. UGGGHH!
Although this disastrous consequence of pregnancy was initially embarrassing, I’ve found humor in its sillier instances. At work, I fess up to mommy brain affecting me that day. Most amusing are moments when it occurs in front of my kids and they exclaim that ‘mommy is so silly or crazy’ and we all laugh. I hope that my ability to laugh at myself and my foibles helps my kids realize that we all have a thing that could be considered embarrassing, and it’s okay. Mommy brain shows that I’m a mother doing all the things – some days better than others. Now where the heck did I put my keys? UGGGHHH!
