Pregnancy Brain Anyone!?! The Red Headed Hostess
Please tell me I am not alone out there!
I heard about “pregnancy brain” prior to becoming pregnant, and I thought… “right… that won’t happen to me.”
But it has, and it has become constant comedy in my home. And I felt a lot better when I found this:
“If you read pregnancy manuals and listen to pregnant mothers – yes, there is such a thing as pregnancy brain or momnesia, and there is also evidence from research showing deficits in memory,” says Helen Christensen, PhD, of The Australian National University.
So, for instance:
- I am at Costco on a busy Saturday in December (so that means half of the state of Utah was there), and I am paying for my items. I swipe my debit card that I use almost every day and I COULD NOT remember my pin number. I just stood there bewildered and tried in vain a few times and had to resort to another type of payment. “Don’t worry,” the kind lady checking me out said, “I’m pregnant too, so I understand.”
- I have not been able to find my 1 cup sized measuring cup now for weeks. So the other day I called my husband in and showed him the 1/2 cup sized measuring cup and said, “Ok, when you are unloading the dishwasher, where do you put these?” And he showed me the exact right spot and I said, “always, do you ALWAYS put them there?” To which he responded, “You are the one with pregnancy brain, you sure you want to interrogate me?” “Ummm, you’re right,” I said, and so I realized that it could be ANYWHERE…. in my flour container, or my oatmeal container, or the ceiling vent…
- I can’t remember words. Or suddenly my shoulder is my elbow or my the television is the thing over there. Seriously, my students got to the point where they knew they would have to fill in the correct word for me.
Please tell me I am not alone… that you understand… that you have experienced this same phenomenon.
You are not alone. I understand and have experienced this same phenomenon. The bad news is every child sucks 25% of your brain power. If you have more than four children, as I do, pregnancy brain becomes permanent momnesia. We have the funniest video of my little Katie aged 3 repeating over and over, “Remember Mom?” My youngest son, a 20-something young adult, is so patient. “What is a thingy? Can you describe it? Point to what you want, Mom, and I’ll get it.”
Shannon you are so delightful. I check out your blog everyday never knowing what to expect. You never disappoint. Today it put a great big smile on my face. Thanks for the pick me up. Talking about pregnancy brain, I put the car keys in the dishwasher one day after shopping. We didn’t find them until the next morning. I’m glad to hear my confusion has a name, I thought I was brain dead. Have a happy day.
I heard Paul Harvey about 5 years ago state on his radio program that scientists found those who gave birth to girls lost more brain cells than those who gave birth to boys. And I yelled out loud, “I knew it! That explains my incoherent thoughts and speech!” That also means with seven daughters I am hopelessly a lost cause. =)
Oh, it is REAL!
During my last pregnancy, I read that it takes nine months to recover from pregnancy brain (which I think is untrue- we never fully recover). But that made me wonder what it’s like to have babies 18 months apart (or less). That’s a long time to have pregnancy brain!
Brittany, you are right. We never recover. My youngest son is 7 years old now, and most of the time I can’t remember what I have to do, where I’ve put things I need, I want to say a word and end up saying something else. I go get the iron board and end up picking up the small stair… Things like that. I have to write down everything I need to do, buy etc. But I forget to look at the list. And so we go…
Thanks, Shannon. Now I can tell my husband that he’s wrong when he says I don’t remember things he said because they weren’t important to me. The thing is : I suffer from momnesia!
Hugs from Brazil !
This made me laugh so hard! I’m pregnant with number six right now and in the middle of some major pregnancy brain/ momnesia! I am always spacing on words and trying to describe it or simply stare and pause. Lol! I also misplace items constantly and tell my child to put the pan in the garbage or put the trash in the fridge. 😉 They just laugh at me now and/or try to fill in the blanks when I can’t make it work. It’s not as bad when I’m NOT pregnant…but I definitely feel like I’m not as sharp as I was before these five and a half sweet angels. Lol! Happy spacing — enjoy the laughs and don’t stress it. 😉
Yes, it’s true. It’s a real thing. I like that it has a name – momnesia. Not heard that one before.
The weird thing is, that pregnancy triggers my memory of the high school German that I took. I sometimes can’t think of a specific word in English, but perfectly fine in German.
The pregnancy brain is taken over by the sleep deprived brain of a mom of a newborn. Not to worry, it does improve when baby hits about 6 months old, and again about one year. I’m usually pregnant again soon after that!
@Brittany – I have two exactly 18 months apart, and feel like I kinda lost a couple of years in a fog between pregnancy brain and sleep deprivation.
It is a very rel thing. Sadly, some of those brain cells are never found. The brain is never the same. However, the babies are worth all the lost brain cells.
My husband always chuckled at me and commented on how brilliant the baby was going to be since it had sucked my brains out! He was really sweet and loving about it…..Truth is, all five of our kids are exceptionally smart even with a goofy mom……….It’s all worth it, don’t worry! Don’t be shocked though when you realize that “getting back to normal” really means “finding a new normal”……..because having another wonderful little blessing in your family always necessitates change……
Someone told me you lose a 1/4 of your brain cells with each pregnancy. After five kids, they are doing good if I know their name 🙂
Not only is it real, but I hate to tell you that it gets worse with each child, and you never seem to get it back.
SADLY, this affects us whether or not we are pregnant. Have a child, get the decease. I have a sister who insists she is going senile, she doesn’t realize that we all have those moments.
My thoughts;
Either it happens to us so that we learn not to take ourselves too seriously – our children/spouses will require a lot of understanding and humor.
OR
Our brains memory cells really to decay not only with age but with children.
Not only you are not alone, but it will never go away. After having the baby it will continue and then when you’re all done having children you enter menopause with the next phase of no brainess. It’s the blessings of being a woman–however I have not discovered the blessing part of less brain cells.
Cathy ♥
I think for sure that hormones can wreck havoc on our bodies, but I think another thing we have going on is we have this major multi-tasking brain. Our brains are like this busy switch board and we were created to multi-task. Men have (and this is scientificly true) like 3 switches-which helps them to stay focused on being the bread winners of the family. BUT because we have multi-tasking brains, bring in the pregnancy hormones and bring in busy motherhood stuff, and sometimes it circuit overload! Wait until the school or a Dr. asks you when your child’s birthday is, or even yours. It is an embarrassing silent awkward moment! Get used to it, it is only the beginning 🙂 I think that is why so many women write everything down. We have to. ; )
Here’s the trick of it: you get to use the Great Mother All-Purpose Term. THINGY. Yes, “thingy”. It works for everything! Noun, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction.
Once when I was pregnant, I went through the drive-through at our bank, and then drove off with the big plastic thing that you put your money in to send it into the bank. I’ve had 9 children, and yes, your brain does do some funny things. I read a study once though that indicated that this happens because our brains are going through a massive “re-wiring” to be more effective as mothers, to be able to keep track of more details, etc. I wish I’d saved the information from that study, I hope it is true!
Just remember this isn’t the last of “pregnancy brain” …when you become a senior citizen you then have “senior moments” when you can’t remember things! I’ve experienced both. You have a lot to look forward to!
You all are hysterical and I am glad I am not alone! Years ago I was outside with my little ones and needing to reprimand a child that was not playing safely. I continually asked him by name to stop and he completely ignored me. I was getting a little frustrated until my neighbor gently told me I was calling after this child with his brothers name… over and over again. 8 years later and last week, I completely forgot his middle name (for just a second, mind you, and instead plugged in the same brothers middle name). He just looked at me devasted! – So, pregrancy brain? I only wish! I have never been the same. So, from all the posts – indicating losing 25% of your brain with each child, I have none left. Is this what they mean by passing on your genes?
I wish I could tell you it goes away once you have the baby, but I’m afraid it’s never the same again! It’s a crazy thing that happens to every woman I know that has ever been pregnant! It’s a good thing it can provide us with a few good laughs, though!
Of course someone has a name for it – Momnesia! Priceless!! Shannon embrace the “thingy” comment from above. To give you a bit of cultural exchange, in New Zealand Moms say “thing” for any word you can’t remember (noun, verb, adjective, or adverb) .
It’s just too bad that it starts when you are pregnant, one more silly thing to worry about… I am afraid it is all true though, it doesn’t end with pregnancy. My youngest of five is now 8 and the “forgetfullness” continues on and on, especially names for some reason. It would be tragic if it wasn’t so funny when it does happen. I get some really confused looks from my kids when I call one of them their siblings name – at least I err in the correct gender and family, so far anyway…
I remember chuckling at my own Mother when she would randomly call out all our names before stumbling onto mine. Life has come full circle — Sorry Mom, I get it now 🙂 Being a Mom is indeed worth all, and you can join the rest of us who provide comic relief for our loving families!
I know you have had multiple responses so I hope I’m not being repetative– but I don’think it’s just “pregnancy brain” I think it’s “Mom brain” I have had 4 children and it gets worse with everyone. You know how your grandma would call you every one else’s name, even the family pets before she got your correct name? Yeah well, get used to it. :)) You’ll soon be doing it too. :/
Oh, sisters. Wait until “mentalpause” hits too. You really start to wonder how you got this way. Good thing is, you forget pretty soon.