Pregnancy brain..

I’m in the seventh month of my fourth pregnancy, and I have “pregnancy brain”. Yes, this extremely scientific-sounding disease, is just another way of saying I’ve become forgetful. Really, really forgetful. I have noticed that it gets worse with every pregnancy. I went to the grocery store the other day and had to sit in the parking lot for over 10 minutes because I couldn't remember the one specific item I needed to get. Thayne sent me to the store another day with a request for me to get two different things. I went over and over the list in my head all the way to the store but by the time I got home I only had one item.

I have been thinking about my lack of memory and wondering, why does this happen? I know it’s hormones, yada, yada, yada, but why? Supposedly it affects about half of pregnant women. What a weird side effect of pregnancy!

I’ve always heard that certain symptons of pregnancy are supposed to prepare the new mom for actually being a mom. One example almost every pregnant woman has heard is that being uncomfortable at night and having trouble sleeping (either because you can’t get into a comfortable position being so huge, or because you have to go to the bathroom 80 times) is a way to get you ready to pull all-nighters with your new baby. Of course, whether I believe all these “preparation” tales, I can’t really say. But, if pregnancy symptoms are stages of mom training, I find it ironic that forgetfulness is one of them. What is it really meant to prepare you for?

Forgetful-preparedness seems especially harsh considering that, when becoming a mom, you have about a zillion things you need to remember, for example:
Who is allergic to what foods, what soaps, detergents, sunscreens and fabric? Who will eat what kind of veggies? Who hates juice? Whose toothbrush is whose? Who needs to be where at what time and when they need to be picked up? Who will only wear one particular kind of dress to church? Who will only eat the purple chewable vitamins and who will only eat the orange? Is there any milk left in the ‘fridge?

Of course, that’s only the “mom” part of life. There are whole other parts of life to remember in areas such as spouses school/work, extended family, friends, bills, clubs and community. The list goes on and on.

When I looked up “pregnancy brain” and “forgetfulness” in my go-to guide for pregnancy (written and published by a top-notch medical institution, I might add) it talks about this being a normal part of pregnancy, due to hormones, etc. It provides a few helpful hints such as “keep lists” and “reduce stress”. It also says that this is the time to “have a sense of humor”. Hmmm. Is that very helpful?

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There’s the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, the frequent mood swings, the crying for no reason, and the constant worry. No woman can avoid all of these symptoms or discomforts and humiliations, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not me! I have ALL of the above and more!

This is how my kids look at me all the time now. I'm sure they are constantly wondering, "Who is this lady and what did she do with my mommy?". Poor things, they looked so confused and stressed out!