Pregnancy Brain Is Real
Your IQ doesn't change, but your priorities sure do.
Things have been happening to me lately. Some I’ll share and some I’ll keep to myself (believe me, I’m doing you a favor). I’m starting to really appreciate that my 2-year-old won’t remember much about the last couple of months, as he serves as my only witness to some very embarrassing situations.
A month ago, I was bent down trying to brush his teeth while he was busy doing something with his cars, and I completely fell over backwards. Gracelessly fell on my arse. “Mommy, ok?” he says. “Mommy is ok” I reply.
Last week, he was playing on the jungle gym with his cousins at the park. He got into a “big boy” area, so I climbed up (in a dress) to be there..just in case. Well, he started to fall, so I leaned over (in a dress) to help ease the blow. As I was leaning over (in a dress), I realized that I had a dress on. I quickly popped up and looked around. My sister, being ever so supportive, says “It’s ok, no one is going to SAY anything!”
Oh great, so no one is going to SAY anything, but she never said no one SAW anything. My family’s honesty policy is one to be revered.
In addition to these little mishaps, I can’t remember anything. My husband is starting to use this to his advantage. “Honey, I told you I was going golfing after work today.” Hmmm.
There have been the forgotten lunches, mis-placed keys, unreturned phone calls, etc. I haven’t forgotten my child yet, but there have been seconds of panic before realizing I had taken him to school already. Deep breath.
At work I have made some epic mistakes. I’m having to work really hard to focus on one task at a time. I pride myself in being a pro multi-tasker, but lately, that’s become too much. I’m triple-checking things because I’ve lost complete trust in myself.
Of course, I hate using the “pregnancy brain” as a crutch, but according to my research it’s a real ailment. There have been multiple studies that show a lack of short-term memory during the third trimester, specifically. Your body is busy, oh you know, growing a human. So, what your brain does is set your priorities for you. For example, knowing where my 2-year-old is rates as HIGH PRIORITY. Next in line would be what I’m going to eat next.
The only cure is to try and simplify your life and use a calendar. My own suggestion is to SLOW down. I mean, physically I’m pretty slow, but mentally I have to tell myself to slow down and do one thing at a time. Also, be easy on yourself. You’ll be back to your normal self soon…of course you’ll be dealing with sleep deprivation, but as I said, one thing at a time.
