Mommy Brain: Does It Ever Go Away?

One of the first things I was warned of when I got pregnant was Mommy Brain.  

Well, I guess I was really warned about Pregnancy Brain which then turns into Mommy Brain.  It seemed to make sense.  When you have a newborn, you are sleep deprived and focusing on pure survival.  Your brain can’t think beyond this urgent need to keep a baby alive and so you forget anything and everything.  I thought eventually this would go away.  22-months in, I sometimes feel like my Mommy Brain is getting worse.  

So, when does Mommy Brain go away?

I have to write everything down if I am going to remember it.  You should see the lists I have created at work.  As a type-B person, making lists kills me.  I hate lists.  I hate schedules.  I have to use them now to stay sane and fully functional.  It kills my soul a little each time I make a schedule or to-do list.

People have asked me how I so quickly lost the baby weight and while I generally give credit to lucky genes and breastfeeding, I should probably give more credit to the number of extra steps in a day because of forgetting something.  Multitasking is not my friend right now.

Here is a typically forgetful day for me:

6:15 am– Wake up and hop in the shower.  I wash my hair, wash my face, shave armpits, wait, did I use conditioner?  Put conditioner in (again?) just in case.  

7:45 am– Try to get out the door for work and daycare.  I put my toddler in the car.  Grab my purse, laptop bag and bag for daycare.  Hop into the car.  Realize I forgot my jewelry.  I run back inside, grab bracelets.  (Luckily, I keep a small stash of jewelry in the kitchen for this exact reason).  Now, I am back in the car and reversing out of the driveway.  Realize I forgot my workout bag.  Pull back into the driveway, run inside to grab workout bag.  Finally ready to go (at least 15 minutes late).

8:05 am– On the way to daycare, realize I forgot my lunch on the kitchen counter.

8:40 am– Finally at work and getting ready for the day, which of course needs to include coffee.  Start walking to the kitchen to get coffee, halfway there realize I forgot my coffee cup.  Walk back to my desk to get my mug.  

10:00 am– Time for my second cup of coffee.  Decide to use the bathroom while coffee is brewing.  Use bathroom, head back to desk.  Once at cubicle, realize I had wanted coffee.  Go back to kitchen for coffee.

12:20 pm– Hungry for lunch.  Need to go to grocery store to buy lunch since my lunch is sitting on my counter at home.  Remember that I need to get bananas so think this could be a multi-tasking win.  While at the store I grab a sandwich and notice some new snacks that my toddler might like on sale.  Buy lunch and new snacks.  Return to office only to remember that I forgot bananas.  

Text husband to blame him for household banana shortage and demand he resolve the issue.

2:00 pm– Thirsty and need to pee since I had two cups of coffee this morning.  Head to bathroom and on the way fill up water bottle.  Immediately leave bottle in kitchen to get after.  Use bathroom and yep, you guessed it, head back to cubicle leaving my water in the kitchen.  Get back to cubicle and debate how thirsty I am but decide to go back and get it.

5:45 pm– Finally home from daycare and work.  Run upstairs to change and put a load of laundry in that I will forget to switch over when I put my toddler to bed.  

6:00 pm–  Feeding toddler dinner and she loves the snacks I bought so I feel better about forgetting bananas.

7:00 pm– Time for bath and bed.  Put toddler to bed and head downstairs to make dinner, of course forgetting about the laundry.

7:15 pm– While making dinner, suddenly realize I forgot to change over laundry.  Head upstairs and change over laundry.

8:00 pm– Log into work email to see what I may have forgotten to respond to throughout the day and try to set up to do list for tomorrow.

9:00 pm– Work day is done, laundry has been changed over, toddler is sleeping, the rest of the family has had dinner, pour a much needed glass of wine.  I never forget this part! (I’ve certainly walked off the calories right?!?)

These are just the small things I forget on a daily basis.  Let’s not even talk about when there are scheduling changes or keeping track of sporting events, dinners with friends, appointments.  Is it too much to ask for a personal assistant when you have a kid?

What are some of your tips for dealing with mommy brain?