Mommy Brain - Week 1

So I found myself today in yet another embarrassing situation where I lost something.  I noticed that Nudgie was wearing only one shoe when I picked up Nani at preschool.  I looked in the Jeep (or thought I did) and went back into the school to look.  No luck.  Went back to the Jeep only to discover the shoe sitting in the car seat.  I must have picked up that darn shoe twice, looked at it and put it back down.  I guess my brain thought - Oh, is THAT the shoe you were looking for?  I thought you were looking for the white shoe, and not the pink one.  I cursed under my breath that what I had here was a case of Mommy Brain.

I decided that I would have to write another series....this time about Mommy Brain - what is it and how do we combat it.  And combat it we will my friends!

So welcome to my new series.........

Momnesia.  Mommy Brain.

Whatever we call it, as moms we all have it.  We'd all like to get rid of it.  We'd like to find a cure.  Can't you just see it now.  A telethon devoted to Momnesia Awareness.  (Isn't that an oxymoron though?  Awareness of something you can't remember?)

Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah....mommy brain.

It starts from the moment we pee on the stick and see those two lines (or for those of us who have trouble counting, the word "PREGNANT' appears on the stick).  Once you start creating life, those tiny baby cells are sucking the life and brain power right out of you.  (I'm sure there's research somewhere that during an average bout of morning sickness, you are probably throwing up at least 80% of your brain cells!)

Before we had kids, we could remember every single solitary detail of every single solitary moment of our lives.  After kids, we can't even remember what day it is, let alone our kid's names half the time.  (Nudgie!  No, wait... Zoja!  No, wait....  Nani!  Dammit!  Hey you!!)

So, you might suffering from Momnesia if you:

Discover that your cordless phone is dead because you tried to charge it in the base of the baby monitor.

Find that you've lost your morning cup of coffee - again.  Pour yourself another cup and when you go to reheat it, find the original cup of coffee that you've been looking for.

Have a brief thought and run to grab some pen and paper to write it down before it flits away.  Only to forget what your thought was as you get distracted with toys and books on the floor.

Start at least 5 different "To-Do" lists because you keep "misplacing" the ones you've already written.

Take your two dogs to the dog park and only come home with one.  Or worse yet, take your two kids to the park and only come home with one.  Or even better yet - take your kids to the dog park and your dogs to the kid park.

Have misplaced your (insert object here) more times than you care to remember.  (But because you have mommy brain, losing your keys, sunglasses, wallet, etc. is just like losing them for the first time!)

Can't remember if the clothes in the laundry basket are clean or dirty, so you wash the whole pile all over again.  Same goes for the dishwasher.

Have pulled out of your driveway with your coffee, purse, phone, diaper bag, child on the hood/roof of your car.

Find the strangest things in the fridge, and can't remember how (or why) they got there.

You find that you forget even the simplest words - like dog, cat, food, sleep, bathe.

Sound familiar?

But I think we all want to know the answer to that all-important question. 

WILL IT EVER END?  WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO STRING TOGETHER A FULL SENTENCE AND ACTUALLY COMPLETE IT?  WILL I EVER FIND MY SUNGLASSES AGAIN?  (I can tell you that the answer to this one is yes.  You will find them, along with the 8 pairs of replacement sunglasses you bought as well.)

But for tips and techniques for living with Momnesia, you'll have to come back next week and read more!

Next Week:  Bringing Home Baby - Let The Loss of Brain Function Begin!

In the meantime, share your Momnesia moments with us in the comments section. (That is, if you can remember how to type!)