"Hi, Nathaniel's Mom!": Mommy Brain

Nathaniel's first birthday is rapidly approaching. I can't believe that on August 6th he will have been with us for a whole year. A year and approximately nine months if you count the time I spent lugging him around in my uterus.

It's so crazy to think about how much things have changed since we brought him home from the hospital. Those early days and weeks were some of the most amazing and challenging times of my life. Sometimes I feel nostalgic about pregnancy and the first two or three months. "Oh, how great would it be to feel him kicking and rolling around inside my body again!" "Oh, remember how tiny he was? How it felt to carry and cuddle that little guy?"

That being said, there are many things that I'm glad I don't have to deal with any more: breastfeeding problems, trying to use the effing Moby Wrap, postpartum depression, and the very real phenomenon that is "mommy brain."

Research shows that certain areas of a woman's brain changes during pregnancy and after the birth of her baby. I'm not going to go into all of the details here (what do you think this is, a science blog?), but in simplest terms the brain rearranges itself and certain areas expand to help women take care of their babies and feel rewarded by it.

Don't worry, Nathaniel. Mommy brain is here.

Given that a woman's brain function has insured that her primary focus is the care of and well being of her child, coupled with constant lack of sleep, it makes sense that some things must go. If you try to store your shoes in the refrigerator because you think it's your closet, no biggie. Mommy brain gives you a free pass for a while.

Even though I knew about mommy brain, I still felt like I was going crazy when it happened to me. I remember my brain completely blanking out in meetings...that I called...for things that I needed to explain to other people. I remember opening a drawer and standing in front of it for a full minute, not knowing why I was there. I couldn't find my keys...and I'm not one of those people who can't find their keys. I left dirty diapers on the changing table. I had to turn around and go back home when I was walking to the bus stop because I forgot insert item here.

But there's one mommy brain moment that still makes me laugh.

We wear badges at work that we have to scan to enter our suite. The restrooms are outside of the badge realm, so you have to make sure that you bring your badge with you to get back into the office. So there I am, washing my hands and staring at my tired face in the bathroom mirror. I walk toward the door and mommy brain makes me "badge out" of the bathroom. I don't know what the little box by the bathroom door is actually for, but that day I thought I needed to hold my keycard in front of it to be able to leave the restroom. I'm glad that no one was there to witness it.

The good news is, it gets better. I feel like my brain is pretty much back to normal now. Sure, every now and then I'll lose a glass of water or put Nathaniel's pants on before I snap his onesie, but for the most part I can run a meeting and remember to bring my lunch to work.

Usually.

Yay! No more mommy brain!