Moms: When Will We Get Our Minds Back? A BFF Post
Steph, from The Blue Zoo, is the mom of four boys. She's funny and sarcastic...and also a fiercely loyal friend. She puts it all out there, even posting a picture of what a real mommy tummy looks like! This post of hers today made me laugh because I can so relate. I think all moms can!
I can not believe that Shell asked me to be the BFF this week. I was so surprised! Instantly I was thrilled, and completely nervous. I kept thinking.. what am I going to say?? Obviously when you are featured on a famous blog you have to say something. It couldn't just be the nothing I post on my own blog! Should I say something useful? Something funny? Something .. what? Think, think, think! And that's when it hit me.....
I used to be smart.
Believe it or not, it's true.
I was witty. I could use big words. I had quick comebacks. Really, I did! I was fast. The sarcastic hilarious comments would just leap out of my mouth! All the time. I could make people laugh!
I knew stuff too. Like what, you ask? Heck if I know! I've forgotten. How can one forget everything they ever knew?
Simple. Just get pregnant.
When I found out I was pregnant with my first son I immediately started reading everything I could about babies. All day everyday, it was babies. Baby bottles, breastfeeding, baby diapers, baby toys, baby blankets, car seats, little baby bath tubs, the list went on and on and on. Until eventually my brain was completely full of baby stuff. Imagine that your brain has ten shelves, and 8 of them are filled to capacity with baby. There isn't room for anything else!
Gone were the big words I knew. The witty comebacks seemed to get packed away with my sexy thongs.
But I could answer anything about babies! I was a baby expert. (Never mind that I hadn't actually had one yet.)
That's about the time that Pregnancy Brain (--- It's real, click it!) kicked in. I couldn't remember anything. Couldn't remember why I went to the store, where my keys were, if I fed the cat... I was so forgetful. Then a friend of mine informed me that my forgetfulness was because my brain was shrinking. Um, what? My brain is fine. Your brain is shrinking. Jerk! Turns out he saw it on TV. He said that pregnant women's brains shrink. "So, you'll be dumber." he informed me. Gee, thanks. I pretty much thought he was full of crap. And then I saw it in a magazine. Some study from somewhere said it was true. (This was a loooong time ago, but I'm sure you can google it and see if it's actually true or not.) Great, just flippin' great, I thought.
And I was getting dumber. I could feel it. Dumber by the second. I mean, heck - I drove all the way to the store and couldn't even remember why! So, I bought some chocolate and went home. Not a totally wasted trip.
Fast forward to 4 boys later. The oldest is 9, twins are 6, and the baby (Yes, he's still a baby. Just ask him!) is almost 4. Now instead of my brain being filled with baby stuff it's full of kid stuff. Who likes what on their sandwiches, soccer schedules, birthday parties, dentist appointments, pre school schedules, grocery shopping, snack schedules, parent teacher conference meetings, award assemblies... the list goes on and on. Longer than the baby list I think!
I'm not pregnant, haven't been pregnant for 4 years. So, why isn't my memory any better? Why can I still not remember any "big" words? I swear Dora the Explorer has a better vocabulary than I do!
According to the article about my brain shrinkage, it was supposed to grow back! What the heck? Did I get robbed? Could my brain just not handle 3 pregnancies? Well, thank goodness it wasn't 4 pregnancies! I might be sitting in the corner flinging poo.
What about you? Did you have kids? Do you still suffer from pregnancy brain? At what point will my brain become my own again?
I think the effects might be permanent! Please leave Steph some comment love here and then go follow her fabulous blog if you don't already!
Labels: blog friend feature, guest post
posted by Shell at
7:02 AM
44 Comments:
Oh I feel you! As if losing the brains isn't bad enough, all ability to have adult conversation goes too! I don't know what I ever talked about before I had a baby. Wow!
What are you talking about? I am smarter than ever after my three kids.
(Just kidding). You know my mom used to memorize poetry as she was washing my brother and my diapers by hand just to not turn into a blithering idiot.
I can't answer, I am sitting in the corner, flinging poo :D
Can I "like" Oka's comment? Yeah cuz I'm like elbow deep in it. :|
Oh boy I CAN relate! When I was first pregnant with The Boy, I went to talk to a student's mother and completely lost my train of though. She looked at me and said very nicely, "Mrs X, you are not supposed to lose your mind until AFTER you have the baby." I replied back with complete seriousness, "In that case, they oughta just hook up the life support now, because I'm in BIG trouble!" :)
My brain held up for Baby #1, but after Baby #2 was born, my brain cells left me when she did.
AMEN!! What's really sad is that I started having babies when I was still a baby. That means that I lost my cognitive functions before I really got to enjoy them.
LOL @ Oka's comment!
I think it is a big farce that you actually get it back. I don't buy it - I think they just tell you that so you continue to procreate... LOL
Ha! I love Steph and her blog. Pregnancy brain is real and I swear it never goes away. I have had it for 5 years!
I'm so dumb it's not even funny anymore. And I only have 2 kids. Those suckers better be freakin geniuses because they sucked the smart right out of me.
Shell, you get the best BFFs. I say it every week but I can't help it.
This was so funny!!
I was working (as I am now) when I got pregnant with my first and I had MAJOR pregnancy brain. I would forget the names of my coworkers and what I was talking about right in the middle of meetings. So embarrassing.
My oldest will be 5 this month, and my baby is is 21 months- I'm still waiting for some of those brain cells to return!!
Seriously .... sadly ... I'm in the same freakin' boat! It's so true. Where did all my SAT vocabulary go? My wit? It must have been wapped up in a dirty diaper and thrown out months ago. At least I'm not alone!
Great post! :)
Ha! Love it! SO true. I've often lamented about this SAME phenomenon with my fellow mommy friends.
I like to refer to it as 'Mommy Brain Drain'
I HOPE I get MY brain back someday! ;)
enjoyed your post!
-h
I have one child that is now 5 1/2. Sometimes I feel "it" coming back. Sometimes.
The older our daughter gets the more I try to get the ole brain back because she loves to know more or "make us look dumb." So I can't give into that and just have to try harder and LOL incorporate the word of the day.
It's crazy how after having babies your brain goes to mush! I was pretty smart and always on my A game and then I got pregnant. I swear as soon as my daughter was born she sucked my brain out with her. Then 4years later my son was born, just when I was regaining some brains again. My son is now 3 and I'm starting to get some usage of my brain function. I can handle kid stuff all day long but when it comes to thinking up smart, big words, I'm at a loss.
Hopefully by the time my daughter makes it to high school I'll be smart enough to help her with homework.
I just tell people I had to leave 75% of my brain cells as a downpayment at the hospital before I could even deliver my baby. And of course it was non refundable....
Never had preg brain and what's not to like about her?
This is SOOO true. After 3 pregnancies I don't think my brain grew back either! People regularly tell me I should velcro things to my forehead so I don't forget them!
Thank you so much for featuring me today Shell! You are so awesome. =) I finally got my boys are better than girls post up too! I think you'll laugh.
Im also kinda glad Im not the only one suffering from the shrinked brain! lol
I'm pretty sure the twins is what really knocked my brain out of its socket. Big words, witty comebacks, everything you mentioned...completely gone!
Not only do they take our bodies, but our brains too? They're like alien invaders!!!
"in the corner flinging poo"??!!! HA! girl you crack me up...i don't think i ever recovered from my pregnancy brain either! happy bff day!!
This is funny! I think. What was it about again? When does mommy brain go away?
Seriously, great feature!
What a great blogger. I was over at her site looking at all her tummy tuck posts. Oh how I wish I could have a tummy tuck. Triplets sure does a number on the old middle section and well, the whole body.
This is so funny! I'm sad to say I don't think we ever get it back! I still have pregnancy brain and my boys are 12 and 6!
I'm so glad that I now have an excuse for my diminished brain capacity.
I love her blog! Fabulous feature! I used to be smart too...its gone I now have mommy and wifey brain!
Oh yes, I always forget stuff. One time I went to the grocery store to get items to make pot roast. I got everything BUT the pot roast.
I agree 100%, and I think it gets worse with each subsequent pregnancy. And I'm really not sure if the lost brain cells ever come back, I'm sorry to say.
I don't ever remember anything but I swear it's ADHD not mommy brain. OMG! If I have both I am totally screwed. I love Steph! Great feature!
This was hilarious. But now I'm worried that I actually don't have brain cells to spare for when I do get pregnant... lol
Oh yes, definitely a sufferer and the sad thing is, it never came back! Maybe in a few more years...keeping my fingers crossed!
This explains soooo much!
How true!
I had the priviledge of briefly meeting Steph at Blissdom last year. She is just as funny as she is beautiful. I mean she is really beautiful. It makes you sick, in a good way. :)
My youngest just turned 6 and my brain still hasn't returned to normal. I think I'll be this way forever now. Like walking into the kitchen like I'm on a mission and when I get there have absolutely no idea why....sometimes I never figure it out.
I've never been pregnant, so what's my excuse?!? I love this post though :) And I think the fact that you can keep up with your kids, and have such a crazy FULL schedule means you are not only good at multi-tasking, but clearly, you have a very good, STRONG head on your shoulders.
I loved this post :) Very well done!!!
PS: Shell, I love the new look for your blog!
I also miss being able to hold intelligent conversations and knowing all the answers on Jeopardy. Now, I forget EVERYTHING. The other day it took me forever to spell audience and I only did because I gave in and looked it up!!
I am in love with her now! hahahaha. I can relate oh so much. My poor weak brain. I did a personality quiz once...which Disney/Pixar character are you? Yeah, I,m Dory! hahaha. Love her.
Too funny! I always say that I was smart and knew things and had a lot of common sense. And then I had kids! And it all went away. No one told me that having kids would make me dumb! What's up with that?!
Mich
Relate to this 100%!!!
Off to say hi to Steph!
Okay, I am getting scared, LOL. I am already forgetful and now you say being pregnant makes you more forgetful?
OH MY MY...
off to say hi and learn how she survived :)
oh.em.gee.
I used to be really smart too. For reals. Like...SMART. I could remember everything. Random, dumb, specific things.
Today?
I can hardly remember if I brushed my teeth today. Not kidding. It's really a good thing I'm a SAHM now...because honestly, I'd probably been fired by now.
This was great! :)
I was talking about this with my husband the other night, I was telling him that I was already dumber since having Babe so my brain was half toddler and now when I get pregnant again it will be part baby so what part will be able to keep track of everything else? He thought I was joking, I will direct him to google.
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