Pregnancy Brain

I thought it was a myth, or just one of those things people use to make fun of women, like saying we are bad drivers or something. But alas, I am here to tell you that Pregnancy Brain is real.

I had not heard of this phenomena until a few months ago, when someone mentioned it and how forgetful his wife had become now that she was pregnant. Now that I am pregnant, I have come to realize that I am indeed experiencing a lot of episodes of forgetfulness.

Now whether all this forgetfulness is related to changes in the brain, or stress, or preoccupation with all those "nesting" urges, or the baby sucking off all my nutrients, I am not sure. I don't claim to be a scientist. But last weekend proved to me that I need to get some helpful organization systems together at least until this baby leaves my womb.

What happened last weekend, you ask? Well, my husband and I went to visit my family for Christmas. We switch off Thanksgiving and Christmas each year, since otherwise the holidays are just way too stressful. So we did Christmas with my family early (and baked DOZENS of xmas cookies together! YUM!). My husband has been working crazy hours lately, so I took on the task of getting us packed for the trip. We travel a lot so I am used to this routine, and know what my husband likes to have with him.

But then we arrived at my mom's house and realized I forget about a dozen things we usually bring including my pajamas, toothbrush, underwear, and socks. REALLY!? And I forgot my husband's shoes (he had to wear his heavy workboots all weekend), coat, slippers, and pajama bottoms. It was an interesting weekend to say the least. Then when we left my mom's house, I proceeded to forget so many things there that my mom had to ship the items to me. It was then that I realized something was wrong. I never forget things like this! This episode followed several smaller episodes where I was consistently forgetting things.

So I have become a regimented person these days. I write EVERYTHING down in a list on my phone and set alarms throughout the day to remind myself to do things. (And yes, I did set an alarm to tell me to turn off the stove just in case I forgot.)

Today I am again packing us up for a trip to my husband's family. We will be gone only 2 days, but I am not taking any chances. I packed EVERYTHING!

And then I went through the bags again and made sure nothing was missing. But (sigh) I am sure I will inevitably forget something.

So whatever science says, pregnancy brain DOES exist.... at least for me