How To Cope With Mommy Brain

Do you find yourself forgetting little details and important stuff since you had your little one(s)? If your answer is yes, you might have ‘Mommy Brain’. The name sounds like something a mom came up with while joking about her forgetfulness but mommy brain is actually a real thing with scientific research to back it up.

We won’t bore you with all the scientific jargon and you probably know what mommy brain is. If you don’t know, mommy brain is the constant forgetfulness that some mothers experiences after having a baby or babies. Sometimes, the forgetfulness start from pregnancy-that’s referred to as ‘pregnancy brain’. Other terms for mommy brain are momnesia and baby brain.

For some mothers, the forgetfulness stops after a while but not everyone is that lucky. Regardless of what you’ve read or have been told about mommy brain, you should know that it can be worked on and eventually ‘cured’ but you must be ready to CONCIOUSLY put in the work.

MAKE PLANS IN ADVANCE

If you are going on a trip with friends or family, pack your stuff at least a week in advance. This would give you time to remember things you need for the trip but forgot to pack. This rule applies to doctor appointments, taking your child to nursery/baby group or school and everything else you need a bit of organizing to do. Avoid doing anything at the last minute.

CREATE A ROUTINE

Have a system for everything- where you keep your keys, where you keep important documents/letters, where you keep your wallet and the likes. In a situation where you are in a hurry or doing something last minute, you won’t be running around looking for the car keys you kept in the oven last night. Train your body and mind to put things in order and in the right place until it becomes a reflex action.

MAKE LISTS

You could do this on the notes app on your phone or be analog and use a diary. Either ways, make to-do lists of everything you need to do, anything you need to get at the store, friends you need to call/meet up with and important dates/appointments. You could even go the extra mile and set reminders using google calender. This would save you a lot of missed appointments and avoidable apologies.

TRAIN YOUR MIND

Commit little details to memory and repeat it as often as possible. As you progress, start committing more important information to memory and conciously try to remember it. Do this as often as possible in order to strengten your mental capacity.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

You might be forgetful because you aren’t sleeping properly. We understand it’s hard for mothers of newborns and toddlers to have a proper night’s sleep but you can always work out an arrangement with your partner. Good sleep strengthens the mind.

BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF

Don’t beat yourself up if you have a hard time remembering things. Be patient with yourself and know that it might take sometime. Your brain might not go back to what it was pre-motherhood but it can get better as soon as you learn to embrace it and work with the new state of your mind.

Motherhood comes with its own baggage but despite it all, we are grateful for the little people who we can never forget because they are strong parts of our lives.