Momnesia - Tips on How to Cope with The Dreaded Mommy Brain

Have you ever forgotten where you put your keys last?  Or went to the grocery store and left that list on the kitchen counter?  How about not packing extra baby clothes in your diaper bag incase your newborn soaked through his diaper?

I'm sure all of us have experienced some form of the dreaded mommy brain or what researchers now call "Momnesia".  I chuckled at the segment this morning on the Today Show because more often than not I have experienced a total brain lapse.  I remember being pregnant and my mommy brain already kicking itself into gear then.  My husband would say "I want my wife back" because sometimes I would start a sentence and mid-way not even remember why I was bringing the subject up in the first place (sigh).

On msnnbc.com the article "Post-partum Changes May Bring on Momnesia", Brizendene, the author of the book, “The Female Brain" states that the condition is brought on by the wildly fluctuating flood of hormones that accompany pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. It alters brain chemistry.  All these hormones are in a stew in the brain that are changing the way a mother focuses.”

Ah, finally a somewhat scientific way to explain our brain lapses, "momnesia".  I wanted to share some of the tips Hannah Keely, totalmom.com's founder and author of The Total Mom Makeover says will help combat your momnesia:

1. Bring a Pen & Small Notebook w/ You - have these handy so you can always write things down
2. Scale Back - do less
3. Exercise -cardiovascular exercise actually improves attention to things

So, what are the things you do to avoid your momnesia?  Share them with us by commenting on this post. 

BTW, if you comment you'll be automatically entered into Itsabelly's iPod Shuffle Giveaway.  Winner will be announced in April!

Comments

[Melissa Moog]

Thanks for your comment Jen! I also carry a little notebook and pen in my purse where ever I go to jot things down as I need to. At home, I have a calendaring system on my laptop which also helps keep important dates, meetings etc. organized. Without these 2 items my mommy brain would take over! :) Oh, and if I have to take an item with me on an errand or to a meeting I try to leave it next to my car keys so I don't forget!

[Jennifer Lo Prete]

I am a firm believer in "writing it down." Since becoming a mom, I never leave home with out my daily notebook. In it, I write everything I need to remember for that day - from phones, appointments, phone messages. It is great, because when I can't remember something, I can flip through the book to find the information. Let's hope I never lose the book!