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Baby brain IS very real!
I think there are definitely things that make it worse though like being dehydrated & not sleeping well... both of those together would make even a non-pregnant person not as sharp.
My first pregnancy was alot worse than this one. I got to the point that I didn't even take my purse in when we went to friends houses b/c I would ALWAYS forget where I put it. lol
This time, as long as I can get some good sleep every few days I manage pretty well.
Make lots of lists for your tasks, and try and get a good organization system on where things go (in/out mail, bills (I misplace those suckers all the time now), and even getting a good system for keeping up with house work (b/c that can take a kick too), and you should be fine.
It's all about a good system & organization that helps you whether you "remember" the small things or not. lol
Hell yes it's real!!
I've stopped twice at stop signs and waited for the light to change to green. Didn't realize it wasn't going to happen until the person behind be honked.
I was the most anal person ever, and can no longer be trusted with any sort of paperwork, at all. Unless you want me to immediately lose it forever.
I found nail polish in my pantry a few weeks ago.
I have a bad habit of throwing things away instead of putting them back in the fridge or away in the drawer. My brain has officially labeled everything as trash.
I lost my debit card. You have to understand that I have never ever lost anything like this before. Not even for a few hours (I told you, I am really anal). I have absoultely no idea what happened to it.
It was really frustrating at first, especially since my job consists of handling a lot of paperwork every day, but it seems to have calmed down a bit. Though I've had multiple people tell me since I'm having a boy, I'll be stuck like this forever. I guess boys will do that to you :)
@bree72: ROFL that is too funny!
I am not pregnant, nor have I had kids yet, but I can totally see how it would be real, sceintific or not. I have a step son, a full time job, and my brain went to shit once i had to start remembering everything that goes on in my life now. Also, I know wedding planning has created gaps in my brain, so I can imagine a baby would too!
I think (recall I have no real data) that your focus shifts as soon as you have a baby/get pregnant. I think it's a natural maternal thing that your brain shifts from focusing on YOU and focuses on baby/kid etc, be it in pregnancy or post birth. I think once you get pregnant, all your nesting/nurturing windows open wide and kind of take over. You are so in tune with them that what used to be your capacity to remember things, becomes part of the brain that focuses on your child. It becomes a radar system to catch every little oddity your kid can throw at you...and there are LOTS!
It is real, and boy can it get aggrivating! I am pretty ok with my schoolwork...but don't send me into a store without a detailed list! And I flake out mid-conversation quite often.
@heathaah: Pfft even with a list I'm in trouble! I went to get stuff to make chicken noodle soup & forget the freakin NOODLES!..... yea, I had a list. =/ lol
It is sooo real! I spaced out so much during pregnancy! I barely remembered my name half the time!
Totally real!! I'm 32 weeks pregnant and my brain is GONE.
I forget what I am doing and where I am going just walking from the living room to the bathroom. I will unlock my car doors and put my keys back in my purse instead of in the ignition. I found my hair serum stuff on my kitchen counter the other day. I leave things all over and forget where I put them; I put my hairdryer away in the cabinet in November and just finally found it last weekend. I left my debit card in an ATM a couple months ago. I've never needed to make shopping or to-do lists, but I do now.
Ugh. It's terrible and frustrating. I'm so absent-minded now. I had trouble telling someone my birthdate yesterday! I had to stop and think about it.
I think different things that are happening in your pregnancy effect your brain. I have had so many things happen that I think are from lack of sleep and/or exhaustion, dehydration or hunger, being preoccupied with baby planning, etc.
I have also become a terrible driver. I have run lights and stop signs.
I own a wedding planning business and can no longer keep the names straight of my clients.
I will be in mid sentence and lose total train of thought at least once per day.
I have fallen asleep sitting up at the kitchen table.
It has been aggrivating to say least. I feel like it's made me seem lie a scattered brain business woman which isn't my m.o. at all
I think there's been studies that actually prove a woman's brain shrinks during pregnancy.
Uggg. So real.
The other day I washed my face, and then walked away from the sink while it was still running.
I will leave my keys in the car when I go to get out-- thankfully my car beeps reminding me that the keys are in the ignition (and I NEVER used to do this-- it was always second nature to turn off the car and grab the keys).
I have to write lists of everything! I just started one at my desk of random thoughts. I can't got into a grocery store without a list. Every night before I go to bed I write down the things I need to remember for the morning.
I can go on and on, but for me, it really has been real. I heard about it before getting pregnant and never thought it would happen to me, but pregnancy brain is here in full force!
I am not scatty- never have been
However last week I tried to get into someone else's car and got v frustrated v quickly when my key didnt seem to be working.
Different make and model of car
THAT is babybrain
@cacamillis: I did thisa couple of months ago. I own black Chevy Tahoe, but when I walked out of the store, I literally walked to the very first black SUV I saw. It was a Nissan Armada. I then spent 2 minutes trying to figure out why my keys wouldn't unlock it. I even looked inside, saw a purse that wasn't mine, and asked myself "whose purse is that?" Then I continued to try and get the door to unlock. Soooo embarassing.
@amnystik: I'm having trouble with lists, as well. I went into Walgreens yesterday to get three things. I even wrote them down so I wouldn't forget. I walked out with like 5 things, and was missing one of the things from the list. The list of three freakin' items!
My biggest issues is forgetfulness. Post-it notes are my friend. When I remember to check the list. We were at the grocery store and I had the list and coupons. At the last aisle, DH asked if we had everything. I said yes. Then looked at my hand. And said "Wait, I have a list." Ugh.
But I'm fine at work . . . as long as I take lots of notes.
I think it is real but I think you can compensate. Agree with PPs that lists and other things are helpful to stay organized. Hard to know how much impact it will have on you until you are preggers! I personally felt totally ok keeping up with my job, which is pretty demanding on an intellectual level.
Oh gosh, these stories are hilarious! :) And I'm hearing that the general consensus is that baby brain is real!
I'm already a big post-it-using, list-making, planner-toting neurotic so I wonder if this will help or if I'll just end up forgetting to add things to my to do list... hmm, I guess we'll see!
@bree72: @mwitter80: I'm already a nervous driver, so the idea of me having issues with stop signs and lights is a bit terrifying!
@TheFutureMcBride: I haven't heard this one but I'm definitely about to look it up!
Thanks ladies, keep it coming!
@Janna19: I've been okay until the last week or so (now 8mths)
I ACTUALLY had a "convo" with my brain the other night and asked
"Why can't you work like that" while watching bones.
It's just totally checked out!
@amnystik: This makes me wonder...
WHEN did y'all start experiencing this?
Ha ha. Uh, real. :) I can't remember (haha) when it started with the first pregnancy but it lasted the 9-10 months between giving birth and getting pregnant again. I think you just have SO MUCH on your mind and are trying to adjust to so many different things. Just keep lots of lists or do something as soon as you think of it, if possible. I don't remember it interfering with my job during pregnancy but I do remember thinking that people with newborns should not be allowed to come back to work so soon in my (detail-oriented) profession.
@Mrs.Enne: My first pregnancy it hit from the beginning! This time alot later..... I've also been a lot less emotionally crazy than the 1st go round too so that might be an attributing factor?....
ETA: If I don't get good sleep for a few days (and don't "catch up" with naps or such) it gets MUCH worse!
@Mrs.Enne: WHEN did y'all start experiencing this?
I don't know. I have baby brain. :)
But honestly, I'm pretty sure it wasn't until 18-20 weeks or so. And it came on with a vengence, and then I think I adjusted to it pretty quickly. Currently, at 28 weeks, I'm really only frustrated with losing paperwork and forgetting to buy things at the store. The really scatterbrained stuff only happened for a couple of weeks; probably until I realized I really needed to buckle down more.
@mwitter80: Me too, with the driving. The other day I was on the way to the Doctor's office, when the light turned red. I SAW it turn red, and even thought to myself, "Huh, that light is red." But it's like my brain forgot what that meant, I drove right through the damn thing. I'm lucky I didn't get hurt, or hurt somebody else.
I have become so spacey, and also CLUMSY. Is everyone else dropping things all the time? DH can tell exactly what I've done on any given day based off of what is on the floor that I'm too tired/big/sore to bend down and pick up.
On the other hand, the dog has been having a field day, he's never had so much people food in his life.
I got baby brain a little while after I found out I was pregnant. It was a lot worse at first, I was living in a cloud. I think I was soaking it all in. Now I just get confused about little things like how to turn on the shower water or forgetting crucial ingredients when cooking. One time DH left in my car to pick up his daughter like he always does. About an hour later I saw his truck outside and thought he was back, even though he wasn't due back for another hour or more. I went looking everywhere for him and I got SO confused. I finally remembered he had left and laid down to take a much needed nap.
I think my worst moment was when my husband asked what I wanted for lunch and my response was "a pajama sandwich".
Ugh, it is so real. I'm embarassed to admit this, but a few weeks ago I parked my car at work and left the car running with the keys in the ignition ALL DAY. I was walking to my car after working digging in my purse looking for my keys, kicking myself that I must have locked them in the car... nope, when I got to the car it was running, keys in the ignition, doors unlocked. I work in downtown Houston too, I have no idea how the car wasn't stolen by the end of the day.
Very real!
In fact, that's how one of my co-workers realized I was pregnant. I'm a programmer, I send code to our database admin on a daily basis. Twice in the same day I sent her messed up code, really easy stuff that is very routine and I send her all the time. So she came to my desk and demended to know if I was pregnant! LOL, of all things to give it away!
I also find myself just being scatter-brained. I called my husband earlier this week freaking out because I couldn't find my car keys and had to be at work. They were in my coat pocket, and I was WEARING my coat when I called him!
Definitely real.
I have a new habit of putting things that should go in the fridge into the cupboard, like milk and eggs. On a regular basis. I put shaving cream in my hair last night instead of conditioner.
I now also constantly forget names of things, like washing machine: "You know, the big white box that you put the clothes and the soap in and then water goes in and it spins..." (Yeah, DH got a HUGE kick out of that conversation.) I'm worried about how much worse I'll get, lol.
ETA: It started really early, like 6 weeks.
So real. I feel like a space cadet. I'm an awful driver now. I drift around in the lane so much more. I started brushing my teeth in one bathroom this morning and ended up finishing in another without really realizing it. Mixing up what goes in the fridge vs. pantry all. the. time! And generally just losing track of what was just said in conversation, or responding in conversation with something that doesn't really make sense.
That said, when I buckle down and pay attention for work, it's easy enough, and I haven't made any real mistakes. I just re-read my docs an extra time or two before distributing them :) Lists really help too.
And it kicked in pretty quickly....mid-first trimester? My mom didn't tell me about this, she just said that my brain will be absolute mush for the first few months after the babies are born. So I'm nervous about it getting worse!
@bree72: LOL!
@kiddosc: Oh no! That sounds scary- I'm glad your car was still there!
@Moja Milosc: "pajama sandwich"- ROTFL! :)
@abbyful: Wow- that gave it away? This is a much bigger deal than I thought!
I didn't read all the comments, so someone may have mentioned this....
It is a myth in the way it is commonly referred to and explained. The brian has a great deal of plasticity, and basically a cognitive shift occurs during pregnancy. Some cognitive functioning, such as recall, becomes more difficult because your brain is using its resources for other types of functioning such as improved facial recognition mechanisms (helpful for detecting kin and threats) and improved sensitivity in olfactory receptors (keener sense of smell).
I am obviously not an expert on developmental psychology, but I do study evolutionary psychology, so I hope this helps!
Totally real! I haven't made any work errors (thank goodness, I am an NICU nurse and that would be incredibly dangerous), but I have done a lot of stupid little things (contact lens solution instead of toothpaste on my toothbrush, forgetting to wash conditioner out of my hair before getting out of the shower, etc). I constantly forget to stop at the grocery store on my way home from work (I just go on auto-pilot and go straight home) etc etc!
@enne1613 - The girl that asked me has been waiting for me to get pregnant. She knew we were trying. So she was paying closer attention to my actions than the average person would. She also had other clues, like me not drinking at a party, and I guess I kept subconciously putting my hand/arm over my stomach. But the messed up code twice in one day was what "finalized" it for her to conclude that I was.
@TheFutureMcBride: Nope. Actually, you actually get neurogenesis in the forebrain during pregnancy (in other words, your brain 'grows'). As another pp mentioned, particular areas (esp. olfactory or those associated with smell) develop many more connections and that is believed by some to be the reason people get more sensitive to odors during pregnancy.
I think 'baby brain' is really more an effect of dehydration/lack of sleep/too many things to think about. But it doesn't make any sense that evolution would let the brain shrink during pregnancy or for neurons to die--if anything the body would be more likely to cause miscarriage than let the mother's brain starve for oxygen and let brain cells die. So baby brain may be real in that you get lots of hormonal changes that affect mood and memory, and the physical toll of pregnancy on body can make you tired which affects other things. It's really more "baby mind" than "baby brain"
Very real! And mine started pretty early on. I know I had it by 12 weeks because the same day I told co-workers, I also lost my pager at work, which I've never come even close to doing. One minute I had it, and one minute I didn't, and after replaying everything, we came to the conclusion that I flushed it in the toilet by accident and didn't notice. Everyone was like "Yep- you totally are pregnant!!"
I feel like it was a bit better in 2nd tri, but has gotten bad again in 3rd. Mostly I'm just very distracted and out of it. I have a very hard time paying attention to people and remembering things, which I've never struggled with and is actually really bad in my career. My saving grace at work has been lists. I make a list for essentially everything I need to do, and I add things to the list immediately, or I'll forget to put them on the list. I think it's manageable if you make a system for yourself, but I'd be surprised if it's completely unavoidable.
Absolutely real! I'm 18 weeks now and I've just been able to fully concentrate! During my whole 1st trimester I was in a haze. It was an everyday thing: I was forgetful, completely absentmided, to the point where if I got mad about something, I'd soon forget all about it! And I'm the type that remembers details for LIFE! On the plus side, nothing really got to me because I'd forget so easily.
I don't know what it is ... hormones probably. But I can understand how not everyone experiences it, though alot of women do - just like morning sickeness.
I have a feeling the hazy feeling might return ... I've still got awhile to go.
I have to add a recent example (I guess it's not just 1st trimester for me afterall) 
It's my husband's birthday soon and I've been planning to buy him a new office chair, since he likes mine so much. I've picked it out and even added it to the online list they have at the store. I even told him how we'd go and get it together, or I can just have it delivered.
Well the other week, I get a reminder from one of those online card sites saying it's hubby's bday soon and I suddenly thought I needed to buy something because I had no idea what to get him. So, I went on eBay and bought a bunch of t-shirts that I thought he'd like. I was so proud of myself too because now, it's done and I won't forget.
Only last night did I remember about the stinkin chair!!! I should have written it down!!!
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So DH and I are planning on TTC while I'm still in grad school. While this may sound a little crazy to some, I'll be at the tail end of my program and the baby wouldn't be due until at LEAST 3 months after graduation.
HOWEVER, I was reading a magazine and the concept of "baby brain" was mentioned. I poked around online and found that some people really feel that this is a real pregnancy phenomenon while others assert that it is a myth. Since there's the potential for me to be pregnant at the end of my program I'm curious as to whether or not baby brain is something I should expect to work around.
Thoughts? Personal experience?
*Please bear in mind that this is NOT a post about whether or not we should TTC while I'm in grad school. I really just want people's opinions and experiences (if any) with baby brain. :)