Mommy Brain

My two month old is screaming. For... no apparent reason. She’s been fed, changed, and when I pick her up, her screaming changes to a “How dare you disturb me!” tone. I’m sure it’s just complaining left over from before I changed her diaper, like people at a restaurant complaining about the bad service as they walk out the door.

The sounds my children make are very distracting. It makes it very hard for me to concentrate on anything else (such as cleaning up a huge mess made by my two year old that will become even bigger if I don’t take care of it immediately) when my children are crying.

This is referred to in certain parenting circles as “Mommy Brain.” I can be sitting deep in thought, pondering the nature of the universe, but one squeak from my child makes my brain go squish.

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Sorry for the delay, I had to administer kisses to a bonked head.

Another symptom of Mommy Brain is the frequent forgetfulness of words or concepts that we know perfectly well and have no reason to forget. It’s a very interesting sensation, standing staring at the kitchen counter for five minutes, thinking of every synonym you can possibly use while your husband stands there looking at you like you’re crazy and finally offering help: “...cucumber?"

My theory for the cause of Mommy Brain is, in one part, parental instinct. It’s part of my wiring to get distracted when my children cry out in need. The other cause for Mommy Brain, in my opinion, is that the vast amount of stuff you have to remember as a parent starts to crowd out the other things in your brain. Like the playground song Ten in the Bed: “There were ten in the bed and the little one said, ‘roll over, roll over,’” so they all rolled over and general knowledge of Science fell out.

Mommy Brain is vexing, but at the same time something that I feel it is very important to have. It’s a metaphor for the entire experience of being a parent.

I’d like to end with something snappy, but I have unfortunately momentarly forgotten how: the baby is fussing again.