To think that having children makes you less intelligent??

[DabblesInDestruction]

Seriously..!

Having goen back to study after number 2 I am finding it so difficult, impossible even, to do stuff I could have done in my sleep pre-children!! (not that I know what sleep is anymore...)

I have NEVER struggled academically at anything. Now it just doesnt sink in, I just cant even grasp basics....

Do the little ones steal our brain cells during the baby making process? Is it lack of sleep? ...or is it just me???

It's sleep and practice.
I was getting very down yesterday because i couldn't do a sudoku and then I picked up the Times crossword and did more of it than I ever have before!

3 years ago I was a sudoku master - two more babies later (to make 4 children in total) I can't even spell fiendish.

No. They make you more tired, stressed and, on occasions, forgetful. You are just as intelligent but it becomes harder to discern.

My brain 'zones' out now, and it never did before. People explain directions to me, or plots of films and I smile and nod and say "Uh huh, yes", but not one word of it is being ratained in my head. Altzheimers me thinks.

I think that what happens is your multi-tasking threads get overloaded. Woman can do umpteen things at the same time. But children sooner or later require you to do the umpteen and first.

I think it's a real mixture of aging, the variations due to tiredness, the impact of a sudden influx of new information when a child/relation enters a new school or stage.

I find my mind automatically sieves info I'm given, looking for the nuggets I need to retain. Often nothing qualifies as vital!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I even found I was having trouble counting my piece as I went round the Monopoly board, ie one, two, heck is this one two or three??

Glad it's not just me.

This week I have:

*Bought the same jumper, from the same shop, 2 days running (found out when putting 2nd jumper away in wardrobe -and found first)

*Set off for school run 1 hour before I should have done.

*Given the Tesco lady my WH Smith Clubcard.

*Picking up from nursery, watched "DS2" who was in the loo at the time, only to then realise that it wasn't in fact my son, who was wearing a completely different top. Had totally forgotten what he was wearing, and seemingly, what he looked like. The poor kid was probably wondering why some weirdo was smiling at him pulling his pants up on his own.

I don't really think I'm fit to be let out of the house at the moment. Yes, I'm exhausted and have too many things buzzing around my head.

I bumped into a bollard and apologised.

Whats wrong with The Sun?. Nice to look at a pair of breats you can't tuck into your trousers.

I meant breasts. Christ, I cant even type now.

lol Kathy. That's reminded me that I smiled at a cardboard cutout of a pharmacist in Boots recently!

Needless to say, she didn't respond.

Motherhood definately addles your brain, however it does activate your multitasking genes so at least you can do more than one nonsensical thing at once.

I had to have my PhD viva after my DD was born, she was about a year by then - i can promise that i was looking at my thesis like i had never seen it before, let alone written it. I've never felt particularly intelligent, average maybe, but now........heavens, i'm sure people dont beleive me when i mention my PhD, so i dont mention it anymore.

But Dabbles, don't despair, it is just a matter of getting your brain into gear again. I dont know what you are studying, but i have a science background and after doing my degree i took a few years working as a vet nurse. That presented its own, quite different challenges. When i went back to science i found it almost impossible to decipher the papers etc and was convinced i wasnt up to it. It doesnt take long to pick up the ball though and you will be the same. Its just a case of getting back in with the lingo etc,.

I used to be able to do the Guardian crossword, and times sudoko. I dont bother to even try now, i can't even do the simple pocket size ones they sell in Tesco, they make me too stressed!!!!

You have a baby
It takes up all of your brain
Apparently it never ends, the preoccupation
You are not more stupid, your brain has simply been reallocated to childcare and the survival of the species, that sort of thing
Let's face it, when we were hunter gatherers, we weren't torturing ourselves with the Guardian crossword! (It just takes practice, I reckon...you can do it!)

There's also the fact that while trying to do the sudoku you are now interrupted every 4 minutes by a toddler, not to mention breastfeeding a baby at the same time.