'Baby Brain' is there any truth to this?

[NeedSomeSun142]

since having my first son 3 years ago I have become very scatty and forgetful. I do things like put the remote in the fridge... then start asking DP where it is, finding it an hour later. This happens quite often with keys aswell. Don't worry I've never put my children somewhere and forgot where they are, it's a running joke in our house.

I thought it would go but 3 years later and just had my second DS I'm still the same!!

Is there any fact or truth about baby brain?

just me then

I think my "baby brain" lasted about 4-5 years. I just didn't cope well with the new baby, returning to a work in a very stressful industry, the breakdown of my marriage. But on top of that I do know that my brain simply didn't work as well after birth of DS. He is now 7 and I am retraining and enjoying the use of my brain again. I still don't manage tasks as well as I did but perhaps that could be age too!!

The real problem with this all is not how I perceive myself, but that others don't understand how much I have changed and that what I did well before, I no longer do.

for me there definitely is truth in it but to be honest I think it's more that you suddenly have other people to think about and it's all-consuming, rather than it being a hormonal thing

I was very scatty when pregnant with DD1, and I worried whether I'd stop being so damn thick. Now pregnant with DD2, and I've noticed the scattiness creeping back in again. Three years between them, and I hadn't thought about it inbetween, what with having DD to focus on. I realise now that it was completely temporary, and that I was back up to full speed before getting pregnant again. I think it was just down to having so much else to think about when expecting, and being so tired. Being able to get back into an interesting job, just part time, has probably helped too.

I'm pretty sure my "pregnancy head" is tiredness - it was terrible in the first trimester, got better in the second and is now back with third trimester insomnia.

Can't speak from my own experience about after the birth but I have worked with many very bright intelligent capable women just back from mat leave (so with babies age 9mo-2yrs) and have been in awe of their ability to function at work on so little sleep.

Its real in the sense that you are less organised, more forgetful etc but I don't think it is anything chemical in the brain, just down to a) tiredness and b) always doing everything that you did before with just a section of your brain thinking about nap times, feeding times, how long til...., can I get X done before...

I'm sure it's tiredness. I had just as much babybrain with my adopted newborn as i did with the ones I gave birth to!

It's because you have to think for several people.

It's a real thing - Alan Baddeley has a a model about how our memory works:our brains hang onto things in our 'working memory' before transferring them and storing them properly - tiredness, having so many things to remember at once and all the interference (noise, constant other demands) just stops stuff getting stored properly and stops you being able to find previously stored stuff. Our brains are basically overloaded and knackered.

Just remembered I came in the kitchen to make a drink before and have ended up on MN. Hopeless.

X

I frequently find odd things in the fridge. I always put it down to extreme and prolonged lack of sleep. Especially as DH also gets it from time to time! Last week he put his phone in the dishwasher.

Glad it's not just me then.... Sometime I just think WTF !?!

My daughter is nrly 7 & I still have it.

I find having a pen & paper nearby helps. A diary, or even a note taking app on your phone and tablet computer.