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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Does your brain turn to mush when you are pregnant?

25 replies

ViolaCrayola · 09/04/2012 11:27

I very much want this to NOT be true, but I can't help but feel that maybe it is, for me anyway. With DC1 I found that, by the time I was about 20 weeks, I just felt like nesting, pottering and getting ready for the baby to come.

I thought I would be different this time, and I do have less time to faff around with googling baby names... but I'm still finding it v difficult to concentrate on work.

I know people do amazing, clever, demanding things when they are pregnant - maybe some of you are out there and can inspire me? Or anyone else who just feels distracted and bluuergh (the technical term I believe)?

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sparklekitty · 09/04/2012 11:31

I know it's true for me. I thought it was an urban legend before I got pregnant, then I locked myself out of my house. Brain is total mush atm and I'm only 16 weeks!

trixymalixy · 09/04/2012 11:32

Oh God, mine did, although I think it was partly the sheer exhaustion. I remember staring at a spreadsheet and having no clue what I was supposed to do with it!! It was one I had created!

That was in early pregnancy and I did find it got a bit better as the initial exhaustion passed?

cherrypieplum · 09/04/2012 11:33

My brain feels like chewing some days. I used to pride myself on my memory and vocabulary but words are completely interchangeable now!!

karinajack · 09/04/2012 11:37

I am feeling the bluueergh!!! I was told when I hit 12 weeks it would start to fade but no such luck at 17.. I'm hating it this time round I still feel sick and tired constantly but dh thinks I'm moaning lol I also forget things at work which is embarrassing lol

Conflugenglugen · 09/04/2012 11:43

Didn't with me. I definitely felt more introspective, and tired, more tuned in to my body, but I could still function in the outside world pretty much normally.

PrincessWatermelon · 09/04/2012 12:17

Most of the time I function fine. But towards the end of the day, as I'm more tired, it goes downhill. Esp my vocabulary. I'll get stuck half way through a sentence, not knowing where I was going with it!

SootySweepandSue · 09/04/2012 12:19

I think I read somewhere that this is natures way if getting you to slow down and concentrate on yourself and the new baby. Makes sense really. I am amazed that some women manage to battle through as if nothing is going on though.

ProlificYoungGentlemenBreeder · 09/04/2012 12:21

Sadly yes. I don't know why but carrying both my children dissolved some of my brain.
On paper I'm quite intelligent, alas in RL I seem away with the fairies!

nomoreminibreaks · 09/04/2012 12:22

My DS is 1 now and my brain still isn't what it was. I used to have a go at DH all the time for being forgetful then got pregnant and became worse than him. Also keep kept saying the wrong words all the time.

I think it's getting better now, but maybe I'm just getting used to it!

SarryB · 09/04/2012 16:58

To be honest, I have no idea how women keeping working while they're pregnant. I've been off work since I was 5 months pregnant, and I was really struggling with baby brain.
I'm full term now, and nothing makes sense.

fotheringhay · 09/04/2012 18:35

I think it's mostly distraction, if your life is about to change more dramatically than ever before, how are you meant to concentrate on the minutiae of work or tiny details of everyday life?

donotoutplz · 09/04/2012 19:10

haven't had this, but i definitely find i'm clumsier physically which is almost like a type of forgetfulness imo. keep bashing my knees/elbows/fingers/toes on things.

justhayley · 09/04/2012 23:19

It's true for me 100%. I usually can't make decisions when I'm due for a period & have been even worse since pregnant. My brain seems to work slower and multitasking has gone out the window

Original poster

ViolaCrayola · 10/04/2012 14:40

Sorry to hear that others suffer from this too! I have noticed that my spelling has really gone out the window
And yes, above all it's a sense of being distracted and having to 'slow down' - combined with all the physical aches and pains...

OP posts:

LordyLady · 16/04/2012 15:19

Tiredness definitely affects you, but I've been suffering from brain slush too...there's no denying it! Thought a CD had got stuck in my computer yesterday, after ranting and raving, going on internet forums and having a general mood I found said CD in the case....I'd ejected it, put it away and totally forgotten

flamingtoaster · 16/04/2012 15:22

Definitely - my friend peeled the potatoes, threw them out and boiled the peelings. I carefully packed all the breakfast washing up into the fridge - and we didn't even have a dishwasher!

littlemissnormal · 16/04/2012 15:38

Completely! I'm guilty of going to pick the kids up from school in slippers, going to tesco for milk but spending 10 minutes in there trying to remember what I want and remembering once I've got home, forgetting people's names who I've known for ages.....

PoppyS34wantsminieggs · 16/04/2012 15:55

Mine has definitely turned to mush, and it's getting worse (currently 24+2) not better!

thereistheball · 05/06/2012 21:33

Yesterday I left the house with my hair conditioner still in from the shower, then went to a shopping centre without my cash card. I used to be quite together.

twofurryones · 05/06/2012 21:56

Yes definitely, am on the second pregnancy of my PhD and things are not going well, it's going to take a miracle for me to still be on this course by the time this baby arrives

Benaberry · 05/06/2012 22:33

Definitely mush!

Remember when pg with DS1 doing the Test the Nation IQ thingy - also did it the year before and year after. Results when not pg were very similar, result when pg significantly worse. Coincidence?

This time around seem to be spending a lot of time feeling like my head is stuffed with soggy cotton wool, and somewhat distracted. Not good when we're really busy in our team at work, and I'm also in the first year of a Masters that I signed up to before finding out I was pg again. Luckily doing ok with the academic stuff, but definitely having issues with day-to-day things!

Mikyahrose · 05/06/2012 22:56

Yep, i'm certainly feeling this too.

Word forgetting, mid sentance forgetting, not thinking before i speak and ending up saying the silliest of things.

Tut, silly baby brain!

Bagofholly · 06/06/2012 02:28

Totally. My vocab regresses to Charlie and Lola standard and I hear myself speaking like a honking goose.

LadyLillyWilliamSnowflake · 06/06/2012 11:33

When I was pg with my 10 mo ds I was fine and worked up to full term, I just wanted to nest and tidy

But, I'm now 25 weeks pg with twins and can hardly string a sentence together, I seem to have lost all orientation. A friend of mine asked if my dh has been beating me due to all of the bruises I have from walking into things

Spice17 · 06/06/2012 11:33

Someone just asked me if I wanted a carrier bag in Wilkos, took me about 3 minutes to decide. Then the fool asked if I wanted stamps or top up.............

I also keep bumping into doors, door frames, the car, anything really. It's like I'm magnetically drawn to objects to walk into!

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