Post Partum Amnesia

So there I was surfing the internet, when I came across a blog written by a new mum about her new baby and how she deals with all the new challenges she faces. I thought it was really good, but more than that it just seemed so relevant to me. It was as if I could have written it. And that’s when I realized that I had. It was my blog.


After congratulating myself on such a great blog, I realized that my baby brain was getting the better of me. Forgetting I had a blog was nothing compared to my other recent episodes of post partum amnesia……regularly forgetting the day of the week, forgetting I had met someone within a couple of hours of seeing them, forgetting peoples’ names, forgetting to do the house work when Google Daddy was out at work so he had to do them when he got back (ok, so maybe I didn’t actually forget that....).

It all came to a head when I went to the supermarket to do the grocery shopping one evening. I wrote a list of everything we needed (talk about super-organised!), left Google Daddy in charge of Google Baby and off I went. I whisked around the supermarket with fierce efficiency and even remembered to take the ‘Bags for Life’. So far, so good.

An hour later, I was back at home, curled up on the sofa chatting to Google Daddy with a nice cuppa. Two hours later, I was in my PJs, getting ready for Google Baby’s night feed. Two and a half hours later I was tucked up in bed.

Three hours later I was wide awake sat bolt up right in my bed trying to persuade Google Daddy to go out and get the shopping out of the car, which was parked about half a mile away as there were no spaces outside the house. It seems during the 3 minute drive home from the supermarket, I completely forgot that I’d been shopping and so merrily walked away from the car leaving the groceries festering in the boot. I was distraught. Just think of that tub of Ben and Jerry’s melting …

It was time to take action. As Google Daddy reluctantly went out to unload the car, I checked in with Google for a solution to my baby brain.

The first few results weren’t overly helpful.

Wisegeek suggested a solution of getting plenty of sleep. I suspect Wisegeek doesn’t have a newborn to care for if he thinks that plenty of sleep is likely for any new mum. But he isn’t alone. Nearly every webpage Google referred me to recommended getting lots of sleep.

But there was worse news to follow. According to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, a woman's memory can be impaired for at least a year after giving birth.

A year??? That’s a lot of melted ice cream to clean out of the back of the car.

So, it looks like baby brain is here to stay. But it’s not all bad news. I remember Google Baby’s birth; the first night spent looking at each other, his trip home, his first bath, the cuddles, the happiness…. Who cares about groceries?




The picture is from ccw22's photostream on flickr.