Pregnancy brain ….. when even thinking of a blog post title is too much….

The fact that I’ve been sitting here staring blankly at the screen for about 10 whole minutes just about sums up this article….. my brain actually just shuts off… not distracted…. just a whole lot of _____________________________ and occasional blinking!

Pregnancy induced brain uselessness (official medical term that is), can hit at any time and manifests in a multiple of exciting ways…. such as frequently popping the kettle in the fridge (apparently an everyday occurrence for my beloved pregnant SIL Sarah), attempts at adult conversation just coming out as mumbled, fat-tongued gibberish usually only experienced after dental work, never arriving at the right place or time for anything scheduled and always ALWAYS stopping in a state of dumb confusion when entering a room thinking ‘what the hell did I come in here for again?’

This is me every.single.day! Please please please reassure me with some sort of ‘it happens to every one’, ‘it’ll pass as soon as that baby is out’, ‘it’s actually a sign of advanced intelligence’…. because right now I’m feeling like a pretty useless, mentally stumped, rapidly expanding whale who’s brain has decided to vacate for nine months.

So far my pregnancy brain (or momnesia as google just informed me) hasn’t caused any serious injury or death to anyone….. not as far as I can remember anyway. It just rattles me enough to not undertake anything too vital that it can’t handle being done 100% completely wrong, if at all….. which of course my husband loves…. I’m sooooo useful right now.

I’ve recently undertaken some wonderfully helpful (and simple) tricks to help me get through this pregnancy with hopefully, in the very least, remembering how to get to the hospital.

Lists, lists, lists!….

The surefire way to make a dent in the jumbled, mumbled mess of whirling emotions, reminders, tasks and distractions is to right it ALL down… I have a chronic, possibly diagnosable obsession with writing lists! I have a list currently open on my PC titled ‘Lists of Lists to Write’. No joke! I have to categorise the craziness happening in my mind before I can tackle any of it. Any time I feel overwhelmed (which let’s be honest, with added hormones these days is pretty damn often) one of the best ways for me to cool my lid is to write it all out…… I currently have my next three months whittled out in to twelve lists! It keeps me sane….. well…. marginally more sane

Buy a diary

And I mean an actual tangible one… made out of trees and everything. Buy one that you love, looks good, not so big that you’ll never have it with you and preferably shows the whole week across two pages. Sit down at some stage every week, scribble out anything scheduled, write out things you’d like to tackle that week (but keep it low pressure, because some weeks just surviving should earn you a medal) and if all this task gets you is actually learning what day today is…. then YAY!

Basic meals and emergency food

For me, things were certainly easier with my first pregnancy in terms of keeping fed. But the added responsibility of feeding an 18 month old is most days almost enough to undo me! I am perfectly happy (and this growing bump seems super keen as well) to live off constant vegemite toast and M&Ms….. but I don’t think I’m being overly health-conscious in striving for a bit more variety in my toddler’s diet over this 9 month stretch. And little Evie’s routine (which I love, love, love) doesn’t allow tooooo much room for me to totally blank out when it’s time for a meal. So two of my saviours have been to have a freezer stock of super easy, go-to meals, like veggie slice/savoury muffins; and to always have eggs on hand…. maybe random, but eggs have got to be the greatest meal-time creation ever! Many a last minute omelette, scrambled eggs or good ol’ hard boiled egg have been whipped up in this house. It’s a healthy no brainer, and I probably only overcook/destroy on average 30% of them 🙂 That’s good stats for ‘pregnancy brain’ cooking, don’t ask about my continued failed attempts at ‘simple, no-fail’ fritters.

But my biggest saviour has been actually allowing myself to be mentally rubbish for the time being… because every single brain cell has been re-assigned to focus entirely on growing this mini human inside  of me into the perfect combination of healthy, cute, polite and sassy! That’s backed by science right? I’m just careful about what I promise people and try to keep everyone’s expectations nice and low 🙂 The fact that I’ve kept this post relatively on track (please don’t ask how many weeks/hours it’s taken for me to write/stare blankly at it) has earned me at least some emoji high-fives?!!

So once again, be nice to yourself as your mind and body keeps throwing you curveballs ….. and have a good laugh!! … see the funny side to your pregnancy fog! I know a few of my nearest and dearest definitely get a giggle out of me….. I might as well join them!

What are your ‘pregnancy brain’ stories? Share them in the comments section for some collective laughs and to reassure me that I’m not alone!

xxx

Elise

Image – Modern Family