Essential Baby blogger Amity Dry
The recent study that found ‘baby brain’ is a myth is complete crap and I am living proof. And I have no doubt that if the study had been conducted at my house the people in white coats would have come away with unequivocal evidence that pregnant women have serious issues when it comes to retaining thoughts and remembering information Or, more specifically, unequivocal evidence that I have serious issue when it comes to retaining thoughts and remembering information.
I plead my case...
This month is Fringe Festival in Adelaide, my favourite time of the year. The whole city is buzzing with creative energy and there are hundreds of comedy, music, dance, cabaret and theatre shows on every night. A few months back I purchased my tickets and have been eagerly awaiting the first show, which was on Thursday.
I wrote the date in my diary and each time I looked at it I thought, ‘I must remember to book a babysitter (AKA, my mum) for that night.’ Except that every time I spoke to my mum I forgot to ask her, so the next time I’d see the date in my diary I’d think ‘I must remember to book a babysitter for that night.’
So the week of the show came by and I had two important meetings on in the days leading up to it. Knowing that my brain is not at it’s best at the moment I have been checking and double-checking the dates, times, addresses and info I needed to take to those meetings, convinced I would forget something. The first meeting was at a café and I got there on time, with all my documents, and breathed a sigh of relief when I realised nothing went wrong. Until I went to buy a coffee for those attending and realised my purse was in another bag, on the dining table, at home. That wasn’t embarrassing at all.
The next meeting was on Thursday, the day of the show. Again, I was there on time and with everything I needed. So that afternoon I relaxed knowing I kept it together, mostly. That night I went to my usual pregnancy pilates class and as I was driving there I kept thinking ‘I thought I said last week I wasn’t going to make this class, I have no idea why?’ So I did the class and was home an hour later lying on the couch when I realised that tomorrow was Friday, which meant that today was Thursday, which meant the show I was REALLY looking forward to and had spent good money on was happening… right this second. And I was lying on the couch, in my trackies, eating ice-cream.
Upon this realisation I did what any normal pregnant woman would do. I cried. And my husband did what any normal husband would do. He laughed. Not in spite, but in the recognition that his wife’s brain was now so dysfunctional she wasn’t just forgetting things she didn’t want to do, like grocery shopping and ironing, she was forgetting things she really wanted to do. He was in no doubt that baby brain exists and neither was I.
But it’s not just dates I forget, it’s words. The other day I was having a conversation and, for reasons I can no longer remember, needed to use the word grass in a sentence. Except that I couldn’t remember the word grass, a word I have known since I was 2 years old. So I sat there with my mental computer filing through the list of words that would be applicable, only to find that grass was nowhere to be found. So I said, very inconspicuously, ‘You know, the green stuff that grows on the ground.’
‘Um, grass?’ My friend said, as though my brain had been taken over by aliens. Which it has. Or, one little alien, to be specific.
But, despite what the study said, I feel better knowing it’s not just my brain that’s lost in this baby haze. Last week my husband recounted an email he got from a pregnant client where a word she wrote made absolutely no sense. When he wrote back asking for clarification she sheepishly blamed baby brain. Which he instantly understood, seeing as his wife is a walking talking example of its ferocity.
So, is that enough proof for you scientific people? You may release your findings and get worldwide recognition of them, but us pregnant women know better. Our brains suck and we know it. But we’re hoping that one day soon they return to (semi) normal.
Speaking of that, my own Fringe show is on in two weeks. Please God let me remember to turn up to that.
Do you agree that baby brain exists and what’s your proof? I’d love to hear the stories of how you were affected, just to make me feel better! Just go here
Oh, and if you’re in Adelaide this March make sure you get to a Fringe show. Or, more specifically, my Fringe show! Carole King & James Taylor – A Tribute. 5 & 12 March. Tickets from www.adelaidefringe.com.au . Come along and say hi!
