Is amnesia a normal part of motherhood?

[Sahamamama]

I had an eye appointment today (at Pearl Vision) and at the end of the exam, I could NOT find any frames I liked (too small, dark & angular for my face). So I came home without any glasses.

 

My husband says, "Don't you remember? The last time you got glasses, you walked over to Lens Crafters (in the same mall) and picked out frames, then brought them up to Pearl and they made your glasses."

 

:001_huh:

 

I said, "That was three years ago. Really?"

 

He said, "Yes, I remember it like it was yesterday."

 

I said, "I am the mother of three young children. I have no memory."

 

This scenario happens all the time. He remembers stuff from six or seven years ago. I can't remember anything from six or seven hours ago. The only memory I have of the past six or seven years is "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy....." Is this normal?

[sarawatsonim]

I'm sorry, I don't remember your question.:tongue_smilie:

 

It happens to me all the time. I used to pride myself on my memory and now I find myself staring blankly while I try to remember/focus my thoughts. A few days ago I looked at my camera (which I have had for 3 years) for at least 45 seconds while I was trying to remember where the usb cable plugs into it.:001_huh:

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I'm sorry, I don't remember your question.:tongue_smilie:

 

It happens to me all the time. I used to pride myself on my memory and now I find myself staring blankly while I try to remember/focus my thoughts. A few days ago I looked at my camera (which I have had for 3 years) for at least 45 seconds while I was trying to remember where the usb cable plugs into it.:001_huh:

 

:iagree: and I was going to start my post with the exact same sentence! :lol:

 

About once a month I call up my friend and say "I think I need that stuff. You know, the natural medicine for losing your memory." (Just googled it: ginko biloba! :tongue_smilie:) I seriously forget EVERYTHING. I was pretty forgetful before I had DD, but I think it has just gotten worse since I have so much in my brain to try and hold on to. I have a planner in which I have to write everything or it doesn't happen.

[sassenach]

Our house is reversed. I remember everything, dh remembers NOTHING. It's really frustrating for the both of us. I've known him since he was 18 and he's pretty much always had a terrible memory. Unless it's random 80's or 90's pop trivia, he's not going to remember it.

[MrsBasil]

Yes, it's a condition that begins during pregnancy(aka pregnancy brain), but due to a combination of factors we develop the dreaded "momnesia" once we've given birth and are coherent enough to realize we're forgetting stuff.

 

I have no idea how long it lasts, but my friends with older children tend to have BIG calendars hanging in a prominent place in the kitchen and cell phones with lots of alerts programmed in. They can always find the last juice box in the fridge(the one everyone else says isn't there), shoes for each member of the household, and they seem to be the only ones who put toilet paper back on the hanger thing when it runs out. So....I'm thinking it's forever! :D

[fairfarmhand]

. So....I'm thinking it's forever! :D

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

 

 

:willy_nilly::willy_nilly::willy_nilly:

[JudoMom]

I used to have a good memory. Dh's has never been the best (except for movie lines--dang, he can remember so many lines from movies he sees once), so he relied on me. It worked well, a great partnership.

 

Now we're up a creek without a paddle. Over the past 1-2 years, I've lost my ability to remember many things. I forget things, or simply don't remember them at all :nopity:.

[*~Tina~*]

I have four decades behind me and just had my fifth child...my mind is going downhill at rapid speed! I've always had a great sense of direction, ability to visualize where I left something, and so on. . .but yesterday for example, I was so unable to focus and remember things it was scary! We got on the expressway to go to the local bookswap, 10 minutes later I realized I had got onto the highway going the wrong way. I knew I could just go another way and fix my mistake, but I could not for the life of me regain my sense of direction, so I had to call my dh!

 

Once I got on track and was headed in the right direction, I then got off at the wrong exit!

 

Upon leaving, I completely passed up the place where we were planning to have lunch!

 

Later the same day, I had to calculate something and it took me a while to realize I had miscalculated - not a little error either, I was WAY off!!

 

Finished the day with a hair appointment and forgot to leave a tip. :tongue_smilie:

 

I've never felt so disoriented and unable to focus in my life!

 

Yep, kids and age. . .brain zappers!

[Mommy22alyns]

Ummm, yes. I think. :tongue_smilie:

[GWOB]

Once my status on Facebook was "Umm... Am I supposed to be somewhere or do something today?" Sure enough, I had forgotten something. I can't remember what is was now, but it was something. I think. Or maybe someone called me to remind me of that thing. Sigh.

 

I seriously forget what I'm saying mid-sentence.

 

I have no idea what my kids are named half the time. Luckily they answer to each others' names.

 

It's bad. And I'm only 31. I'm saving up for my nursing home right now. If only I could remember where I put the money.

[sunshine_librarian]

Is this normal?

 

Yes this is normal. That being said, my healthcare provider indicated that mommy brain can often be an indication of a vitamin b deficiency. Taking some type of super b-complex can help to remedy some of the problem. That plus some decent sleep probably wouldn't hurt either, right? :grouphug:

[violinmom]

Sleep deprived!! vitamin B does wonders!

 

There is a section in the book The Female Brain that specifically talks about the post-partum brain. It actually does shrink during pregnancy, then regains again. It's the rebound I am waiting for!!

[Maverick_Mom]

Yes. It is the reason why women give birth more than once. :D

[Tress]

Yes. It is the reason why women give birth more than once. :D

 

:lol:

 

 

I don't forget appointments etc, but tend to forget words. I have whole conversations going like...'we have to go to..ehhh...ehhhh', 'can you please give me the...ehhhh....ehhhh', 'I met...ehhh.....ehh...and she gave me an.....ehhh'. Drives me crazy :tongue_smilie:. I especially can't talk while I'm breastfeeding, those hormones make my brain go totally blanc.

[Snickerdoodle]

Yes. It is the reason why women give birth more than once.

:lol::lol:

 

I think it's sleep deprivation on my part.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

:iagree: I think....wait a minute what were we talking about? LOL

ha ha another one here who used to be able to remember/be on top of her scheduled things without a problem...up until the past few years it's just gotten crazy (and I just have 1 kid!)...I have to have things on several different calendars--one being the computer one that pops up every time I turn the computer on....just have to remember to add my appointments to it each time or believe me I will forget! LOL

[LaxMom]

Ah, yes. The dementia of having young children, complete with aphasia, mid-sentence brain drop...

 

I keep hoping it goes away before the permanent kind sets in.

[Heather in Neverland]

Gosh I hope it is normal. Otherwise I don't know what to blame it on! :tongue_smilie:

[Sahamamama]

:lol::lol::lol: Ok, now I feel better! You all are cracking me up.

[LizzyBee]

Yes, amnesia is normal for moms. See, here is what happens. When we're pregnant, brain cells travel to the womb and settle in the placenta. And when it's all over, the placenta, along with our brain cells, goes in the garbage. That my excuse and I'm sticking with it. :D

[MrsBasil]

:lol:

 

 

I don't forget appointments etc, but tend to forget words. I have whole conversations going like...'we have to go to..ehhh...ehhhh', 'can you please give me the...ehhhh....ehhhh', 'I met...ehhh.....ehh...and she gave me an.....ehhh'. Drives me crazy :tongue_smilie:. I especially can't talk while I'm breastfeeding, those hormones make my brain go totally blanc.

 

:lol:I replace words.

The other day I needed to ask DH if he watered the lawn. I completely blanked on the word "watered". 'Did you uhhhh? Did you(long pause while DH stares at me).....Oh! Did you WASH the lawn?'

 

He gave me the sweetest look before telling me that yes, he took care of it. Before bursting out laughing. Eventually I caught on. :tongue_smilie:

[Brigitte]

Our house is reversed. I remember everything, dh remembers NOTHING. It's really frustrating for the both of us. I've known him since he was 18 and he's pretty much always had a terrible memory. Unless it's random 80's or 90's pop trivia, he's not going to remember it.

 

Are we married to the same man? Or could our husbands be identical twins separated at birth?

[Lacie]

Mine started when I was pregnant with Booger and got worse with the next pregnancy and even worse after. I have such a hard time remembering things. Glad to know it is not just me.

[cin]

Sleep deprived!! vitamin B does wonders!

 

There is a section in the book The Female Brain that specifically talks about the post-partum brain. It actually does shrink during pregnancy, then regains again. It's the rebound I am waiting for!!

 

And what about those of us who have never given birth, but still have mommy brain? ACK

[joannqn]

I remember stuff like that just fine usually. My big issue is being unable to talk or type and reliably use the correct words. I'll through* some random, not-related word in the middle of a sentence instead of the proper word. I also have a really hard time coming up with words to go with what I want. I'll end up saying something like, "Can you hand me that thing that we use to fix that other thing?" Sometimes I'll describe what I need: "Anyone know there that thing that you plug in and clean all of the dirt out of the carpet with is?" Then there's the fact that I almost always have to say the wrong child's name before I can figure out the correct name for the child I really want.

 

 

* LOL...there you go. I meant to write "throw" instead of through.

 

Sometimes it really bothers me because I feel really stupid, as in I'd be able to speak clearly if I were only smarter.

[Annie Laurie]

I used to have a good memory. Dh's has never been the best (except for movie lines--dang, he can remember so many lines from movies he sees once), so he relied on me. It worked well, a great partnership.

 

Now we're up a creek without a paddle. Over the past 1-2 years, I've lost my ability to remember many things. I forget things, or simply don't remember them at all :nopity:.

 

This is us. I think some of it now, for me, is being so fatigued all the time since my baby is a terrible sleeper. It affects my brain functions.

 

I took my boys to the orthodontist and could not remember our dentist's name when they asked, and I love our dentist. Just could not remember for the life of me.

[dangermom]

I used to have a good memory. Dh's has never been the best (except for movie lines--dang, he can remember so many lines from movies he sees once), so he relied on me. It worked well, a great partnership.

 

Now we're up a creek without a paddle. Over the past 1-2 years, I've lost my ability to remember many things. I forget things, or simply don't remember them at all :nopity:.

 

This is me. Once upon a time, I had a great memory. It's on its way out. My good friend, who has 5 children (ages 20-5), has no memory whatsoever, so maybe it gets worse the more children you have?

[joannqn]

Sleep deprived!! vitamin B does wonders!

 

There is a section in the book The Female Brain that specifically talks about the post-partum brain. It actually does shrink during pregnancy, then regains again. It's the rebound I am waiting for!!

 

 

About the part in red...I totally do not believe this in the slightest. I tell people that our brain supposedly shrinks 10% during pregnancy. So after baby #1, I was left with 90% of my brain. After baby #2, I only had 89% left. Baby #3 brought it down to 80.1%. Baby #4 left me with 72%. I had four miscarriages, so those must be worth something as well. The way I figure it, I'm down to only 60-70% of my brain left.

 

Of course, there's that whole idea that we only use 10% of our brain to begin with, so my theory is that the part I lost through pregnancy included some of the 10% that I use.

 

I think I'll try some vitamin B and see if that helps. I also think we are so busy with caring for young kids that we aren't using our brain on higher level thinking as much. I'm hoping my increased reading, learning higher math again, etc. will help.

[Forget-Me-Not]

This thread makes me feel better, LOL. I had SUCH a sharp memory as a kid and I remember being so impatient with my own mother for being so forgetful. Guess who is forgetful now?

[FrogMom5]

Yes, it comes with the territory. Once I was a very organized person with a great memory. Once, long, long ago in a far away land. Sorry, what were we talking about?

Denise