I have momnesia

A good friend of mine sent me this link to a very interesting story yesterday. It explains a phenom some call momnesia:

From USA today :

While researchers say they can’t explain all the ways motherhood affects a woman’s memory, they agree there’s a pattern.

Like Massingill, many moms feel mentally foggy in the days after delivery. And they notice that the details of labor and delivery, which are scenes one might expect to be seared into a woman’s consciousness, began to slowly slip away.

Sadly, Massingill says, her son’s first few weeks of life have become a blur.

Few parents enjoy feeling so scatterbrained, says neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, author of The Female Brain. And momnesia can be dangerous, such as when moms forget to fasten the straps in an infant’s car seat. Yet momnesia may give modern mothers an evolutionary advantage, Brizendine says.

“It turns you into someone who serves that little infant, to keep it alive no matter what,” says Brizendine, founder of the Women’s and Teen Girls’ Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California in San Francisco. “Other parts of your brain that are usually on high alert are sort of taken offline.”

….But women don’t get dumber after childbirth. Instead, like sleep-deprived medical residents who learn on the job, their brains are getting a workout. “You are learning a lot,” she says. “Once your mommy brain gets readjusted, you get more efficient, and you become smarter and learn things faster, but it won’t happen all at once.”

Mothers’ priorities often change dramatically while caring for a baby. They need to be “hyper vigilant” about their infants, who may develop symptoms of illness that are apparent only to those who have scrutinized their every coo and cry, Brizendine says. “You’re on the mother beat all the time. It requires certain parts of your brain to work hyper, hyper, hyper well. But it requires other parts of your brain to play second fiddle.”

I must admit that it was relieving to read this article because oftentimes I am wondering what is wrong with my brain. I put things away in the wrong places and am constantly forgetting taking things with me sometimes when I go somewhere. Just yesterday I almost (thank God it was only almost) lost my wallet.

I think as moms we are so concentrated on our babies and taking care of them that sometimes we lose sight of basic knowledge. We find ourselves, at times, forgetting dates and appointments, yet somehow our baby is taken care of just fine. I may forget to bring my own jacket when I’m going out somewhere, but I always tend to bring my daughter’s sippy cup of milk and snacks for her (although, I must admit, that I’ve forgotten diapers from time to time). I don’t get forgetful on important things, like forgetting to strap her into the carseat and I feel like I am constantly vigilant of her. There is this strange sense that mother’s get when their child is about to get into trouble. You may be looking a way for a second and something tells you to turn to your child because they are trying to play with the electric socket AGAIN! (what is so fun about those electric sockets anyways? Babies seem to be fascinated by them).

In this article I saw the mention of a this “momnesia” as an “evolutionary advantage”. I hardly believe this to be evolution at all, but the design and creation of a Holy God. Why do we have that sixth sense that comes into play when our children are about to get into trouble? (though, it doesn’t ALWAYS work) God provided it there to warn us. I believe it is God who gave mothers a natural desire to protect their children at all costs (even if it means the forgetting of their own things).

On a side note: By poor little daughter has been battling a little cold. She’s been coughing a bit and seems really unhappy by this cold. Please pray for her if you can! Here’s a picture of the cause of my “momnesia” and the source of alot of joy: