BELLY LAUGHS

Pregnancy Brain

You Might Have it If…

By FRG

As moms-to-be, we know to expect several changes throughout our pregnancies. Our bellies will grow, our food cravings will change, and things on our body begin to ache that we didn’t know possible. One change that we often forget about (no pun intended) is pregnancy brain.

Pregnancy brain is very real. It can occur during your pregnancy and even linger after you deliver your baby. This frustrating fog can alter your daily routine, but it’s common. If you’re not sure whether or not you’re experiencing pregnancy brain, here are some very real happenings to help you decide.

You might have pregnancy brain if…

You find yourself mixing up your words a lot.

If someone asks you a question and your answer comes out sounding like Yoda’s affirmation of the day, you could be experiencing pregnancy brain. Mixing up words is common, so don’t be too hard on yourself.

You know there’s a place for everything, but it ends up in a new place.

This one happens to everyone at some point, but it really thrives for expecting mothers. If you open your fridge only to find your car keys enjoying a nice cool down, you might have pregnancy brain. While you’re in the fridge, make sure you didn’t leave behind anything else, or if you can’t find something, check in those least-expected places because they’re not so least expected any longer.

You walk into a room and immediately forget why.

Again, this is common, so be kind to your pregnancy brain. This one, however, may be the most frustrating of them all. You knew five seconds ago what you needed to do, so you walked to the room you needed to complete said task, and everything evaporated the second you stepped foot into the room. Unfortunately, we can’t say that you will ever remember what it is you needed to do, but at least you got your steps in, right?

You show up to an appointment and/or meeting on the wrong day.

You put it in your calendar so you wouldn’t forget, but instead of checking your calendar, you convince yourself you know the exact date and time and show up a full day early. Being early is great, however, help yourself stay on track by writing things down and saving them as alerts, so your pregnancy brain won’t interfere with your punctuality.

You leave items on top of your car before getting in and driving away.

This one is the worst, especially when it results in lost items. You’re lucky if the items just collect in the driveway like your own personal pregnancy brain museum until you return home. Unfortunately, a lot of the time, the items go for the ride of their lives and end up lost, or they hang on the entire trip, which is impressive.

You forget where you parked all the time.

Another one for the road, forgetting where you parked your car in the parking lot is a tough one. Considering we’re in Louisiana, it’s really unfortunate because no one wants to wander around a hot parking lot looking for a car. After a while of looking, you begin to wonder if you even drove there. Don’t worry, you’ll find the car…or require an Uber.

You realize that multitasking is way harder all of a sudden.

Trying to make your coffee while packing your child’s lunch? Beware of sending your child to school with a perfectly-made latte. If your coffee leaves with your child, you’ll likely go into a pregnancy brain spiral of wondering if you even made the coffee in the first place, or remembering that you did make it and forgetting where you put it. We can’t imagine the teacher would approve of that much caffeine at lunch time.

There are several more things you may experience along the way, but always be patient with yourself. Try to sleep more, lower your stress and anxiety, stay hydrated, eat well, and set tons of reminders. All of these will help to alleviate those pregnancy brain symptoms. ■