Prego Brain

Ever since I've been pregnant I seem to be experiencing what I call "Prego Brain".  I forget things easily, can't put whole thoughts together in a cohesive sentence, repeat myself multiple times, and sort of walk through each day with a clueless aura.  All of these things are very uncharacteristic for me.  Now, typically I would just write this whole phenomenon off to having "a lot on my mind", but since this is my second pregnancy I can tell you that this is not a coincidence, there IS such a thing as "Prego Brain"!

Normally, I am a very organized, diligent and put together person.  Rarely does anything "get by me".  Given a choice, I consider myself more street smart than academic.  This means I am usually very level-headed, comprehend things easily, think outside of the box, and go about tasks diligently & methodically.  Now all this gets thrown out the window during pregnancy.  I feel like quintessential blond-joke subject matter (I'm not blond, by the way, never have been).  

Well it turns out that I may not be alone in my observation of this quirky pregnancy characteristic.  There don't appear to be any conclusive studies done tying this phenomenon to an actual physiologic response.  However, we do have more on our minds during pregnancy (what am I going to do about work?, who is going to watch the baby?, which room are we going to use as the nursery?, will I breast feed?, is is normal to feel this tired?, can we afford this baby?, how will this effect my husband's and my relationship?, etc. etc. etc.) and there probably is something to be said for the hormones racing through our blood.   Despite the root of the problem this is a common characteristic during pregnancy and the good new is, it does go away post-partum.

Rather than feeling frustrated by my cloudy brain I am sort of enjoying it.  It feels nice to not be in total control all day everyday, and people seem to understand.  A few websites suggested simplifying your life to limit the effects of Prego Brain (my words, not theirs), which I embrace whole-heartedly.  Pregnancy is such an amazing thing, your body (& mind, we've now discovered) change in so many ways, why not cut out a few extracurricular activities.  Try heading home from work an hour or two early, or hand a few extra projects off to associates, & by all means ask for extra help from your husband.  Nuke it for all it's worth, because after 9 months you will be totally focused on mini-me!  Look at pregnancy as the calm before the storm.  Embrace the cloudy, forgetful mind-frame and live it as a carefree, & serene new way of life.  You & everyone around you will enjoy your pregnancy so much more if you just let go a little bit.  I certainly intend to do so, and I'm already loving my Prego Brain!