Oops ‘baby brain’! Oops ‘mum brain’! How many times do you find yourself saying this? To explain why you forgot something or to justify your way of thinking? It is thought that when you become a parent and inherit the inevitable baby brain you become less of an intellect and you lose credibility over making simple decisions, there are many negative connotations around the ‘baby/mum brain’ which I simply don’t agree with.
Don’t get me wrong, I did some questionable things when I was pregnant, I upgraded my flights to extra legroom and realised I’d only done it on the 1 hour connecting flight, not the 8 hour long haul. When we got to our connecting flight, I wasn’t even allowed to sit in the extra legroom because it was an emergency exit row and I was 6 months pregnant. I also managed to book theatre tickets to see Aladdin the Musical.. and later realised I’d booked to see Aladdin the Pantomime. Not only that, I booked seats D37, D38 and D42? At the time, we laughed it off and I was banned from booking anything without someone double checking, I like to consider that this phase of my ‘mum brain’ had it’s training wheels on.
Whether you carried your baby, went through the adoption process or used a surrogate, I believe that as soon as you know you’re expecting, we all get the ‘mum brain.’ We lose the ‘me me me’ section and acquire a whole new part which has your baby’s needs and wishes at it’s core. Your brain changes your whole way of thinking, the way you process information and the way you prioritise. That’s a lot for anybody to process, so some things are going to get missed and that’s okay! Give yourself a break.
Without your ‘mum brain’ you wouldn’t be able to juggle everything that you do. The pressures we face are overwhelming but your ‘mum brain’ is your superpower. From dealing with customer demands to meal planning to supporting your child’s development to professional presentation planning to seeking new business initiatives to managing your social calendar, play dates and date nights to regularly completing your household chores and just general life admin.. it’s a lot. But you’re doing it! Every time you think ‘I can’t do this’ you get up and carry on anyway, you’re amazing and don’t you ever forget that. Give yourself credit.
Having a ‘mum brain’ doesn’t make you ditsy or incapable, it doesn’t mean that you should have your responsibilities limited, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be trusted or that you should be patronised. I’m PROUD to have a ‘mum brain,’ it’s given me the ability to function when I am beyond exhausted, the ability to seek efficiency in everything that I do and the organisation to effectively manage my time, both at work and at home. It was a huge, life changing adjustment and a massive learning curve but I love my ‘mum brain’ and I vow to always celebrate it, even during the ‘oops’ moments.
The Working Mum Project 