I'm here to confirm this is in fact, not a myth.
I am living proof that "mommy brain" does exist. Apparently it is living and breathing quite well inside of me!
I have ALWAYS been a pretty organized person. I remember to send birthday cards. I remember when our dog needs her monthly heartworm pills. I directed a camp for eighty kids. I enjoy filing things and labeling. This kind of stuff makes me happy and in many ways offers me a sense of control in an often chaotic world.
When I became pregnant I was warned about this new ailment that would befall me. I would be afflicted with a brain of Swiss cheese. I must say that I made it through pregnancy pretty well. No major missteps in the brain department. Even post baby I did pretty well...up until this weekend. This weekend I REALLY messed up. Thank goodness for creative parenting, a supportive bra and babies r us.
Michael and I packed up Harper and Luna after work on Friday to drive to SC to visit my parents. Per usual, I made a list of what needed to be packed but apparently I was a little too vague.
The day started with me forgetting to pick up my prescription from work despite it being written down in my planner. This should have been an indicator of the rest of the night because I managed to forget to pack the following items for our two day trip:
my medications, power cord for breast pump, connector and valve for breast pump, and travel crib. Now any of these in isolation would be bad but all of them together was just pitiful. Luckily we survived the weekend with creative problem solving and an early morning trip to babies r us.
Luckily, I can live without my medicines for a couple days. Its not ideal but totally doable.
The lack of a place for Harper to sleep just meant that we lived the "family bed" lifestyle for a couple nights. Not totally restful but the feel of my tiny daughters hand lying against my chest makes me melt.
The pump parts were more of a challenge because I pumped prior to beginning the 5 hour drive and planned to pump when we arrived around 11:00 in the evening. As you can imagine I really needed to pump upon arriving at my parents. I was devastated to find out that I had left two essential pieces behind. My list had "pump stuff" written on it which was clearly too vague for the sieve that is now my brain.
After a midnight run to wal-mart, I realized I was going to have to wait out the night until babies r us opened at 9am.
Ouch is really all I can say about how I felt in the morning. I was so desperate prior to the store opening I tried to see if Harper would nurse. No luck. My daughter is completely a bottle baby and none of those exhausting first 6 weeks are in her memory.Needless to say we were the first visitors to the store.
The weekend ended happily despite the rocky start. Lots of hanging around letting Harper get to know Grandma and Grandpa. A walk in the sunshine and lots of quality cuddle time!
