Momnesia sufferers unite!
Quick: Name the capital of California? How many U.S. senators are there? Where’s your diaper bag?
Can’t answer even one of those? Chances are you’re suffering from momnesia, the mental fuzziness and memory lapses that set in after childbirth and linger for months afterward. If so, or if you know a new mom who is, check out my regular Sunday newspaper column here.
Adrienne Hedger and Shannon Payette Seip, moms and authors of a new book called “Momnesia: A Humorous Guide to Surviving Your Post-Baby Brain,” sum up how our brains change post-pregnancy.
One page of their book compares what kind of information a new mother retains. She doesn’t know today’s date, but she knows her baby is 44 days, 10 hours old. She can’t name the president of France, but she has the pediatrician’s number memorized.
Moms can submit their funny memory lapses here. In one, a stranger standing in a long line at a bank asks a mom if she’s in the right place because she’s carrying an armful of dry cleaning.