As I write this post, am about to go pick my favourite jacket at the salon. YES! SALON! You could be wondering, what my favourite leather jacket could be doing at the salon two weeks after I did my hair! Call it PARAMNESIA or MEMORY LOSS if you like!  You know, am yet to come to term with this new me! Why am I sooo annoyingly forgetful? I was sharp, with photographic memory. I could easily narrate something I saw when I was two years old. Now am dealing with short memory. So much so, that I even forget my PIN.  Let me give you a story. The other day, I dashed to the bank to withdraw some cash. It was 15 minutes to 4:00 pm the time that the bank closes. Not that I needed the bank anyway, ATM is open 24 hours. However, the following day I was going for site visit in a remote area so I need to have adequate cash on me. Plus you know motherhood! We plan ahead of time. So inserted my card to the ATM Machine to go on with my transaction. Of course the first thing it asks is the PIN. I WAS BLANK! WHAT WAS MY PIN AGAIN! SHIRU! YOU CANNOT BE FORGETTING THIS! I hit my head with my right hand! And just like that…I remembered the PIN. PHWEX! I can now withdraw my money. I was still shaking…AND CONFUSED! AND EMBARRASSED! I looked like a thief! Anyway…that confusion led to picking my card before the money…and just like that….my money was “swallowed” back by the machine. It was 4:00 pm! The bank shuts its doors. I have to wait for another hour to go withdraw money! This was a wake up call. Something was wrong with my brain. They call it mommy brain! And it’s a mess! I mean, how many times have I reset my email password this year? How many times do I forget to call back after I promise? How many times have I delayed in responding to work emails? How many times have I forgotten the immunization day for my baby thanks God for the text reminder that the hospital sends. My husband can tell you how many times I call him to remind me on what I was supposed to pick in a baby shop or grocery shop! Poor man! Back to my favourite leather jacket. I swear I had forgotten my last encounter with it. I kept searching all over the house to a point of re-arranging all the closets in my house to try and find it. How many times did I ask my husband to check in his car? How many times did I ask my house help is she had washed it by mistake? How can I be that dumb to even forget the last time I wore it and where I went to? Then one night as I organize my outfit for the next day to work and see my black leather boots and remember the last time I wore them together with the jacket I was going to the salon. Its 10:30 pm but I had to call my hair stylist at that time to ask about my jacket lest I forget to call her the following day. (Please remind me to go pick it right after this) Last week on my facebook page (which you should follow) I shared a post on childbirth implications. And happy to see it’s a very common problem among women after giving birth. It was kinda reassuring but I had to do some research for me and you. So what causes memory loss after child birth?

1. Sleep deprivation- You know as a mom that our sleeping schedule is determined by our babies. We can only sleep while they sleep especially if you don’t have help at home. During pregnancy sometimes Insomnia is real. You have those moment when you are sleepy but you just can’t sleep. The implication of this is that your brain lacks enough time to rest and hence not able to store the things that just happened. The result being memory loss.
2. Stress- Motherhood can be stressing. It demands the whole you 24 hours a day. Don’t forget you have a career, business, hobbies, family, friends, husband and maybe more children who still need you. Jangling between all these can be devastating and striking a balance is not a walk in the park.
3. Insufficient iron-iron is the blood component that is key in transporting nutrients and oxygen to your brain. The lack of it means that your brain “starves” by receiving less nutrients that it needs to function properly. Remember from pregnancy, you need plenty of blood to support the developing baby, as well have enough supply to support you after child birth.
4. Multitasking- We are women. And we think that we have can do everything at the same time. So we are playing with ours kids, while catching up with our favorite series, constantly checking on our emails, and responding to a few texts from our phones and cook dinner at the same time. You simply become a master of none and end up so tired.

What are the solutions of memory loss?

1. SLEEP- AGAIN SLEEP MOMMA! It’s that simple. While it’s hard especially when the baby is too small, try and ask help from your family to catch some sleep at least 2 hours weekly. Your brains need that sleep to store and reorganize the events that just happens so that you can remember them.
2. Avoid stress- Its time that you enrolled to that Yoga class, go bac to gym, take a walk with you children, go to road trips with your husband, watch movies, just do whatever it is that make you relax. Exercise is good for your brain.
3. Balance diet. Ensure that you take a balanced diet every day. Be incline to the foods that are rich in iron such as green leafy vegetables, liver, beetroots, red meat etc. Fish has some good amount of omega 3 that help in memory and brain development. This will ensure that your brain is healthy for proper functioning.
4. Do one thing at a time- Avoid multi-tasking. This way, you can easily track your steps to remember where you kept your wallet, or what you buying in the store etc.
5. Have a list- Be it going to the grocery, office deliverables, just create a list of items that you intend to achieve within a specific time. It will help you remember everything. This is my life saver at the moment.
6. Brain supplements- You can boost your brain with omega 3 tablets. Am about to start this. Will share the results in a future post. If you have started please share in the comments below.

  If it goes to the extreme, please seek medical advice. Good luck in regaining your memory. What are you doing to regain your memory loss? We would like to learn from you. Don’t forget to like this post and like my facebook page by just clicking on the facebook icon below to follow. Don’t miss anything.  See you soon. Are you losing your hairline? MUST READ https://old.wowmom.co.ke/how-to-manage-hair-loss-after-childbirth/ OOOHHH! MY JACKET…..Let me go pick it. bye Dont forget to follow me on facebook