Knowing is half the problem. I finally got to articulate what I’ve been experiencing these past months, and to my peace it’s nothing unusual for moms with multiple young kids. I asked for tips from seasoned (working) parents who have at least 4 kids and I’ve tried these over the past weeks. So so glad they work for me! There is indeed wisdom in the counsel of many!

My main challenge is the brain fog I’m bound to have given all that’s happening physically (from the obvious lack of sleep to the postpartum hormonal shifts) and mentally (mental load of 4 kids—and with twins at that—with varying needs, among other things). It’s normal for moms, by the way, more so for twin/multiple moms. You know when you go to a room and forget why you went there? That’s been happening a LOT. I retrace my steps and thoughts and I can’t really remember! Or those times you try to think—and it ends there. All you can do is try? YEP. MOM BRAIN. BRAIN FOG. 😶‍🌫️ (oh my gosh and there’s an emoji for it?! LOL)

Here are two things that’s been helping me for weeks now.

Caffeine

“How did you do it?,” I asked. She said some other stuff and, “lots of coffee.” One meeting can mean a quad shot! Another meeting can be another. It felt like license to take more cups a day and for some reason it was quite liberating. Hehe. I’m used to taking one cup of coffee a day. I increased this to 2–3 cups and they were well within the breastfeeding mom threshold of 300mg of caffeine per day. It worked! I still experienced brain fog, but this time the “trying to think” moves past just trying and actually gets my brain going! I still lose my train of thought, but I find it back.

I’ve also learned from a matcha dependent teammate (hehe) about how coffee gives us an immediate caffeine boost while matcha provides something like a sustained release of caffeine. It’s like coffee without the jitters and it’s got you for the rest of the day, with added calming properties. Some Google-ing and ChatGPT-ing and it made sense. I’ve now been trying one cup of coffee in the morning then one matcha in the afternoon. This combo works well too!

Writing (not Typing)

I also shifted from digital planners and meeting notes to the good old writing using pen and paper. I remember better what I write (vs type). The thing is, if I’m not able to write it, consider it forgotten. 🥲 But so far so good and I’m glad to have worked on a system that’s pretty efficient—I should tell you more about this when I talk about productivity again later.

I think this might work too with a tablet and stylus, but the tactile experience of pen and paper has been better for me this season.

☕️🍵📝

There. If any of you are experiencing that mom brain, I hope this helps. As with other seasons, this has an end, too. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy today with a pen on one hand, and a cup of coffee or matcha on the other!