As I type this, I am spending the week in a house with six kids under the age of nine. Three boys and three girls living their absolute best life.
I’m lying in bed listening to the kids run in and out of bedrooms, slam doors, laugh, yell and whisper. One coughs and I can tell its mine. I hear it again followed by a sneeze. Definitely mine and mine. I wait for it and sure enough in she comes asking for tissues.
How do moms develop this spidey-like sense? Even in a house with six children, how have I learned to pick out exactly which noise is made by my child?
Laughter, whining, sassy backtalk, sneezes, crying, fake crying, and more. I can hear it from miles away and know exactly if it belongs to me and which one of mine is making the sound.
Thinking back to when I had a new baby, I remember struggling to understand all of the needs and wants of an infant. The overwhelm of being a new mom and not knowing what to do.
I remember my mom telling me that I would be able to distinguish the cries and sounds soon. To give us time to learn with each other. I wasn’t so sure I would ever get the hang of it at that moment.
She was right. I soon learned the hungry cry versus the wet diaper versus the tired cry. I learned how to hear her in the middle of the night from a dead sleep and even now I can hear the girls arguing upstairs while I am in the downstairs shower.
How does that happen?
Mom brain is not always a bad thing, it can be an amazing thing too.
Have you ever been at a crowded playground hanging out watching from a bench while your kid runs around? You hear one child yell “mom” from somewhere in the distance and all the women turn their heads to the sound.
Only one stands up. She can’t see her child but she knows that mom-call was meant for her.
She knows it wasn’t an emergency because that mom sounds different. You go back to your business and wait for the “mom” call that’s meant for you.
Mom brain can be frustrating. It is associated with forgetfulness and overflowing emotions. Its the overall sense of overwhelm that comes with parenting. Does it go away? Maybe, or maybe not.
If you don’t think you have this mom thing figured out yet, you will.
Or maybe you aren’t giving yourself enough credit. Being able to decipher your baby’s cries or pick your child’s sneeze or laugh out of a crowded room of kids is a pretty amazing feat.
Can dad do that? I doubt it!
Have you ever thought about the things you just know as a mom? Share your proud mom moments in the comments below.
