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Originally Posted by missmarcy
Thank you ladies.
Maybe I should have clarified it's not the scrapbooking that has me so sad. It's that the memories aren't there in my brain - for me, if that makes sense. Not in a sense of "I can't scrap it because I don't remember it". I'm frustrated that I could have forgotten so much of my kids' lives in their little years. But, good to know that it's not an uncommon thing. I guess I wasn't prepared or even aware that this kind of thing happens when the mind is overloaded. There's a big difference in "I don't remember what I ate for dinner" and "I barely recall any of my baby's first year of life" =(
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I totally get what you are saying about this. My husband died when I was pregnant, so a lot of those first moments with my son were lost in my grief and not something that I can really remember. Instead, I just remember being sad, scared and overwhelmed. I think it is the overwhelmed that gets you. There just isn't enough room in your brain to take in, much less store away, everything that is happening.
My advice is two fold. First, stop feeling bad about it, Mom. You were busy taking care of the baby and 5 other kids. I would say doing that successfully on your own is a huge win and that you should be proud of yourself. You may not remember exactly how you did it all, but you did it all. To me, that is mighty impressive.
Second, now that you know your brain is overwhelmed and your memory is going to suffer for it, start a journal. Make it something super easy. Use a day planner that has lines instead of calendar squares and just jot down a few things everyday. If you've taken a photo of a moment, say something like "took a photo of ..." That way you can go back and link the two things up later.
There is no guarantee that you will remember things any better looking back, but honestly, writing things down is a great memory exercise and could help. It definitely won't hurt. And when you do have time to scrap, it will all come together more easily and may spark a good feeling, if not the actual memory itself.