New findings by brain researcher Kelly Lambert, professor and chair of the psychology department at Randolph-Macon College, suggest that fatherhood may change more than just a man’s lifestyle – it may actually cause lasting benefits in his brain.
Full story here. It’s difficult to say whether I’ve noticed any brain change since Ava’s been born. I know Leah’s come across some study that says mothers become more forgetful and scattered after their baby arrives.
The body and mind are amazing things. I remember when Ava was first born, and I was running back and forth between Leah — who was in a recovery room whacked out on morphine — and Ava in the nursery, it seemed like I couldn’t fathom how I’d ever be able to go back to a normal life with normal things like mowing the grass or working or talking on the phone or driving. Seeing Ava for the first time was just such a shock, such a total mindbender, that I was feeling like I’d been turned inside out.
But your mind somehow gets over this amazement of suddenly having a part of itself out running around in the world in a different, smaller body. Things go back to normal, or at least normal comes to look different. If some scientist is telling me that my baby has changed my brain, I’ll buy it. I wouldn’t doubt it. Just don’t ask me to put my finger on the changes.