Boy have I been having some funky dreams lately! For fear of boring you senseless, last night, rather than being woken up entirely by baby calisthenics at 4am and using it as my usual cue to get up and go pee, my brain simply incorporated the movements into my dream state.
I was utterly convinced I had an alien cat baby trying to claw its way out of my belly. A short anxious and sweaty while later, I awoke to a clammy darkness with the duvet completely covering my head and the cat sleeping peacefully against my bump. P was snoring happily away at my side and it would appear that we had left the central heating roaring. So, this time, a nightmare caused by getting too hot.
I've also had a number of anxiety dreams about the birth itself - no need for details - and about breastfeeding (after reading several chapters of an unnecessarily complicated book on the topic before turning off the light).
This really is nothing new - I've been having vivid night visions for weeks now, it's just a bit frustrating that there is yet another thing that seems hell bent on disturbing my precious rest! This is all apparently normal of course – it's natural to be feeling some anxiety about the unknown – after all, having a baby is a huge change to anyone's life – regardless of if you've had one before or not. Many women feel like this and you can bet that all those hormones coursing through our veins have no small part to play as well.
Best thing for it I'm told is to have some 'quiet time' before bed (so no more watching the news or a particularly action packed film), have a relaxing bath and maybe a milky drink too. Oh, and make sure the bedroom's not overheated. That should keep the monsters at bay!
Have you had weird and vivid dreams while pregnant? What did you do to help you relax before sleep?