Friday, July 18, 2008

Pregnancy Dreams

Happy Friday! I am surprised that I even know what day of the week it is, considering that I do not have a summer job (so who really cares what day of the week it is because I don't have to be anywhere important at any time!!!) and I have been pretty out of it because of lack of sleep. I have not been sleeping very well the past couple of weeks. I wake up at all hours of the night, just staring at the ceiling. I am not sure why. It is not like I am worried or thinking about things. I am nowhere near stressed - I lay by the pool all day, read my book, and nibble on Bon-Bons! A few times I have felt the need to use bathroom, but other than that, I just wake up and cannot fall back to sleep. I am wide awake for about an hour or two. I have tried counting sheep, stars on the American flag, putting the pillow over my head, and reading. Nothing really seems to work! It is very frustrating because I become very tired and sluggish around three o'clock (after I get home from the pool and should be doing some form of housework so my hubby doesn't think I was lounging poolside all day).

Along with this lack of sleep, I have had some really crazy and disturbing dreams. When I am actually able to sleep, these dreams have woke me up out of dead sleep. They are so real and I can remember every detail so vividly. I did a little research online and babycenter seemed to sum it up why I am having these wacko-Jacko dreams in the best way:

"Dreams are like funhouse mirrors that reflect your emotional state. Since pregnancy can feel like an emotional roller coaster, don't be surprised if your dreams become more vivid and crazy than usual. Dreams also become more vivid during pregnancy because of increased progesterone and increased awakenings from dream-filled REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

Some experts think pregnancy dreams — which can be about everything from tadpoles and fishes to talking animals and towering skyscrapers — symbolize your excitement, fear, and apprehension about the physical and emotional changes happening to you. They believe that certain themes are common to each stage of pregnancy."

Well, I am not dreaming about tadpoles and fishes. My dreams are more about running down the street to my favorite bagel-joint butt-naked and growing a thick beard and then ripping the hair out (it didn't hurt though). So, I decided to go a step further and research some of the looney dreams I have had the past couple of weeks. I used one of my favorite new sites, babyzone, to decipher some of dreams.

My first nut-so pregnancy dream was about running down the street naked to my favorite bagel shop. When I mean my dreams have been vivid, I can say I was clearly naked - not one piece of fabric to cover any part of my body. Everything was out in the open on the warm and sunny morning when this all took place. When I was almost there I questioned how I was going to go any further without getting arrested. That is when I woke up. I looked up "nudity", since that was the "main theme" of the dream, and it stated that nudity represents "feelings of vulnerability and symbolizes how a pregnant woman's condition is exposed to the entire world." Oh, did I expose myself to the entire world in that dream or what!!!

The second dream that I had was about how I was walking around a market fair that was in a white tent (everything at that was being sold was very girly - hair things, pink and purple, ribbons, sparkles) and I had a beard. Now, I couldn't see my whole body in this dream. It was almost as if I were looking at my mouth in a hand mirror. The hair on the beard was on the longer side (about 2-3 inches) and it was a light tan (much lighter than my current hair color) and soft. I was pulling it out, but it did not hurt. Then I woke up. According to babyzone, dreaming about hair "has many meanings. It is associated with beauty, where lack or loss of hair symbolizes passing youth. Long hair represents creativity, while short hair, or hair that's been cut, indicates lack of creativity." I am just going to say that this dream meant I am getting more beautiful and creative as I get older...hahaha! There was nothing about "pregnant women growing beards" on babyzone!

My third, and nicest dream, was about my grandfather who passed away about eight years ago. It took place in my parents backyard. My dad, husband, and I were sitting outside by the pool on a gorgeous day. It was sunny, warm, and not a cloud in the blue sky. My grandfather pulled into the driveway in a maroon car. He was about twenty feet away. He got out of the car, smiled, and waved. That was it! I decided not to look anything up on this dream because I truly believe that it was just my grandfather coming to say "hi" (he came to say "hi" one other time in my dream about five years ago). I was very close to him growing up...my mom and I lived with my grandparents for a long time. He was always the "father figure" in my life, until my dad (stepfather, but I call him "Dad") came along. It is sort of ironic how it was just myself and the most important men of my life in my dream. I think it's neat!

My last and MOST RIDICULOUS dream that I had took place on a couch. I was sitting next to my husband and on my baby bump there was a smaller bump near my belly button. I was telling my husband to pet the baby's head. He took a razor, cut a two inch slit through my yellow shirt, and I pulled out, basically a toddler. Now, this was no ordinary baby/toddler. I hate to say this, but, IT WAS THE UGLIEST BABY I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. It had a huge head, a mop of black hair, weirdo eyes, and a full set of adult teeth. In the dream I thought it was cute. I kept telling my husband to figure out the sex of the baby. Of course it was wearing a yellow, green, and white striped pajama set so he yelled at me and told me to put it back before it got an infection. So, I put it back and that is when I woke up. I was too afraid to look up "ugly baby" so I chose to look up baby and this is what it told me that "expectant parents and parents of young children often dream of babies. These dreams take many forms, from babies who are born deformed or become lost, to dreams of abandonment and death. These dreams are not premonitions; rather they are simply a parent's way of dealing with the anxiety and responsibility inherent in parenting. " I guess I am scared of having an ugly baby???

Did you have wacky-tabbacky dreams when you were preggo? I would LOVE to hear about them!!! Have a great weekend!

-MTB Stacie

9 comments:

Pam said...

I know that while I was prego I had crazy dreams too- I can't remember any of them now due to the lack of sleep that follows being pregnant- but I know I had them!

I hope you are enjoying blogging and being part of New Mommy Rant!

Missi said...

Freud would have a lot to say about those dreams!!

When I was pregnant, I had really crazy sex dreams. My cheeks blush just saying that! My hormones were raging!

Heather said...

I had lots of weird dreams and they were like you said - very vivid. There was one where I put the baby in the closet and forgot about it. When I rushed in in a panic to save it, it was a cat.

Then there was one where I was going through my hubbys dresser drawers and found a rubber corn cob dog toy that he'd been using in a gay affair. (how's that for a visual!) How ridiculous, But when I woke up I was so mad at him and that anger stayed all day.

Tracy said...

Preggo dreams are the weirdest. With my first pregnancy I had a dream that I gave birth to a black baby. I kept wondering how I was going to explain this to my blonde hair, blue eyed, fair skinned husband. When I woke up I layed there wondering if I had been with a black man in recent months because I just couldn't remember. Duh I was happily married and not promiscous (spelling?) in any sense of the word. The obvious answer that should have popped into my head immediatly was NO!

Future Mom (Heather) said...

well i am not prego yet (unfortunately) but i have weird dreams all the time...pretty much every night since i was old enough to remember them.

i have a lot of sex dreams about people on tv and random people too! i never remember if we actually had sex in the dreams but we sure came close...and most of the people aren't even that attractive or my type at all for some reason.

one night last week i was having a funny dream & laughing out loud so hard that the hubs eventually had to wake me up cause he couldn't sleep. a different night i dreamed that i caught the hubs having an affair. the next day i was really mad at him (in real life-when i woke up).

last night i had a dream that i was in a work meeting and some guy from my work was sexually harassing me but then another one was hugging me in my parent's kitchen!? that was awkward to see them at work today LOL

these things make no sense but sure are funny. hopefully you can get some better sleep soon :)

Danielle said...

sure make you have some crazy ass dream. I used to dream there was a man staring at me while I slept in ym bedroom. I am sure I had others but I can't seem to remember them now. I blocked them out. Any dreams about ants?

Mommy Mechanics said...

Oh yes, I definitely had the ugly baby dream. I think every mom is a little fearful of giving birth to a hidious looking child lol. Ah pregnancy dreams are crazy.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I remember having crazy dreams when I was PG with Kaelin, but now I can't remember the details of any of them!?!?

Mozi Esme said...

Enjoy the pool, the bonbons, and the reading! All that "me" time won't last much longer!

I'm with Amber on the dreams - I can't remember any of them! I like the first one - I must say all my preconceived ideas of modesty went out the window when I was in the pain of labor . . .