Hello Everyone,
I am 5 months pregnant with #2. I have read that pregnancy can bring on vivid dreams. I had a few with my first pregnancy, but they were about eating or bugs or something benign. Last night I had a HORRIBLE dream!! I dreamt that I lost both of my kids. I did not have details on how other than that one had an illness of some sort.
It was a dream that I actually felt. I woke up sobbing and I couldn't stop. It was so painful for me to think of losing my babies and then I felt guilty for even dreaming of such a horrible thing!!
I was finally able to pull myself together and rest in the fact that they were okay. I still feel sad though and I didn't want to leave my son at daycare this morning. What does it mean?? Is it a sign of what's to come? I have a relative who is going in for an amnio next week and I'm very nervous for her. I also tried to call my dad yesterday and was unable to reach him. Things are also VERY stressful at work right now. Could it just be a subconscious thing?
I've had dreams of losing a relative and even about my baby growing up without me, but NEVER me living without my baby! Could this be a sign that I'll have post-partum this time? I didn't have it with my last one.
I'm just trying to make sense out of such a horrible experience!
Don't stress out about the content of your dreams. Yes you definitely have more vivid dreams when pregnant and they can be both good and bad. They don't mean anything!
What kindof TV shows or movies have you been watching? I am very, very sensitive to any media and even seeing a commercial for something violent or bad can invoke incredible nightmares. And, my dreams are incredibly real and I do wake up extremely terrified at times and this is when I'm not pregnant!
And, stress will absolutely influence your dreams and yes your dreams are a subconscious way of working through some of this. However, since I no longer watch any commercial television, except on rare occasions, take time for myself, exercise, etc., these are now very rare.
The best thing you can do for you and your baby is to relax, avoid negative things (even the news or people). Personally, the primary impact right now will likely be on your delivery - stress will make it far, far worse. I don't think this is necessarily a predictor of post-partum problems, but it certainly was based on my own experiences.
I had a day and night difference between my first and second pregnancies and post-partum experiences due entirely to stress and what I was doing (or not doing) to nurture and take care of myself during the pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, I worked way too many hours in a job where I really created most of the stress myself by taking on big projects - I thrived on the challenge. HOwever, I developed pre-emclampsia and had to be induced at 38 weeks - the baby ended up in ICU for 3 days. I also had difficulty nursing post-partum and he was a very fussy baby. So, I did learn my lesson and during the last few months of my 2nd pregnancy, I told my boss that I was going to take it fairly easily, come in later than normal and leave earlier than normal. Since I had a good record at work, he was fine with this. Also, my doctor has said that she would do the paperwork for me to go on my short term disability during the last month. But, I didn't want to do that - I do better when I keep busy. I also continued to work out and made sure I got enough sleep. I went into labor on a Wednesday morning with contractions about 10 minutes apart. Since I had a doctor appt in the afternoon, I just went into work (working out for about 30 minutes in the morning) and was at work until I went for my appt at 2pm. I told the doctor I thought I was in labor, so they hooked me up to the monitor. At 4:00 pm, they sent me downstairs to check myself in. I went to my car, got my stuff and finished my liter of water (once they get you in there, they often limit your liquid intake). I check in at 4:30 pm and my son was born at 9:21. We nursed right after birth and had a relaxing stay in the hospital with him in my room. He gained 2 lbs in the first two weeks after birth, as opposed to my first son who lost 5 ounces and was a "failure to thrive" baby.
I'm not trying to scare you, but just to emphasize that based on my experiences, stress is one of your worst enemies, especially during pregnancy. The stress in your life will impact your fetus, your delivery and your infant. So, please try to find an outlet for your stress - for me with two teenagers, yoga and walking every nite after dinner do the trick. I also take a long bath at least once a week, read a good book for 30 minutes after they're in bed before I go to sleep and take time for myself before they get up on Sun am.
this sounds normal to me! i had HORRIBLE dreams too! i agree that trying not to expose yourself to bad things on tv etc could help BUT i think the worst thing you can do is stress ABOUT your dreams...the dreams themselves are stressful enough, right!? try to relax and enjoy your new growing bundle of J.! :)
I also had bad scary dreams when I was pregnant. I did not have post-partum problems. I think it is all about anxiety. Relaxation exercises or meditation before you go to sleep may help.
sounds pretty normal to me. When I was pg, I had such crazy dreams, I started writing them down. I either had really weird dreams, really bad dreams, or really vivid sex dreams. I didn't have any problems with post-partum.
Even now, I have at least 1 dream a year where there is a horrible tornado coming and I have to choose who to save: my husband, my child, or my dog. Pretty horrible, huh? I blame that nightmare on growing up in tornado alley and spending many spring nights waking up to tornado sirens. ;)
2 nights ago, I had a dream I had Thanksgiving dinner with the Obamas. If I read a book before bed with an intense scene, I'll dream about that all night. If I play a late soccer or hockey game, I'll dream about that all night.
Anyway, it all seems pretty normal to me! ;)
