Dreams

Given the fact that you remember whatever dreams happened closest to a waking point, I'm not sure whether pregnant women actually dream more, or if they simply wake up in the night more. I can vouch for the fact that I wake up at least a dozen times a night to shift pillows, pee, and sometimes for no reason at all.

At any rate, I've quite an active dream life at the moment.

As a third time mom, I'm noticing my dreams revolving less around birthing a talking baby seal in a tuxedo or leaving the baby at the open air market, and more around terrible things happening to my older two.

My most recent horrific "sleep brain movie" was dreaming that my 2yo wandered towards a giant grate covering a culvert under the road full of floodwater, fell in before I could grab her, and I was desperately searching everywhere for an opening to jump in after her. I woke up with my heart pounding over 130 BPM, and had to repeat to myself over and over: "She's OK, I can protect her better than that in real life, she's really just here beside me. She's good, I'm good, we're good." Breathe, breathe, breathe. It's THE most awful feeling you can feel as a parent.

Not one to take most dreams as predictions or warnings, I called a friend to talk it over. Of course, I'm worried about my middle "baby" getting lost in the shuffle of family adjustments. I had similar dreams about my firstborn when I was pregnant with my second...you'd think I'd learn. :OP

Strangely enough, this funny little story brought me comfort. :D

There's room enough in my family for another child. There's love enough to go around. We're capable, and children are fairly flexible. There's time enough to love and "shuggle" (as my 2yo calls snuggling) everyone. No one will fall irretrievably down a drainpipe.

Now, if I could only find a reasonable explanation for the odd sex dreams, dreams of being chased by an ugly pig man and stabbing him with a fork, strange hybrid rabid crocodiles and dreams about jumping around rooftops like Mary Poppins, I'll be all set.

What's that you say? Hormones? Yes. That is a reasonable explanation for everything that currently ails me. That and forgetting to take my cal/mag. ;OP