I Need a Dream Catcher Big Time!

Sleeping has become real interesting around the Ueckert household lately. Not only have my sleep patterns become total chaos but the accompanying dreams are something straight out of a Tim Burton movie. And, to top it off my doctor has informed me that I am only allowed to sleep in two postions which also furthers my restlessness and is the cause of these flip flop aerobics I perform each night in bed...Plus, I pee on average 3-4 times amidst all that. Pregnancy is a joyous experience! That is what I tell myself each time I get up or roll over or adjust my pillows or wake up in a cold sweat from the latest monster that has attacked me.

I have always been a belly or side sleeper for as long as I can remember. After getting pregnant for some reason I began to wake up and find myself flat on my back. No big deal I thought. It was comfortable and I was sleeping so it worked for me. At the doctor a few weeks ago I was advised it is no longer safe to sleep on my back. Apparently as I get bigger it puts pressure on my Vena Cava (I know, my what?) and that cuts off blood flow to the baby. Obviously, this is a rather important function so I left the doctor totally freaked out. What if I wake up on my back and don't realize I have been there for hours? I had to take action. Immediately I went to Target and bought a King size pillow and that night I crawled into bed with my husband and two new partners...my king sized pillow to put behind me and a Standard size pillow to put between my legs. It didn't go so hot. The King pillow didn't allow me to move around and my hips ached the next morning from being wedged open with the Standard pillow. I did not however end up on my back that night so mission accomplished. Things have gotten better with my pillow partners but my hips have taken a beating. Sometimes my aching hips actually wake me up in the middle of the night as if my full bladder or wild dreams waking me isn't already enough.

So, the dreams...WOW! They are out of this world...sometimes literally! And, apparently you remember your dreams more when you are pregnant because you wake up more often during REM sleep and that allows you recover your thoughts. What is interesting is that sometimes there is a story line and sometimes there are just random images and moments in time. Lately I have even experienced dreams that are so crazy that I wake up in a hot or cold sweat, sometimes with tears running down my cheeks and most recently I awoke with a huge scratch on the top of my hand. Last night for example I dreamt my mom had a twin and they were both driving some SUV with the passenger door open. They were driving in reverse and took the passenger door off at the hinges going 70 miles an hour. What? The night before I dreamt I held a CAbi show at a dive bar called the Buggy Whip that my dad has visited ever since I was a kid. I tend to have animals in my dreams quite often and for a while I was dreaming a lot about having little girls. Hmmmm! Now that I say that...It was a sign! Although I hope my mom doesn't have a long lost twin and that I never have to do a CAbi show at a dive bar :-) But anyway, I dreamt about having twin girls multiple nights in a row a few weeks back. Sometimes I would actually deliver them from my body myself and they would come out looking perfect and already all bundled up in blankets or with bows in their hair. I mean, this is some crazy stuff right! I also have dreamt a lot about people from my past. Mostly old friends from elementary school and high school. People I have not thought about in years though and I wake up wondering...Where did they come from?

So needleess to say, I think I should track down a Dream Catcher to help filter some of these wild thoughts or maybe if nothing else invest in a Dream definition book to find out what all this silliness is about. And so the sleeping saga continues and I am sure there will be many more restless nights in my future. I figure this is just preparation for what's to come in August so I better get used to it now!