Dreams

[bananabee]

You know you're cosleeping if you dream that your doctor is giving you a breast exam only to wake up and find that the sensation continues.

Is anyone else having their dreams influenced by having a newborn? I find I still have all sorts of crazy dreams like I did before she was born, only now she's in most of them even if she doesn't fit the storyline.

[slsurface]

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I thought about posting a similar thread because I've been having super wacky dreams! I chalk it up to all the hormonal changes postpartum and being woken every hour. My dreams are seriously strange. I had one last week that can only be described as a cross between "Battlestar Galactica" and Joss Wehdon's "Dollhouse" - it was super weird and very vivid.

[Tulafina]

Yes! I just wish it was something wacky or weird....mine are awful.

I dreamt that my DH took all 3 kids out for a day of fun(yes the newborn too...weird) and I went out shortly after to go shopping. When I returned to my house there were 3 police cars in front of my house. I got out of the car and I knew something was very wrong. They then told me that my entire family had been killed a car wreck. I was bawling in my sleep and it wasn't until my Dh woke me up that I realized it wasn't true. All of my dreams are surrounded with death. It's absolutely awful.

[bananabee]

Oh Tulafina! That's awful! I hope you have some pleasant dreams soon. I wouldn't want to go to sleep if that's what I dreamt about.

Slsurface, yes exactly the kind of dreams I often have lately! I had one that I was on a large space ship with DD and my younger sister that I don't get along with AT ALL, and there was this huge jellyfish-like alien outside that was sucking the energy out of the station and rapidly multiplying. There was a shuttle leaving for a space station, so we got on that before the crowd started panicking. We arrived at the station that greatly resembled the mall back home, and I grabbed a shopping cart to carry all our stuff and go shopping. My sister and I got into a huge stupid argument about where to eat and whether to find the restroom before ordering or not, and we ended up splitting up. Then the security guards started following me around to see if I was shoplifting, because apparently a woman in pajamas carrying a tiny newborn is suspicious around there. Haha. I was so glad to be rid of my sister, though! Guess I'd rather be in jail than on a trip with her. Yipes.

[slsurface]

Originally Posted by Tulafina

Yes! I just wish it was something wacky or weird....mine are awful.

I dreamt that my DH took all 3 kids out for a day of fun(yes the newborn too...weird) and I went out shortly after to go shopping. When I returned to my house there were 3 police cars in front of my house. I got out of the car and I knew something was very wrong. They then told me that my entire family had been killed a car wreck. I was bawling in my sleep and it wasn't until my Dh woke me up that I realized it wasn't true. All of my dreams are surrounded with death. It's absolutely awful.

Oh, that stinks! I've had a couple scary dreams too, they were no fun at all .

[Burnindinner]

Isn't dreaming a good sign of getting sleep? How long do you have to sleep to get into REM?

Well, I guess not that long because when I doze I have the weirdest ones. Usually just realistic enough to confuse me as to what has really happened in my life and what I dreamed!

[bananabee]

The average person sleeps about 90 mins before hitting REM, and each sleep cycle you go through in a row gets you more deep sleep and longer REM periods.

I have narcolepsy, and tend to hit REM right away, but all my deep (delta wave) sleep is interrupted by lighter sleep stages (called alpha wave intrusion) and REM, so then I end up not getting any significant amount of restorative sleep.

Having a newborn wake you up frequently produces a similar effect.

I have a medication that consolidates my sleep, but I've had to go off it in order to breastfeed. For each day that I'm off it, I get more and more sleep-deprived no matter how much I sleep. Most new moms get a chance to experience for a while something like what people w/narcolepsy go through every day, minus some of the more severe symptoms (hallucinations, cataplexy, sleep paralysis).

Anyway...I guess my point is it's nice having good company for a while. =)