25 weeks. HORRIBLE NIGHTMARES

[alliekatt]

Hi everyone. I'm 25 weeks pregnant and I've been having these horrible nightmares recently that wake me up and leave me feeling devastated. I've heard that dreams can be very vivid and real but I've been having almost psychopathic nightmares.

In my dreams, location varies a bit but it's mostly in my childhood home where I suffered from various levels of bullying as I child. I'm a huge lover of animals and have many pets at home.

Last night I had a dream where I was torturing some of the smaller animals I've had in the past. Specifically one of my small dogs. I dream that I was using a plastic child's sword to chop the head off my corgi/pug cross but it wasn't working so I just kept slashing leaving gashes all over her neck and head. I remember feeling horrible about it all in my dream but I couldn't stop. This is really messing me up. I WOULD NEVER THINK OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS.

I read that in the second trimester it's normal to dream of small animals/baby animals... but why, when I have these dreams, do I try to kill them? I love animals (perhaps more then people) and definately have always prefered their company. Help me please. I don't know what to do about this and I haven't been able to find any relevant reading materials about it. I'm losing alot of sleep and stressing during the day now about having a nap or laying down for bed at night.

I'm also starting to worry that maybe thsee dreams will affect my baby on a psychological level? Is that possible?

Help!!!

(Apologies for bad spelling and grammar)

 

[PhoenixCT]

Totally normal. I haven't had any dreams where I am violent toward things I love but I've had violent dreams in weird situations where I'm protecting myself or something and I'm viciously attacking something else. I think it's just hormones. I know they can be really vivid and crazy. I don't think it hurts the baby at all.

Perhaps limit the amount of tv and internet just before bed and practice some relaxation techniques to clear your mind so your brain doesn't hold onto anything you've been thinking about recently and use it weirdly in your dreams?

Could be you just see or think about your pets and your brain just plugs them into your dream because they are handily available, yanno?

 

[sil]

Last night I had a dream I went to an elective gender ultrasound. They told me the baby was a boy and then revealed he wasn't developing correctly. After further evaluation they determined the baby was actually an alien and if they didn't remove him by 20 weeks he'd eat me from the inside out

 

[Moom7900]

Sounds like classic anxiety playing out in your dreams. I have an anxiety disorder that focuses on many different things, but all are things I fear and would most hate to be.....violence, being a bad person, etc. I very rarely dream about these things, but rather have random thoughts when awake.
Your nightmares are most likely due to worries and fears about protecting baby and how horrible it would be to harm them etc. It certainly doesn't reflect on you as a person - somebody capable of doing such things would enjoy them, not Class them as a 'nightmare'. Try to go easy on yourself, you can't control what happens in your dreams xxxxx

 

[xdxxtx]

I'm popping in from first Tri and had to comment on this. That is so awful! I would never be able to sleep if I had dreams like that! For me, the trick to getting rid of one of my recurring nightmares is to figure out what it means or why I'm having the dream. I get awful nightmares during pregnancy - usually people trying to kill me, hurt my pregnancy or harm my kids, and anxiety dreams like my partner cheating on me or someone kid napping my child.

If I have had a dream more than once, I know I'm bound to have it until I think it out. I usually discuss it with my partner, we will look up some dream interpretations and eventually settle on a few ideas that match the way I've been feeling. 90% of the time, I'll have a different dream the next night, or I'll stop remembering my dreams for a while. 10% of the time, it takes a lot more effort to get rid of the dream. By then, I AMA sleepless mess and will drink chamomile tea and watch funny tv shows all night until I finally fall asleep, too tired to remember my dream that night.

I really hope that you can figure out why you're having this dream and get rid of it easily. You must feel terrible. Just remember that it isn't what it looks like. You're not actually hurting any beings. You're not a bad person.

 

[broodymrs]

I keep having horrible dreams that are really vivid. I don't really want to even say what happens but along similar lines to yours. It's a relief to wake up. Don't know if it's normal but you're not alone anyway so we can be abnormal together! It won't affect baby psychologically I'm sure. Just not nice for you. When I get them I get up, go and have a cup of tea and read for a bit to clear my head. It's rare that I then continue the dream although some nights I've had several back to back. The getting up definitely helps though.

 

[arturia]

Most likely you have some anxious fears. You could consider speaking to a friend or therapist about how you're feeling and any fears you might have, or you could try using relaxation techniques/positive thinking to try and deal with it. Stuff like that filters through in dreams a lot of the time.

Take a relaxing bath and remember your home isn't your childhood home and your child won't get bullied. Your child won't be affected by the nightmares unless you really stress yourself out over it.

 

[alliekatt]

Thanks so much for replying... I talked to a few people about the dreams I was having.. I found it really helped a lot. .. I've been able to sleep for the last couple of nights. Same thing. Just haven't been remembering much.. I had a really good dream last night... it was a nightmare I haven't had since I was about 6 years old but for some reason all the scary parts were absent. .. those few nights of horrible nightmares kept me up for days. I'm really glad I haven't had them since.

 

[SonnyH]

I'm getting very vivid dreams too, a lot of them nightmares or very stressful! I have a reoccurring dream that for some reason I'm unconscious for the labour and when I wake up, no-one will give me my baby and I get really angry in my dream. I wake up so wound up! I put it down to general first pregnancy anxiety and me not sleeping very well in the second tri. I initially find it quite difficult to get comfy from blooming heartburn and then wake up every couple hours either needing a wee or my back is hurting from too long in one position. I find bedtime quite frustrating at the mo as I know I'll be awake half the time, so I think my brain is over working before I sleep!

But while nightmares are horrible, don't worry, they can't effect your baby other than them possibly sensing you feeling stressed out. But you can't really get rid of stress in pregnancy, live has to go on! Ive spent the last two weeks dealing with such a rude and aggressive client at work, I get so annoyed, poor baby must think I'm a right stress head!

 

[alliekatt]

29 weeks update: the nightmares appear to be gone (thank the gods). I've not been sleeping through the night for weeks now but it doesn't seem to be bothering me any. I sleep rather comfortably with three goose down pillows; one under my head, one under my belly and one between my legs. I haven't had any pain or discomfort sleeping and I've been lucky enough to not have any sort of back pain either. (Again, thank the gods). Maybe the pillows are doing the trick for me? I'm certainly cozy, cool and cofortable hugging them all night lol. Back to the lack of sleep... I wake up every few hours feeling completely rested. It's actually a struggle sometimes to get back to sleep out of sheer bordem. The nightmares left me feeling awake and drained. Since they've been gone I just feel awake and rejuvenated. A blessing in disguise I suppose. Not so much for the hubby who has been tired every morning because I stir him a few times in the night. I just wonder if this is my body preparing itself for lack of sleep later on? Either way I got some great advice from everyone who replied. It's really taken a load off my mind without taking a load off my wallet. I appreciate all your comments so much. Thank you thank you thank, and I wish you all healthy happy pregnancies and easy labours ��