By Charlene O'Hanlon
Being pregnant holds many new experiences, from "pregnancy brain" to
feeling baby's kick. And while I enjoyed almost everything about those
new experiences, the thing I enjoyed the most-even looked forward to-was
dreaming.
I don't know if it was the surge or hormones or just my body's way of
adapting to the changes that were happening, but I had some of the most
fantastic, vivid dreams during my pregnancy. I've always enjoyed
dreaming and have many times tried to interpret my dreams, so having
them be so real, so "experiential," was an extra treat.
What did I dream? For the most part, my dreams started out very
pedestrian: my family sitting around the dining room table; me sitting
under a tree; my husband and I driving in our car. But then the dining
room table lifted off the ground (which I interpreted as us "going
places"), or the branches of the tree I was sitting under encircled me
in a caring embrace (which I interpreted as being loved), or our drive
ended up in my home town about 2,500 miles from where we live (which I
interpreted as the importance of family and familiar environments).
The plot of the dreams weren't what made them so vivid, however. My
senses, which were heightened by the pregnancy, turned each dream into a
4D experience. When I was sitting at the dining room table I could
smell the spring air with a hint of honeysuckle coming through the
window. When I was embraced by the tree I could feel the leaves brushing
back and forth against my face and the texture of the bark on my hands.
When we were in my hometown I could smell the wonderful aroma of
homemade tortillas and sopapillas wafting through the air and hear the
sounds of a mariachi band off in the distance.
I came to enjoy my dream experiences so much that I was disappointed
when I no longer had that increased awareness in my dreams after our
baby was born (not that I was sleeping much anyway). Soon enough, I was
back to dreaming about work, the kids being late for school and other
mundane subjects.
Everyone has something unique to their pregnancy that makes it a
special time. For me, it was dreaming my big adventures. Which
inevitably brought me right back to where I belong.