Both of these things have been very much apart of my pregnancy, even before I knew I was actually pregnant.
From my experience these intense dreams ranged from emotional, physical, to down right strange (to the point that I don't think the world's best psychologist would be able to explain). One dream that will probably stick with me for awhile was towards the end of my first trimester; in the dream I was in a city when a strange man grabbed my arm and cut it. The burning of the cut was great enough I woke up and could still feel it, I actually even got up to check to make sure I hadn't somehow cut or scratched myself in my sleep only to find zero marks. After this occurred, I decided to do some reading and discovered why vivid dreams are so prevalent during pregnancy. The best explanation came from an article Pregnancy Dreams: Why Dreams During Pregnancy Are So Intense by Rebecca Turner who dives into the hormonal aspect of dreaming. During pregnancy a woman's body (and brain) is flooded with hormones (just ask any dad-to-be), particularly progesterone, estrogen and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). These hormones along with the fact that women are waking up every few hours means that not only are women dreaming more but that they are in fact remembering more because of the disturbance in their sleep cycle.
Did I forget that again? I realized this was a common phrase coming from my mouth for several months as I felt the frustration of realizing I forgot something. From forgetting to complete a chore, make copies for class, to even forgetting to buy groceries. Forgetting things was not in my personality, even ask my husband, I can remember word-for-word a conversation I have had with someone from several years back, what I paid for something, or how a place looked even if I was simply driving by (however, I will openly admit that I am horrible with names). I always thought pregnancy brain was a myth, but quickly discovered that it is indeed a reality and the more I spoke with other women the more I came to realize that it is something that is going to be a part of my life for awhile. I have noticed that as my pregnancy has progressed I have felt like I am forgetting less; but I am unsure if that is because of the hormone changes from the first to second trimester, or if I have developed enough cooping mechanisms to survive. I do admit that I have kept multiple calendars, broke into my stash of Post-its, along with relied heavily on my phone; but in the end who doesn't do that already?
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