When I was pregnant, I dreamed I was carrying around my newborn and he was so charming. He already talked in complete sentences and cracked jokes, and was totally impressed by everything I showed him. "Strawberry banana juice?!" he remarked at the deli. "Both? Together? Wow." And it turned out that totally was his personality: curious and fun.
So maybe I take too seriously all the dreams of disaster and despair that have followed: being locked out of the house with him inside, forgetting I was a parent and going on vacation with him home alone — assorted worst-parent-ever mishaps. This post on CafeMom's new DailyBuzz site made me feel better.
Turns out these dreams about horrible stuff happening to kids isn't just Brooke Shields territory - it's super common to dream about babies being "left in cars,
kidnapped, in plane crashes, left in stores." The CafeMom writer says:
Last night I had a dream that my baby drowned . . . I checked out what drowning symbolized and it said, "To see someone
drowning in your dream represents a loss in your own identity. You are
unable to differentiate who you are any more." I beg to differ. I know
exactly who I am: I'm my baby's mother!
Indeed, being a parent guarantees periodic freak-outs about your child's well-being, both in your conscious and subconscious minds. What kind of dreams, good or terrifying, have you had about your kid?
Photo source: CafeMom's Daily Buzz.