Intuition and Premonitions

I have long believed in intuition and premonitions, though knowing that these gifts are stronger in some than others. Once again my intuition has proven right as I woke when my latest client was in early labour in the wee hours of one morning last week. I was in a very deep sleep, I remember the dream I was in vividly, and I heard a doorbell. It took me a while to pull myself awake and once I was awake I knew it was my client in labour. I was curious about the doorbell rather than the phone ringing, but this is a logical option as they will be driving to the birth center a mere five minutes from my home and they may have stopped here instead of calling first. I checked outside to be sure it wasn't them, and it wasn't, so I knew labour was early and I would hear from them if it developed into a good labour pattern or would not if the contractions slowed. I did feel a bit uneasy though because I felt she would have the same efficient and quick labour she had with her first son, but that there would be a concern of some sort at the birth. Knowing I could do nothing at this point, I fell back to sleep.

They stopped by on their way to their next midwifery appointment the next morning and confirmed my belief that she had indeed been in labour at the exact time I woke and that it had stopped a couple of hours later. She gave birth in water Sunday evening to a 9 lb 7 oz son after a quick but intense labour. The concern I felt was shoulder dystocia which was handled superbly by their midwife as she used the Gaskin Maneuver, but it was a tough dystocia and three minutes before babe was out and not breathing. He started breathing very quickly on his own and pinked up quickly, thank you God.

One of the unique strengths of my intuition is my knowing when my clients go into labour and being prepared for their call. After many clients I have never been wrong. I have also known what each of my children were before they were born as well as predicting the daughters my two sisters had. I also have very strong premonitions when my sons are hurt badly, like when Eric broke his foot. I knew where each would be hurt (in Eric's case, I knew it was his lower leg), though the cause is sometimes vague. This is a wonderful gift at times, but very difficult when you anticipate a bad event.

Sleep
It is with amazement that I write today at the effects of a solid nights sleep. Even with a cold and at the tail end of a mild flu I find even 7 hous of sleep, without interruption, blissful. I am just now able to sleep through the night in the absence of my childrens' needs for the first time in close to five years. Sound unbelievable? There's more, for much of those five years, I never slept for more than two hours at a time!

I have blogged before about sleep and my personal sleep deprivation experiences. For those of you who have not gone without sleep (other than self-inflicted, which doesn't count) because of children, work, or other reasons, I can no longer imagine that blissful ignorance. Before I had children, I truly believed that I needed 10 hours of sleep in order to function... and indeed that was the case. If I did not, I was a bear not to be reckoned with!

Eric was born and amazingly slept through the night at seven weeks... and I whined about that length of time. Ryan brought a once nightly waking until he was 2 1/2... and I grumbled about that. Then Brendan came, my "non-sleeping baby," who continued to wake at least every two hours, even after his sister was born three years later. He grew out of his waking during his third year and was replaced by his sister, who now woke in his schedule. Well, she is now consistently sleeping through the night at almost 20 months... and I am astounded at how little sleep I truly need!