Beginner help please

[Smudgefish]

I'm new to this and looking for a bit of advice. Been reading the forum like mad, doing RCs regularly (at least hourly, if I see anything unusual, and trying to make them quality RCs) for 4 days now and keeping a dream diary. Waking myself at night with a phone app and woken up numerous times whilst dreaming. For the last 2 nights attempting DEILD if I can, tried some WILD techniques, and tried SSILD several times. I seem to be able to bring on HI very quickly most of the time and can fall asleep easily, always before the imagery gets real enough to feel like I can step into it; I think that's the way I'm most likely to get WILD to work for me once I can control it well enough. I meditate daily for at least 40 minutes. So far no LDs or FAs. Looking at my dream diary I would say that all my dreams have been quite bland - just driving around, going shopping, watching children playing, quite boring really. Nothing there that would really make me question reality yet so maybe not surprising I haven't been triggered to RC in a dream yet. The closest I have come so far to anything 'special' was a just after SSILD the night before last when I felt myself lose sensation of my body, reality slipping away, and it was like looking at a rush matting pattern in front of my eyes. I panicked and woke myself up - wish I hadn't now! The main problem I seem to be having is that after falling asleep in the early hours I always wake up within minutes (it feels like that anyway), without dreaming, with my heart pounding in a state of nervous excitement. I think I am falling asleep and my body is saying "Wow! this is almost it, it's so exciting" and I wake up before anything has a chance to develop. I always do an RC, try to move my dream body, but I'm definitely awake. I go through this at least 5 times every morning. My questions are: 1) Is this waking up with nervous excitement something that will settle? 2) Am I expecting an LD too soon? 3) Am I trying too many techniques at once? 4) Any other advice based on the above? Thanks.