Sleepwalker

I am a sound sleeper and always have been. (I slept through a car crash outside my window, a bedroom visit from firefighters checking for CO and  didn't even notice when my parents once slid a three-pound bag of peanut M&Ms under my pillow -- really.)

With that sound sleeping came the occasional sleep-walking episode. I'd walk in my room, out in the hall, into my parents' room, and even down the stairs.

I've been reminded of those unusual sleep routines recently, now that Elise is sleeping in a twin bed and has discovered that she can actually get out of bed if she wants. There no longer are crib rails to confine her.

She has adjusted quite well to sleeping in a regular bed -- when she is sleeping. It can be a different story if she cannot fall asleep or wakes up in the middle of the night and is upset.

That is when she is prone to going walkabout. Sure, it's not actual sleep walking, but it might as well be. She is tired and confused.

The first episode happened a couple of months ago and, quite honestly, it freaked me out. I was not afraid for her safety -- we have a gate; she was fine -- but it gave me the willies when I looked up the dark stairway and saw two little eyes staring back at me.

It was creepier than it may seem, especially because she was silent, just staring.

She has since woken up from time to time and walked into the hallway, where we can hear her while we're downstairs. We usually just tell her it's time to sleep, so go back to bed, and she'll do it.

She tried something new the other night. Anni put her to bed, but Elise was wide awake. Anni was downstairs and could hear Elise singing at the top of her little lungs, just belting out tunes and jabbering to herself while in bed. 

Then, it was silent. A short time later Anni heard knocking on a window upstairs. How's that for creepy? But then Anni heard the familiar patter, patter, patter sound across the wood floors, and knew Elise went walkabout again. Sure enough, there she was, staring through the gate down the stairs. Anni, trying not to laugh at the shenanigans, told Elise it was time to go back to sleep.

With that, Elise dashed back to her bed and finally crashed.

Until the following morning. The sun came up but we were still sleeping. Then we heard that patter, patter, patter across the hallway and looked up to see somebody standing in our room, waiting to start the day.

And on that occasion, even I woke up.