Friday, November 12, 2010

Just when you thought you knew what you were doing...

One of the truths of life: whenever you think you're getting the hang of parenting, your kids will prove you wrong.

Last night I was up late, washing still more dishes (we did a ton of cooking and baking yesterday), when Andrew called at 11:30, having forgotten that there's a 2-hour time difference between where he is on his business trip and where we are at home. After I hung up and finished cleaning up I read for a few minutes, and was just about to turn out the light when I heard the sound of bare feet coming out of the girls' room. I waited, figuring Snuggler would wander in, but she didn't. Then I heard the sound of the lock turning on the front door.

Yikes! I was out of bed and to the front door in a snap. There was Snuggler, in her pj's, starting to head out into the hallway. "Sweetie, you need to come back inside," I said, gently.

"No, I have to... you don't understand," she muttered.

"It's okay, honey. Let's go back to bed," I replied, putting my arm around her shoulder to guide her back into the apartment. She looked confused, and muttered a bit more, and then turned around and walked back into her room by herself.

Stunned, I wondered what to do. I'd never seen someone sleepwalking before, but this was clearly the real thing. I wondered if an odd interchange I'd had the night before with Snuggler had been due to sleepwalking, too. I pulled out our handy-dandy family medical guide. It said there's no inherent danger in sleepwalking, though people do tend to have accidents from tripping on things, and they should be prevented from leaving the house.

So sometime around midnight I put a pile of stuff in front of the front door, stuff that would make noise if it was moved. And I went to bed and went to sleep.

There were no more incidents. But it still feels weird.

4 comments:

  1. Zeke has had a couple of sleepwalking incidents, wandering in confusion around the apartment. It is a little nervous-making, but so far he hasn't gone for the front door....

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  2. My son Dakota has done this off and on his whole life, although so far he's never tried to leave the house. We have two locks on our front door, one regular and one higher up that is a latch. maybe that would ease your mind. Once Dakota peed in the bathtub when he was asleep :)))

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  3. Thanks for handling issues like this on your own while your husband was away on his trip. We who sat under his teaching are grateful.

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  4. I used to sleepwalk when I was younger, a teenager. I only remember one incident, I guess because I was half asleep half awake. I remember standing in the doorway of the TV room and hearing my mom say, Phyllis, just go back to bed. Eventually I did. Mom said I had our dog in my arms while I was standing there. I had no memory of that. ( small dog, she used to sleep in the bed with me ). I never tried to leave the house. i haven't done this in many years. I can understand your concern about keeping Snuggler safe, though. I think Snuggler will be OK, though. These things usually pass. Phyllis

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