Ella’s always been so good at going to bed, getting herself to sleep and on the whole sleeping through til morning.
Her bedtime routine has remained pretty much the same since she was around 6 months old; bath, drink, brush teeth, book and a chat, lights out, sleep…
Then a few weeks ago when she started to act up at bedtime, this was a whole new experience for us to deal with. Whether this change was due to the recent leap in her development, her pushing boundaries (age 2!) or if she thought bedtime was suddenly a game, who knows?
So, all of a sudden bedtimes began to go something like this: bath, drink, teeth, book and a chat, lights out…. Then the fun begins…
Just as whichever of us has put her to bed sinks wearily onto the sofa you hear her bedroom door opening and the unmistakeable ‘shuffle-shuffle’ of her walking across the landing in her sleeping bag. We sit and look at each other, waiting for it… and there it is, a ‘thud’, closely followed by ‘oh-no’ or ‘mummy/daddy’. Whichever of us heads for the stairs to usher her back to bed, is greeted with…
the aforementioned ‘thud’ – hurled over the stair gate with purpose!
Followed by…
This can go on for some time before she finally stays in her bed and falls asleep, by which time we’re pretty worn out too from running up and down the stairs so many times!…
I am pleased to say, after 2-3 weeks of disrupted bedtimes, things seem to have returned to normal. For now, anyway!
Partners in crime…
Our first baby, Ella Mary, was born at the end of November 2010. We were shocked to find out soon after her birth that she has Down's Syndrome. I was determined from the start that Down's Syndrome will never define Ella or what she is able to do. We will provide for her everything she needs to become the child and the person she deserves to be. There will be hard times ahead.... there are already many hard times behind us. But I already know that the good times will always outweigh the hard times. She has taught me so much in such a short time and seeing life from a new perspective is a privilege that not many of us get the chance to experience.
Join with Google
Join with Facebook