When you have a child, you’re prepared for certain eventualities. The fact that as a baby, they will wake you for night feeds, nappy changes and general reassurance. That when they get a bit older they may wake you for teething and illness. This is something you learn to accept as part of being a parent.
What they don’t tell you, however, is that your child may also wake you in the small hours by talking in their sleep. Such has been the case with Emily recently. Having become a fan of CBeebies and the many delights it has to offer (favourites including In The Night Garden and Charlie And Lola) it seems that she has now also taken to dreaming about her favourite TV characters.
A few weeks ago I was woken at the less than sociable hour of 5.30am by her shouting ‘BYE BYE PIGGLE!’ (as though having a conversation with Night Garden’s cuddly blue boat-dweller Iggle Piggle) before rolling over and drifting off again, completely unaware that Mummy was now wide awake, wondering where Iggle Piggle was and why he should be chatting to Emily at this time of the morning.
Since then she has told me in her sleep that she is talking to Iggle Piggle’s buddy Makka Pakka, that Mummy is going to sleep and that Daddy is taking a shower. On a number of occasions I have found myself heading for her room convinced she has woken up, only to find her fast asleep.
This week, however, she surpassed herself, shouting ‘CHARLIE LOLA!!!!!!!!!’ about five times at around 2.30am and leaving me to wonder what on earth was going on. Yet she just slept blissfully through until the morning, and when I blearily asked my husband if he had heard her the next morning I was informed that he hadn’t.
Well, I’m sure she said something then. Or perhaps I was the one who was dreaming…