SLEEP -- it's something I've always been fond of. I would love to nap daily if I could. I love to sleep in. I just love sleep. My sleep patterns have changed over the years and adjusted to whatever life has brought.....newborn non-schedules; sick children; staying up late to catch up with the DVR.

Every since I became a Mom, I have been pretty strict about napping and bedtimes. As you can imagine, with each additional child the nap schedule changed a bit but overall bedtime was maintained and rituals were a reality. I really, really wanted my kids to be good sleepers. Sleep trained so to speak. We still have the occasional middle-of-the-night stealth child who decides to make his/her way to our bed but for the most part we are beyond co-sleeping.

Sean has had night-terrors since he was little. If you have never experienced one, it is so hard to explain. For him, being overtired/exhausted seemed to be the trigger -- I could almost count it down to the minute of him being put down to sleep. One hour later, we would hear unusual crying; take off running to his bedside; find him sitting up in bed screaming with his eyes open. The lights are on but no body is home, literally. Thank goodness his episodes were short in duration and he could (& still can) be calmed down with monotone repetition of "you are safe; you are in your bed; go back to sleep; you are all right". Beyond that, he is a good sleeper. So are Maggie and Ian.

But now we are having sleep issues with Amanda. It all started around Nov./Dec. 2007. Her waking episodes were much like Sean's night terrors except that she would be up and walking around her room. She could be resettled with the monotone banter relatively quickly. I thought it was stress/anxiety related because she was excited but anxious about being in her first play. The play came and went. Now, months later, she has progressed to sleep walking. She will look like she is completely awake; she will come downstairs if I am still up watching TV (or updating my blog). She has a certain 'look' to her and she doesn't communicate even though she will get a blanket out of the basket and get comfortable downstairs. If I catch her at the top of the stairs, I can send her back to her room softly and she will turn around and go back to bed. She looks wide awake but has no recollection of any of this in the morning.

I'm getting a little concerned. This past weekend while camping she literally started unzipping the tent to get out while sleepwalking. Collin stopped her twice. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. I wonder if she is sleepwalking more than I know about. Would she try to leave the house?

Good sleep is a good thing. I appreciate sleep and I want her sleep to be restful. What is causing this? Can I do anything about it?