Friday, July 29, 2011

My Little Escape Artist

What a week it has been with my little monkey aka Houdini. So about a month ago we converted her bed to a cot with side rails because she climbed out with a thud, this was not just a one-off event, as I was away at the time I told Jamie to put her to bed the following night to see how she went and again thud. So getting home that night we did the conversion and so retraining of going to bed had to begin. Instead of having to close her door we decided to put a childproof gate on and when she got out of bed she would still be secure.

So putting her to bed I buckled and just gave her a bottle of milk to make my life easier and so that was our solution most days/nights, but I knew at some point we would have to wean her off this habit.

Last Friday night I invited my friend Kim over for a scrap night and being that it was the weekend I was prepared for a few sleepless nights if necessary to wean her off the milk. So putting her to bed at her normal bed time 7pm, we were sitting on the lounge have a nibble on some pizza and we both see a little shadow at the bottom of the stairs, she had escaped the CHILDPROOF gate, kicked it out and it just popped open, she popped her head around the corner with a cheeky smile and came wandering in like nothing had happened.

Well a lot had happened, the stairs in our house are death defying, steep and tight corner with a really narrow part on the inside, not a very practical handrail and she snuck down without so much as a whisper.

So putting her back to bed re-securing the gate and then locking our 2nd gate at the top of the stairs and I think after the trauma to me I gave her milk and then it was all quiet.

Later in the week Jamie woke at 5am to get ready for work, wandered down stairs and then clicked on the gas heater in the loungeroom and bam, Ella jumps up from her little lounge. We have no idea what time she got down the stairs or what she had been doing when she was down their alone, but again freaked me out.

After dressing her 1 morning I put her on the ground in her room and watched how she made her great escape, she sat on the floor tucked both her toes under the gate, lifted it up and pop it came open, I was astounded, so now when we put her to bed we have to lock her bedroom door until she is asleep and then we open it. Every morning this week (all around 5am) she has made a quick and easy exit from her bedroom and apart from her escapade downstairs (when we forgot to lock the other gate) she comes in to our room and makes sure we know she is up.

Tonight Jamie put her to bed and I hear a horrible scream, she had opened her wardrobe (which must have been only slightly open) and got stuck between her tallboy and the wall of the wardrobe. OMG what will she do next, I think she is giving me more wrinkles.

On a positive note, we have replaced the bedtime milk with just water in a bottle, milk is only allowed in sippy cups and water is allowed in bottles any time day or night, it was time to change things up.

I just hope her week of escaping is over and she gets back in her routine of sleeping til 6-7.

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