adventures in sleepwalking

Abi has sometimes walked in her sleep and mumbled incoherently to me and I've been able to talk to her to a point where she starts to wake up a bit.  Usually she turns around in confusion and heads back to bed. But this was bizarre tonight!  I hear a stumble and some bumps and she comes running out of her room and down the hall to the stairs, saying "We're still doing it! I'm late!" She unlatches the gate at the top of the stairs (my attempt to keep E slightly contained), and starts to head down. Meanwhile I'm starting to get concerned about this! I'm trying to talk to her, asking her what's going on and telling her to wait, but she's just saying to me, "We're still doing it! I forgot!" and she's sounding almost desperate. 

 Then I hear her opening the front door! Eek! It's only 11:30pm and my sleep-walking child is convinced she's late for some school project!!!! I rushed down the stairs, where she has stopped, and I put my arms on her (maybe in my mind to hold her back, lest she try to run off!) and say firmly, "I need you to wake up! You need to wake up now!"  She blinks at me.  "Come, look outside," I lead her to the front door. "Do you see how dark it is out there? It's actually 11:30 at night."  She blinks at me again, and says, "I didn't know that was the time."  I'm walking with her back up the stairs now, but she's still going on about the project going on and how she didn't think they were doing it anymore, but she just found out that they were....and I'm wondering just how asleep is she still??? :(  I'm not too sure she really understood what I was doing at all or what I said! I did bring her to the kitchen and I told her to get herself something to drink, which she grabbed two sips of some apple juice, and I'm wondering if I should be doing something else to wake her up more. I asked if her room was hot, and then told her to open her window. She agreed, and walked back to bed.

 Yikes!!! I didn't mind her walking to the living room and turning back to her room, but trying to leave the house is altogether not cool!!!! :(  

I am slightly nervous right now! This is the first time she's ever tried to leave! Since she is almost 12 years old, she knows how to unlatch the stair gate and the front door! Do I need to find other ways to contain her? Eek!  Thankfully her most vivid dreams (which she responds to) happen an hour or two after she falls asleep, and I've always been awake, or in bed and still listening, so it hasn't been a big deal. But wow.

I used to sleep walk as a child too. I have a few memories of where I have suddenly been aware that I was standing in my parents' room in Toronto. I'm not too sure how my Mom dealt with it, but somehow she got me back to my bed and I fell back asleep with no issues. I don't recall any stories of me walking any further than to see my Mom. (see, even in my dreams my mom is the one I'd look to for anything!) But I obviously outgrew it. I wonder when I did?  And I wonder if this is just a one-time thing with Abi? Because that made me nervous!  

I also wonder if she would've woken up once she got outside and realized it was chilly or the felt the wet grass on her feet? Maybe this is just a good excuse for Hunny to put a lock on her door so we can keep her forever 11 and not have her grow up and mature and start to like boys??? :D   I'll have to mention this to our (awesome) pediatrician. (the sleepwalking, not the locking her up at night, lol)

 

***I just read this on KidsHealth.org: Sleepwalking  and thought it was interesting. 
>Sleepwalking usually happens 1-2hrs after sleep, in stage 3 & 4 of sleep
>it can be brought on by *lack of adequate sleep, irregular sleep schedules, fever or illness, medications or stress.
>it runs in families
>apparently I shouldn't try to waken her, but just lead her back to her bed.
Good to know!