And the little one said, "Roll over."

[djinny]

Little girl has been sneaking into our bed late at night/early in the morning.  We never had a problem with it, until she had pinkeye a few months ago and cuddled up with me. Now she sneaks in two or three times a week. Any parent will tell you that little feet and elbows don't do much for a good night's sleep.

I'm having trouble catching her in the act. If I could just get her when she first comes in, take her to the bathroom and then right back to her bed, I could get her out of the habit. Unfortunately, I'm used to having hair (mine or one of the cat's) in my face when I'm asleep, so her coming into bed and flopping all those curls on me really doesn't disturb me enough to get me up.

This wouldn't be so difficult if she wasn't so manipulative. If I give her a talk before bedtime about staying in her own bed, she'll take her baby doll that she sleeps with every night and put it in its little crib. She tells me that her baby has to sleep in its own bed. Tonight, I told her that I was locking our door. She got her baby doll and put it in its crib. Later, I went up to check on the kids and saw that she had pushed the crib out into the hallway and shut her door. It made me want to cry.

I'm dreading the teenage years.