How to get some sleep?

Oh, if only I knew!?

If only there was one, straightforward, ready answer, to getting a little shut eye when you have two young children in the house. 

Remember my previous posts about Cheeky Monkey No 2's transfer from a cot to a cot bed?  She seemed to be getting better, in so far as she'd occasionally sleep through from 7.30pm until 5.30am.  But there has been no consistency.  Some nights she'll protest simply about going to bed and will ask us to lie in her room with her for a little bit.  She's only just turned two, but it's incredible how many words they can string together when they want something specific! 

And now we seem to be getting woken at around 3am.  And I do not exaggerate even in the slightest when I say that we are not just 'woken', but are 'thrown forcibly out of the snug bliss of dreamland only to land with a bump into a world devoid of any noise other than a blood curdling scream.' 

I think I could cope better if she was rousing in the night and mumbling to herself.  Or even calling out my name to get a cuddle to help her go back to sleep.  But no.  What we get instead is complete silence followed one second later by 'SCREAMING!!'

As you can imagine, I leap out of bed in shock.  Stumble through to her room as fast as I can, bearing in mind my lack of consciousness, trying desperately not to walk into doors, trip over the child gate, or trip over her.  I  gently walk her back to bed, tuck her in; she goes quiet pretty quickly if I lie down on the floor next to her; and she's asleep again within roughly 15 minutes of lying quietly.

So what's that all about!?

I'm hoping, with fingers and toes crossed, that she is simply teething.  That the nappy rash and runny nose are actually symptomatic rather than random coincidence.  And that those four back teeth will arrive soon and help to stop the night waking.

I'm hoping.  My concealer's good, but it won't be up to the job of covering those bags soon.