I Hear the Secrets That You Keep When You're Talking in Your Sleep

I peek in on Sprite who's been asleep for at least a couple of hours. While I'm adjusting her blanket over her always restless legs, she starts to speak. (I wish I could repeat it verbatim, but the only word I can discern is "No". The rest of it is gibberish.) Oh, crap, I think, I'm busted again.

I lean over the crib to see her eyes since her face is turned away. Nope, her eyes are closed. I continue to watch for a few seconds. Still closed.

I turn away to escape and some more talking comes from her crib. John, who was on monitor duty, is now coming toward the room. I can see him through the closed french doors. I make a "I don't know" gesture and go back to check on her again. Still sleeping.

I sneak out.

"Is she all right?" John asks, quietly since we're still in front of her room.

"She's sleeping," I respond.

"But I heard her speak."

"I know. Her eyes are closed though."

"She's talking in her sleep?"

I again shrug my shoulders. "I guess so."

John smiles. "Another trait she's inherited from her mother."

Yup. I'm a sleep talker. So's my sister. We come from a family of sleep talkers with the exception of my dad who was not a sleep talker, but would respond to our questions while he was still sleeping (so I guess he was a sleep responder) and has agreed to some very unlikely requests like buying ponies or hamsters for his scheming daughters. (Hey, we were young. We had dreams. And he DID say yes even if his memory was foggy the next morning. On one occasion, I remember asking him if he was a Martian just to see what he would say..)

We used to be able to carry on conversations with my sister who would sit up in bed with her eyes open and talk earnestly to you even if you had no idea what was coming out of her mouth.

I have spoken to John on several occasions while asleep and he just thinks it's funny.

And now, I guess we add Sprite to the group.

However it does lead me to another question. In her dreams, does what Sprite says make sense to herself? I mention this to John and I think my exact words are "Even in her sleep, she doesn't make sense." I don't mean this cruelly. I just wonder if what Sprite says to us on a daily basis (we call it Sprite-talk, a mixture of non-sensical sounds with some familiar words thrown in) makes sense to her. Is she just making noise half the time or is she really trying to get a point across?

And why isn't this first in the baby books?

Baby's first tooth

Baby's first steps

Baby's first words

Baby's first sleep-talking

(I think I'll add it into the book, right under Baby's first sonata. Um, yeah, that one's still blank, but with the way she plays with the piano, we may be able to fill that date in after all..)

Comments

[Lisa]

Hello.

Your daughter and my son are the same age -- not sure on the date, but they are on the month and year. I found you on blogged.

Jonathan was born on Nov. 7

Feel free to check out my blog.

Your blog is cracking me up already. I agree with the sleep talking thing in the baby books. That would be a good one to add.

[Prettyneato]

My noodle grinds her teeth in her sleep and when you tap her mouth and whisper "No" she gets very agitated. She'll tell me "go 'way", "not now", "mooooooooo-ooooom" ... all without ever fulling waking up.

My hubbie says that I seem to have quite vivid conversations in my sleep, and quite often about squirrels.

[Arwen]

My son talks in his sleep too, and he also gets it from his mom. My sister claims she used to have lots of conversations with me when she would come in late.

The funniest with my son was one night a few months back when he suddenly let out this terrible, high pitched scream. I jumped out of bed and ran into his room, thinking he must have had a nightmare or something, and saying, "It's okay... It's just a dream." He yelled out in his sleep, "No! Itsa my truck! It's mine!"

What a nightmare that must have been.

[Jen]

I'm sorry, but I have to giggle when a toddler's nightmare is having to share! Good stuff, Arwen. That needs to go in his book!