Nightmares

My little boy, you had your first nightmare last night. You poor thing, it was so traumatic! You woke up screaming at 12.18 and there was absolutely no way in hell that you were going to get back into that lovely little bed of yours. You were absolutely terrified of being put down and no bottle, no singing, no reading a story, no cuddles, no dummy, no dummy with teething gel was going to fix it.

I still remember a terrifying dream that I had apparently before I was three years old, where there were enormous tigers surrounding the house and I couldn't find my mum. I wonder what your dream was about.

Maybe it was about the sled.

Not having fun in the snow.

We have been away on a mini holiday at a little farm in the mountains, playing in the snow, looking and giggling at the animals, going for little hikes and getting a wee bit lost... it was all quite idyllic, really, and Oh So Swiss, which makes your mama very happy! But I am learning more and more about you, little one.

As you get older, your personality becomes stronger and your daddy and I are learning to respect you for the person that you are. In some ways, you are a very brave and boisterous boy, but we are learning more and more that you are incredibly cautious when it comes to trying new things. We attempted to get you onto a sled, you see. We had grand plans of the fun we would have, you and your daddy sledging down the tiny hill at the back of the farm, you turning the steering wheel like your favourite bobby car... Instead, you screamed your head off even watching your daddy do it! You were absolutely not a happy boy until that sled went away out of sight. And from that moment on, you and the snow were no longer friends. Hmm...

You did like the snow for the first half hour or so!

Next time, we need to give you longer to acclimatise to the idea of trying something new. Yes, of course we put you in front of it so you could assess what it was, poke at the buttons, turn the handle, have the opportunity to turn it over and suss out the mechanics a little if you wanted, but that was not enough. In future, I think you perhaps need a couple of days of watching other kids do it and have fun with it before you will be ready to sit on it yourself.

Perhaps your nightmare involved that sled.

I love you oh so much, little one. I wish that cuddles could always make everything better!

Love Mummy.