Impossible!
Her heart pounded as she got herself and the kids ready for bed that night. She set the camera up on the wall at the foot of her bed and turned the lights off.
She watched as one got so close to her face. Her jaw dropped as her mind raced. How could she have possibly slept through all of this? What happened?
Melanie Darnell
Melanie Darnell is a mother of three and a fitness blogger that goes by the name “@fitmomma4three”. All of her 100,000 followers champion her as a vegan workout guru and dedicated mom who kept a busy and inspiring lifestyle.
However, behind the scenes, she was struggling with something that had to be seen to be believed.
Made To Last
Melanie met her husband, Paul, in college when she was 18 years old. It was pretty much love at first sight. Everyone who knew them knew they’d end up tying the knot - and they did.
Seven years later, they got married and it wasn't long before three kids and a dog soon followed. She thought everything was turning out just how she planned, but she was wrong.
Busy Schedule
As a popular fitness blogger and mom-of-three, Melanie’s life was busy but so was her husband’s. Paul works as a stunt man and often left home for days at a time to film in whatever upcoming movie he landed.
It was a hectic family life but one that Melanie loved until things started to get strange when she was home alone.
Exhaustion
From the outside looking in, no one would have known how much Melanie was struggling from exhaustion.
Melanie first heard the strange noise about 10 months ago. She shrugged it off and imagined the strange noise was just the wind blowing or her old house creaking. But when it continued to happen, she could no longer pretend like everything was okay.
Strange Noises
Almost every day for the last 10 months, Melanie would wake up feeling exhausted as if she didn’t get any sleep at all.
But recently, the noises she could faintly hear waking her in the middle of the night were getting louder and louder. She decided it was time to find the source of what was exhausting her. But what she’d find would leave her gasping for air.
Plan Failed
Melanie settled the kids into bed and went to her room to spend the night. However, this time, she was determined not to sleep. She would stay up all night, identify the sound and follow it to its source. But her plan didn’t exactly turn out as she had planned.
Her exhaustion had her passed out after 2 hours of fighting through her tiredness. Then she got an idea.
Calling For Help
If this noise was constantly annoying her, it must have been annoying her husband too. After all, they did sleep in the same bed together.
She decided to mention it to her husband who was away filming. She brought it up casually expecting him to tell her it was just the house but what he said freaked her out.
Husband’s Advice
Her husband said “set up a night-vision camera and see what’s going on. If you’re not sleepwalking, then something really strange must be happening to you.” His advice only scared her more.
All the classic horror movies Melanie watched when she was younger popped to mind, would Freddie Krueger be visiting her in the night? She shuddered at the thought. Suddenly she realized that maybe there was more to this than she thought. And there was.
Searching For Answers
Melanie hung up the phone with her husband and searched for the symptoms of sleepwalking. Was she sleepwalking? If she was, that would certainly explain her exhaustion.
Although sleepwalking is common within children - about 1 in 5 children will sleepwalk at least once, they usually grow out of it after puberty. This means sleepwalking is actually not very common at all with adults. But there's more.
Sleepwalking Stress
Sleep walking can also be a sign of stress or anxiety and can lead to extremely complex activities like walking out of the house or driving a car which can of course, be extremely dangerous.
Melanie read the symptoms and realized she identified with many of them. Her heart raced as she realized she might need help. But first, she needed to be certain. So she did exactly what her husband said. But what she’d find was like nothing she suspected.
Feeling Afraid
That night, after Melanie put her kids to bed, she slept on the couch. She was too afraid to sleep in her room alone and scared she’d sleepwalk down the stairs. She prepared herself for a better night’s sleep and decided to go to the store tomorrow to get a night cam.
She wondered if she’d sleep better tonight not that she was away from the noise, but it went from bad to worse.
Creepy Memory
Melanie woke up the next morning with the exact same unsettled feeling as all the nights before. Only this time a vague memory of the night sent a shiver down her spine.
She had to understand what was happening to her. She lay on the couch trying to focus on the image that was threatening to leave the edge of her sleepy memory. Her eyes widened.
Buying A Camera
She remembered waking up briefly to the feeling of a breath on her face. As a heavy sleeper, she awoke and turned, falling back into a deep slumber. But now, she realized the significance of that moment.
She got the kids up and raced to the nearest camera store. The unimaginable truth was just around the corner.
The Last Night
Her heart pounded as she got herself and the kids ready for bed that night. She set the camera up on the ceiling at the foot of her bed and turned the lights off.
She braced herself for another horrible night of sleep before eventually drifting off into a slumber. Completely unaware of what was about to happen right under her nose.
Moment Of truth
Melanie was sitting with a cup of coffee in hand as she prepared to watch the footage she captured the night before. Her kids were playing in the other room.
She tried to steady her nerves as she hit play. She watched intently as her night unfolded. The camera showed her leaving her room a couple of times to put her kids to bed and then all of a sudden - silence.
Replay
Melanie watched herself lay in bed, shuffling quietly until she finally fell asleep. At first, everything seemed peaceful. She pressed the fast forward button desperately hoping that she didn’t have a sleepwalking problem and that no one appeared that shouldn’t have been there but that’s exactly what happened.
Melanie jumped and hit pause. In shock, she hit the rewind button and played it again.
Three Little Shadows
Her eyes popped as she took in the image of a small figure push open her door and crawl up on her bed. She watched herself sleep in complete ignorance.
Then from the corner of her eye, two more shadows appeared through the door and peered over her. One got so close to her face that her jaw dropped wondering how she possibly slept through this. What happened?
Night Time Chaos
The footage showed Melanie heavily asleep as her bed slowly but surely started to turn into a party! After putting her kids to bed a couple of times at 9 pm and 10 pm, they reappeared at two in the morning!
Melanie was too tired to wake up with the commotion but still became disturbed and drowsily tossed and turned with the noise. Then Melanie saw something that explained the breath.
Dog Breath
Between the chaos of her children entering her room, her dog followed. He jumped up on the bed, licked, and smelled her face as he hovered over her.
The most remarkable thing about this was Melanie’s reaction. Although she seemed to be asleep and couldn’t remember anything, she was displaying actions of consciousness.
Posting Online
She would cuddle her toddler and move her hair away whenever he tried to pull on it. She seemed to be half awake and half sleeping. It explained everything!
She was so taken aback by the footage that she decided to share it on her platform. “Parenting doesn’t end when the sun goes down,” she shared.
Parenting Post
“During these moments, let’s think of all of the other parents that are up with their babies at the very same middle-of-the-night moment and take comfort in the thought of each of us cradling our babies in the dark of our homes, together in shared experience.” she said.
From one mom to another mom, the post gathered up hits.
Reality Of Motherhood
Melanie hoped to spread the message that motherhood is hard and it never stops. She also wanted everyone to see the aspects of motherhood that hardly ever get talked about.
It’s not easy and moms often get criticized heavily yet no one knows what they deal with in their daily life! Even Melanie has had her fair share of criticism.
Online Pressure
As a young mom who shares her life and family online, Melanie often leaves herself vulnerable to receive intense criticism online.
Her busy lifestyle with her career and her decision to share so much of her family and kids online often gets questioned by her critics. But at the end of the day, Melanie does everything for the benefit of her family and kids.
Love And Effort!
Without sharing her life and opening her family up to the public, she wouldn’t be able to support her kids and give them the life she dreams for them.
It’s hard to make the best decision every time but as long as you try your best and look after the wellbeing of yourself, kids and family and nourish them with love, then nothing you do can be wrong. That’s something Melanie proves every day!