4.50am start No tea demands- rather lost dummy. I’d rather have had to make tea How can 3yo go to bed with dummy & it completely disappear?

It's dark.  It's quiet.  We're sleeping soundly.

And then you hear the thunder of tiny feet on the landing.  Snuffly wailing and smothered sobs ensue.  3yo's standing next to my side of the bed, poking me gently.

"Daddy, I can't find my dummy"

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem but, as we discovered to our cost the night before, we seem to have lost the myriad of dummies 3yo had until recently.  This was the last one.

No doubt some have been stolen by the dog and buried in the garden as is his want, while others are likely to have been hidden or flushed by 7yo in acts of revenge.  J hates the dummy and he will therefore have hidden some of them in obscure locations he can no longer remember in order to limit dummy use.

However, I digress.

Getting up, I begin the careful search of 3yo's bed while she snuggles down, still sobbing, with J.  

It must be tied up in the duvet, that's where it's normally found.  No sign.  Under the bed? Nope.  Under her pillow? Not there.  Stuck between the side of the bed and the wall? Nothing.

I'm beginning to wonder whether there ever was a dummy in the first place.  Lights on I search the bedroom for the offending item that could well have been thrown across the room by 3yo in a moment of pique.  Still no sign.

We therefore need a replacement, but where to find one of those?  Bathroom? No sign there. Kitchen - perhaps J hid one in the kitchen cupboards?  No luck either.

Finally, in the utility room, in the cupboard where we keep the holiday supplies (sun tan lotion, travel medical kit etc) I find a dummy!  It's only taken me 20 minutes and I am now wide awake. But at least peacefully slumbering 3yo has something to suck on whilst kicking me in the back until the 6am alarm goes off!