For the last couple of weeks I have been struggling to sleep.
It’s not that I’m not tired or anything – because, I mean I have three kids – I’m ALWAYS tired. The reason is more sinister than that.
About a month ago we left all our windows and doors open until the early evening. We hardly ever do that because I am irrationally afraid of moths and so if it’s dark out and the lights are on and you’ve been stupid enough to leave the window open. You WILL get a moth inside. Most likely a big one. Big enough to eat your brain. Because that’s what they do – it’s science.
Anyway. We left it all open and although we didn’t get any moths, I think all the mosquitoes in our area swarmed inside our house. I honestly feel like there were millions of them. And that might only be a slight over exaggeration. They were everywhere. Every time I rummaged through my wardrobe to find something to wear, out flew a mosquito. Minding my own business trying to brush my teeth – there’s a mosquito watching me from the top of the mirror. They were all over the place. Really err’where!
When I smash a mosquito, I like to leave its blood splattered carcass there to serve as a warning to all his friends.
— Cindy Alfino (@CindyAlfino) March 12, 2017
This post is sponsored by Peaceful Sleep
Every night before we went to sleep we’d fluff the curtains, close the cupboards and then sit on the bed and wait for them to settle so that we could smash the hell out of them. But there would always be more, because as soon as we switched off the lights and snuggled up, there’d be another one whizzing past my ear. It got so bad that I got used to sleeping with my sheet pulled up over my head, only leaving my nose out to breath. Sometimes I’d even stick my foot out just so that they’d have something to munch on and stay away from my head!
But then the stupid things got clever and moved over to my kid’s room. So just as I thought the kids were finally asleep, they would start screaming because they heard a high pitched “EEEEEEEEeeeee” in their ears. Then the screaming would wake up the ones who had actually gone to sleep and so by 9pm we were still trying to get the kids to go to sleep. And that’s MY time. Don’t you dare mess with my “ME” time.
These flipping mosquitos! What even is sleep? pic.twitter.com/4k6evWTkXo
— Cindy Alfino (@CindyAlfino) April 5, 2017
The one night I accidentally had coffee too late and so I was still up at like 2am (yes, I realise that this officially makes me an old person now). Then this flipping mosquito landed right on my mouth. Like, the freaking audacity! Then Knox woke up just as I was falling asleep and so I stumbled into his room to snuggle with him till he fell asleep again. But I’m so sure that the mosquito followed me because the next thing, it landed right on my nose! And then I killed it. So it was OK. But I felt so victorious that I almost smeared the blood across my cheeks as war paint.
But I didn’t because gross.
Today I killed NINE mosquitos. I’m pretty sure there’s none left but I can’t get that buzzing sound out my head
— Cindy Alfino (@CindyAlfino) April 5, 2017
Enough was enough though, so when we were doing our grocery shopping I found a can of Peaceful Sleep that I popped into my trolley. It was just the regular one which worked pretty well for us parents, but I was worried about spraying it on my kids. Their skins are so sensitive that I didn’t want to risk it. So I only put it on when they started screaming that they heard buzzing in their ears.
But then Peaceful Sleep actually sent me their Family Care range which you can use on kids as young as 6 months old! And it’s available in a aerosol spray, spritzer, lotion, cream and stick if you’d prefer not using aerosols. I must say that I am more partial to the spritzer or the stick – I don’t like feeling like I am inhaling all the spray every time I use it.
Since we started using it last this week, we’ve all been sleeping much better. In fact it’s been a few days since I’ve heard that annoying sound in my ears and the kids have started sleeping all the way through the night again which is just fantastic.
It’s getting so good that I might just have time back in the evenings to blog again! Woohoo!
6 comments
Yeah we had a mosquito plague at my folks place. And Asher gets an allergic reaction to the bites… I find the peaceful sleep mats that plug into the wall work well. I don’t like things on the kids’ skin at all. It freaks me out.
I lived in Malawi for a year. Trust me our local mosquitoes got nothing on them buggers. Peaceful Sleep was my best friend for that entire year!
I use the peaceful sleep plug in plug- I prefer it to the sprays and it works really well x
Lavendar oil repels them too…I killed 20 one night…due to drought and pools being left, i think they are breeding like rabbits 😉
We don’t really have a problem with mosquitoes. When we do get one or two in our home, they normally munch on Mark, and that’s okay as long as they leave me and the kids alone 🙂 But thanks for the recommendation. Will look into it when baby is here.
Our lives changed the day we discovered Doom Room Spray. Your spray it in the corners of your room about 30mins before going to sleep and they stay at bay for 8hours+. I also do not like putting stuff on skin and not comfortablenwith plug in that you inhale through the night. It also doesnt smell.