Bats in the Belfry

*Yep, you're getting a two-fer today!*

The past week has been horrible for sleep here in the Furr household, especially if you're 3 years old, Mommy, or Daddy.  For some reason unbeknownst to the rest of us, Avery suddenly has bats in his room at night.  Bats that the rest of us can't see, but bats that have sent him into absolute fits of terror nonetheless.

We have cajoled, bribed, danced around his room, done whatever we can to convince Avery there aren't any bats in his room, but the second we turn his light out and shut his door, the poor child  completely melts down, literally sobbing hysterically and screaming about the bats.  If we actually get him to sleep in his own bed, he wakes up screaming hysterically about the bats, and inevitably ends up in our bed.  We've been up rocking with him, singing to him, turning his special light on and off, then on again, moving him to our bed, waking up with him in our bed after he's moved himself....  Like I said, miserable for sleep.  

I have to tell you, trying to fit three people in a double bed is rather difficult, especially when one of them sleeps sideways with his feet in Daddy's ribs and his head on Mommy's bum.  Shawn has woken up to find that Avery has taken his pillows and he has Avery's pillow pet.  I've woken up to a lump at the end of our bed, kicking it (whoops....), thinking it was our 15 pound cat and wondering when in the world he'd put on so much more weight, then realizing the lump was too big to be Jethro, so I thought the puppy had snuck up on our bed.... Nope, it was Avery, tucked down between our feet.  I've found myself clinging to the edge of the bed at 3 am, and Shawn, after falling to the floor, has just stayed there.

Avery has finally slept through the night with this new sleeping arrangement, but Shawn and I have not.

Realizing that we cannot live--or sleep--this way, we've been wracking our brains for solutions.  Desperate for sleep, the other night we outfitted him in his Batman pjs and his Batman mask, convincing him that he would blend in with the bats in his room, and because he is bigger than them, they would think he is their leader and leave him alone.  Ah-ha!  That seemed to appease him and he was eager to give it a try.  Until the lights went out and we shut his door.  Stupid bats.

Longing for respite, I rummaged under the sink for an empty spray bottle, and came up--well, empty handed.  I did find a can of Febreeze, though!  Armed with my "Anti-Bat Spray," I walked into Avery's room with only thing on my mind--ridding his room of the bats, and setting his little mind at ease so we could all get some sleep.  Okay, that's two things.  After asking Avery to point to where the bats were hiding, I sprayed in that general area, then I also gave his room a good once-over, just for good measure.  And because it's always helped him in the past, I anointed my child with oil and said a special prayer of protection over him.  Avery directed me to leave both the Anti-Bat Spray and the oil in his room where he could see him, and with that, he was satisfied.

The can of Febreeze is now empty, and Avery has the best smelling room in the house (I was so afraid it would cause an asthma attack, but God must be on board with the Anti-Bat Spray), but Avery hasn't seemed to notice the can is empty.  Just having the can in his room seems to do the trick, and praise God, we are all finally sleeping through the night!