Love their Loveys

When D was an infant he was so strongly attached to me (a nursing, stay at home mom) that even DaddyHealy could not successfully get him down for a nap. I decided he needed a lovey and quick. Experts suggest loveys (blankies, teddies, etc) help small children feel secure in separation from parents. They also say that while you can direct your child to loveys, you cannot guarantee if and what they will ultimately fall in love with. Lucky for me, it was easy with D. I took a blankie he'd received as a baby gift and I slept with it for a week to get my scent all over it and introduced that. He loved it, became attached to it immediately, and even started taking a second (and eventually a third) blankie to bed with him as well. Certain stuffed animals have also come & gone over 3 years, but those first 2 blankies have held strong. He still sleeps with them, takes them when he's away from home, drags them to church every week and along to stressful situations (shots at the doc, for example). I wonder if they'll be making an appearance at preschool this fall. At any rate, these loveys are definitely "loved!"

D's Loveys: yellow blankie, purple blankie and currently blackie, baby jaguar, momma jaguar, and lamb

With great success for big brother, I decided to do the same for M, but the thought of dragging around another bag full of blankets and animals she's attached to didn't appeal to me, so I found the tiniest pink bear and put it in her crib right from the beginning. It worked (smart mommy!) and at around 12 months old she became attached to the bear, asking for it, carrying it around and sleeping with it. Then she started pulling a delicate knitted blanket into her crib during the night. Oh, well, one blankie and one pint sized bear I can handle. The real kicker came when it got warm and I stopped putting her into her sleep sack (this is basically a blanket that you zip baby into so they can't kick it off). She started pulling it into her crib off the dresser each nap and night and would be snuggled up with it when I'd peek in to check on her. Seriously?! A sleep sack?! Well, what can you do. It's her love that makes a lovey, not my choice or approval. I've put my foot down, though. She's been trying to take a burp cloth, a tube of diaper rash cream, and a much bigger bear to bed as well, and I make sure they are far out of site at bedtime!

In case you are unfamiliar, M's sleep sack: holes for head and arms, zips down the front to keep kids cozy all night.

M's current pile of loveys: blankie, bear and sleep sack