When Teagan was about 9 months old, she was having trouble falling asleep on her own. A few people said that we should get her a lovey (ie. a toy/blanket that young children can bond with to make them feel more secure). We bought blankies, stuffed animals, Elmo etc. When these items were placed in her crib, she would promptly throw them away. Despite our attempts, neither of the girls had a lovey for two years.
 |
| Gay Bear and Peanut |
Gay Bear (pronouced Gee-Brrr by Quinn) is Quinn's lovey. Peanut (pronounced Me-Nut! by Teagan) is Teagan's lovey.
 |
| Q cuddles with Gay Bear post-stitches |
A few months ago, Quinn discovered Gay Bear in a box. Jenn had purchased it eight years ago on a business trip to San Fran. Quinn loved him immediately. He quickly became a staple in her crib. When all of the other animals and even her crib sheet got thrown out, Gay Bear remained. He has been to the park, the grocery store, the hospital...he travels in the car, the stroller and the wagon...he sits at the table waiting patiently for his beloved owner to finish meals...he even managed to work himself into our family photos on the weekend!
 |
| Peanut (in T's right hand) rides the subway. |
Peanut came from this toy. Given Peanut's small size, Jenn and I are often nervous about losing it. Lucky for us, the toy came with 3 Peanuts. Unfortunately, one of the dogs chewed one, so we are down to two. Teagan is arguably more attached to Peanut than Quinn is to Gay Bear. It could be because of its size. Teagan rarely does anything without "Me-Nut" in hand these days. Teagan climbs up the playground holding Peanut. She runs through the water park holding Peanut. He enjoys bath time, visits to the zoo and has even tasted my guacamole. Peanut remains in T's hand until she falls asleep. He somehow always manages to sleep right next to her face. Peanut is always in T's hand when I get her up in the morning. In the (tragic) event that he has fallen on the floor, I will loudly hear about it until I save the little guy.
I honestly thought that Gay Bear and Peanut would be a thing of the past by now, but it looks like they're sticking around!
Have your kids ever adopted an unusual lovey?
Too cute and funny.
ReplyDeleteLately Quinn (2) wants his "baby" to go to sleep with him at night. It's an American Girl boy doll (Itty Bitty Twin doll) that kind of looks like him.
Jackson (4) has been taking a purple Beanie Baby teddy bear around with him and calls him "Teddy" (very original.)
Riley (6) doesn't really have a lovey right now but did carry around this tiny squeaky dog she named Squeaky Dog (again, original name there) that came with a Barbie. She loved the dog, not the Barbie. Even when the paint wore off and he had no nose and a bit of an eye left.
Kids are random.
I love the peanut because it is so weird. lol
Kids are totally random and hilarious. I'm glad they are though -- they keep my days interesting :) The peanut is definitely strange. I can only imagine what's going on in her mind when she can't find it!
DeleteLittle Monster's main lovey is "Blanket" and the attachment has been steadfast for going on 3 years. I am pretty sure that Blanket is going to college with him. As for the random ones, he insisted on sleeping with a plastic screwdriver for almost 2 months one time and for about 2 weeks he REFUSED to participate in swim class without holding on to a styrofoam cup from Chickfila of all places, haha.
ReplyDeleteI think Peanut is adorable and Gay Bear just made me giggle :)
The cup is too funny! I can see Teagan becoming attached to something like that...or a peanut ;)
DeleteHaha, peanut made me laugh! I think I too would be afraid that it would get misplaced with it being so small. It looks like Teagan keeps a pretty tight hold on that little guy so I'm thinking you're okay.
ReplyDeleteGrace LOVES her bunny, named "bunny"... not the most creative name but it works. She sleeps with bunny every night and when we get her up in the mornings she cries unless she can bring bunny with her. I'm not sure who gave it to us and bunny isn't nearly as exciting as many of her other fancy and interactive stuffed buddies but she loves little B all the same.
I have yet to wash bunny but I think the time has come. ;)
Gay Bear has needed a few washings. He enjoys going in the water table and the sand at the park :)
DeleteErik is 6.5 now and still has his bunny blankie from when he was a baby. It's named Bobby (he started calling it that when he was learning to talk.) He doesn't think about it that much now (at home, he probably wouldn't notice if it wasn't in his bed at night, although most of the time it still is), but if he's going anywhere to sleep over, he still wants to bring it. When he was younger, Bobby was like a member of our family. He came everywhere with us and I vividly remember panicking at Zellers when he got lost once and numerous customers and staff members helping us find him. Bobby went to Erik's first day of JK and SK. When Erik was a toddler and used a soother, the soother and Bobby were a pair and together were known as "Bobby-Soose".
ReplyDeleteSince he was a baby, Ian has loved receiving blankets. He calls them "Buddy" or "buddies". He's not attached to any particular one, but he has to have several with him in bed at night and when he was younger he would carry them everywhere. Ian also has a bed full of stuffies. There's barely any room in there for him. :)
Bobby! That's adorable! That reminds me of the bunny (Floofy) that I was attached to as a child. It was once left at my aunt's house (an hour away). My Dad had to drive back that night to get it!
DeleteMy son is 15 now... and he carried around a match-box car in his right hand almost all of the time. Enough that I researched it at the time. It had something to do with right brain left bran activity. Like when they stick out their tongues when they concentrate.
ReplyDeleteI am a new reader...great blog!
Jen
That's interesting. I'm going to look it up. I'm certainly not concerned but am fascinated by the brain.
DeleteThank you so much for reading!
The Bean is quite attached to the rattiest (pre-attachment, and even rattier now) receiving blanket that we have from when he was a baby. It's brown with white polka-dots and he calls it "white blanket."
ReplyDeleteHe also has a hippo (Owen) and a dog (puppy) that he often wants in his bed at night.
None of them are allowed out of the house unless we're doing an overnight trip. We wouldn't want to risk losing them!
I probably should have enforced stricter rules early on ;) Last night Jenn spent 15 minutes looking for Peanut in the backyard!
DeleteThe peanut reminds me of something I would have attached to as a kid. I love it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks :) We think that it is pretty cute!
Delete